It’s fair to say this is one of our all-time favourite indie games. The endless runner Runner2 launched in 2013 and we reviewed it on this blog a decade ago (i.e. 2014, stupid).

We picked it up on the Wii U and have many happy memories blasting through the challenging, music-driven levels.

We can attribute our subsequent infatuation with indie games to Choice Provision’s fantastic title. And would you believe it!? The game just launched on the Nintendo Switch. Huzzah!

The Musical Joys of Revisiting Runner2: Future Legend of Rhythm Alien

Yes, then, specifically we’re reviewing the Nintendo Switch port here. But you can get the game on anything—Steam, PS4, mobiles etc.

Previously called Gaijin Games, the San Francisco based indie team rebranded as Choice Provisions in June 2014.

We were disappointed with its 2.5 take on this franchise with Runner3 (2018), after which the studio went a bit quiet.

However, that’s because it was hard at work! Then in September 2023 it launched the outstanding Bit. Trip Rerunner + Runner Maker. And now there’s the port of Runner2 to the Switch, which has been long overdue! As the console, with its handheld features, is an ideal fit for the game.

The goal is to guide your character, Commander Video, to the end of levels.

He runs permanently to the right, removing that element for you. Instead, what you have to do is time a combination of button combos to get him over, under, and beyond various obstacles he faces. It plays like this.

If you hit anything whilst playing, you get sent back to a checkpoint to try again. Right, so repetition is a huge part of the experience.

In a great way, which is why we consider it one of the very best games for autistic adults (it near enough topped our list of them).

That’s the fun bit. You just feel compelled to keep playing and overcome the bombardment of obstacles ahead of you.

There are five worlds on offer, each offering a different set of visuals.

As you progress, a daft little story plays out. This is narrated by Charles Martinet, the (recently retired) voice acting legend behind Mario.

Gradually as you play, you unlock new moves until you have quite the combination of kicking, jumping, dancing, and whatnot to get you from A to B.

It’s very addictive stuff! You feel compelled to keep going.

Right there is a great demonstration of how the beautiful music complements the experience, so let’s take a closer look into that below.

How Runner2’s Music Progresses its Gameplay In the Most Glorious Way

Runner2’s excellent music (more on the score further below) advances progressively in-game as you pick up red icons.

Across each stage you pick three of them up, which then instantly ramps the music up a notch to match the increasing intensity of each level.

It’s one of the reasons the game is so good, merging that life-affirming music alongside the addictive have-another-go nature of the Runner2 experience.

There’s kind of a use of non-diegetic sound here, as Commander Video’s actions seem to coincide with in-game boops and the score’s bleeps.

As you play along, every action you take in-game does contribute to the music as you make progress. It’s a very interactive, immersive experienced based on that.

For us, it works at its best with the Superfunk track on The Supernature world. The pelting music alongside the frantic action… maximum enjoyment!

It’s a very satisfying thing to play. And a big reason Runner2 is so good (once again, for us, confirming a game’s music is more important than its looks).

The game has aged very well (as platformers tend to).

There’s a big reason why Choice Provisions’ title is near the top of our best indie games ever list. As it’s very bloody good indeed. 🙌

And Then There’s Runner2’s Outstanding Soundtrack

For a rhythm-based game like this, you need a great soundtrack. American composer Matthew Harwood delivered just that. It’s so good it easily made our list of best ever indie game soundtracks. Easily! 

There’s not much information about Harwood available, he seems to keep a low profile (no social media accounts, from what we can see).

His contributions to the game were under the name Petrified Productions (we believe he’s a freelancer, as opposed to an employee with Choice Provisions).

He also did the scores to Runner3 and the recent Bit. Trip Rerunner, so he’s clearly still working!

Good news! As this music’s igg triumph is how upbeat it is. Gracing Runner2 as it does, you get a real rush of enjoyment as the music plays out alongside the game.

Harwood did provide an interview in 2011 to Gamespot. That’s in Sound Byte: Meet the composer of Homefront (he was working on a THQ game at the time).

He doesn’t discuss this game during the interview. But he notes his musical background, playing piano from age three, and his big break in composing.

“I was helping a friend of mine move his family down in Florida where I got my big break. Jim Elston (the friend I helped) was an animator at Disney and knew a few guys making a Disney film pitch, and he introduced me to them knowing my background. Elliot Bour and Saul Blinkoff were pitching an idea about a pig that could fly to the big wigs and wanted music for it. I composed a theme for them, and they loved it. I flew down later to do an interview and perform the theme at a studio there at the Disney animation studio in front of them and other suits. They also loved it. Later, the project was put on the shelf. Even still, that was the motivating spark I needed to give confidence that I could do this as my career.”

It’s worth noting there are some retro-styled mini-games in Runner2. The music for this was handled by composer Disasterpeace, who’s since worked on the likes of the fantastic Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (2023).

But everything else was by Harwood.

It’s a perfect mix of exhilarating, chillout, intrepid, pulse-pounding… you name, the soundtrack has it all. But everything else, it’s just life-affirming. Simple as that.

A wonderful score to a wonderful game. The perfect combination! Two glorious things working in tandem to deliver a modern classic. Thank you kindly.