The idea of finishing a level as fast as possible
in a platformer can be fairly common, with
some games even going so far as to reward
players for their speed, be it through bonus
points, achievements or maybe that elusive
third golden star. Mos Speedrun by Physmo
turns speedy play in to a core component of
its retro-slathered skill based platforming
and while you don't have to beat the top times
to win, taking on the challenge will require
patience and reflexes honed to a sharp point
to succeed.
By default players are given a touch interface
setup that moves Mos, your colorful bug, based
on the side of the screen you tap, while jumps
are performed by tapping on the opposite side
while moving. At first this may not seem like
the optimal setup and indeed players may want
to opt for the more traditional two-way virtual
d-pad and jump button setup to navigate the
many various enemies and environmental hazards
in your way, but attempting to reach the preset
time-goals requires players to learn efficient,
non-stop paths that are emphasized by the
default controls. In order to progress and
unlock additional stages, players will need
to collect trophies associated with four basic
achievements - completing a level; collecting
all the coins on a level; finding the 'hidden'
skull; and beating the speedrun time.
These days it's almost expected that skill
based platformers have a retro-esque theme
and Mos Speedrun is happy to oblige with its
pixel-art world and up-tempo chiptune soundtrack.
Additional small touches like adding a faux-scanline
effect and using TV snow as a visual transition
help to set the mood. Special levels can also
be activated by placing special URLs in your
iDevices Safari browser, however the one level
I was able to find via a QR code on the developer
site did not seem to load as intended.
As with all challenging platformers your mileage
will vary depending on how far you wish to
go to conquer the levels and their additional
objectives. Fans of League of Evil, N+ and
Super Meat Boy will quickly devour this title
whole, but beating those speedruns is a whole
different kettle of fish and will keep you
coming back for more.
