Mehhh

We tried this out because we enjoyed Yesterday so much. Its clear that they made a great bit of advancements in mechanics and gameplay with Yesterday, but it would be nice if they went back and implemented those changes with their past creations.
Yesterday was nice in that your character would sort of teleport to the object in use, but you end up having to wait for the toon to slowly make its way over in Runaways.
The observe/grab functions were quite clunky, too, in that it closes out after observation and you must again poke at the object to attempt to put it to use. Most of the time I would have to pound my finger around the area, since objects are too close together and cluttered. I also found that there were way too many useless items that served only as a distraction. I would not mind this as much if it didnt take so long to investigate and fruitlessly try to obtain the items. It was also annoying that the verbal alerts meant to inform the player that the objects were useless were recycled. Between the repeated lines and long lapses in travel, I was often distracted away from the game by the background noise of my home or something outside my window. It was in no way a game I could get lost in. Instead, I was bored and frustrated enough to actually consider spending time with my young child as an alternative to the stimulus I felt this game lacked. ;) Runaways really needed more of an editing eye, if you will.
The cues necessary for knowing which items to combine and what the strategy was to be for using them in the environment were almost non-existant. This was definitely a game that required closing out in order to reference an online walkthrough, so I struggle to even call it a game. There was no real narrative, which was only amplified my the vast expanse of environment and useless items to explore.
That being said, I really think that even though the developers "lost the plot" with this app, their later creation, Yesterday, showed growth in seeing through gameplay. Though I wouldnt suggest paying money for this app, their later work is so entertaining that I actually wanted more from them! However, Id classify this app in particular as, "less."

shawnjulian about Runaway: A Road Adventure