Super Powerboy review - More than just another auto-runner
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iOS
| Super Powerboy

It would be easy to dismiss Super Powerboy as just another auto-runner. I mean, in essence that's exactly what it is. Keep running and try not to die is the aim of the game here.

But there are structures in place that keep you interested, and a sense of progress that a lot of examples of the genre just don't display.

It's a game that's definitely worth giving a chance. And over the next few paragraphs I'm going to tell you exactly why that's the case.

Pretty boy

The first thing that's going to hit you about the game is just how pretty it is. You should never judge a book by its cover and all that, but Super Powerboy really is a looker.

The next thing you'll notice is that its controls are familiar. Swipe to jump and slide, tap to attack, that sort of thing. But they're slick, sharp, and they very very rarely let you down.

But it's what the game does with these controls that makes things interesting. As you play the titular boy gets more super powers.

You'll get double jumps, a rail slide, more armour, wall jumps, and a whole swathe of other new tools to use in your runs.

And so the game expands. You rarely feel like you're re-running the same section over and over again, because there's always some new enemy or obstacle that you need to learn how to deal with.

The alien menace that you're fighting against is always growing. There are bad guys that chuck things at you, massive hulking creatures that need two jumps to clear, and gates that block your path.

And you feel like you're getting stronger with every challenge. Because you are. You're learning new moves and new ways to deal with the problems that the game throws at you. And it feels great.

Ray-boy

Super Powerboy is probably closer to the excellent Rayman Run series than any of the more generic runners you'll find on the App Store, and that's no bad thing.

It feels like a mixture of the best parts of mobile and the best parts of the mid-'90s platforming scene, all presented in a glittery package that it's almost impossible not to fall in love with.

Yes, it would be easy to dismiss Super Powerboy as just another auto-runner, but if you did that you'd be missing out on one of the best games to hit mobile in the past few months.

Super Powerboy review - More than just another auto-runner

A gorgeous looking, fun as all hell platformer that mixes the modern and the old fashioned wonderfully
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.