Run From Mummies Review (PS5, PC, & MacOS)

If you’re looking for a game that is just as fun as it is challenging, you might want to consider Run from Mummies. It just launched to an overwhelmingly positive response, thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign and consequent community support. What’s more? You can play the game with friends and family, especially during the upcoming holiday season. It’s perfect for when you’re cooped up in the house and are looking for a conversation starter with just the perfect touch of humor and spooky vibes. Or perhaps you are dying to find a highly replayable game that you can keep coming back to throughout the festivities. Developed by a small indie team, we bring you our Run from Mummies review.

Castles in the Air

Run from Mummies kicks off with a pretty hilarious story. Mostly because of the way it’s told rather than the actual content. Otherwise, it’s a rather simple premise about a group of tourists who travel to the great pyramids of Egypt. All cuddled up in a tour bus; they are warned that they can only see but cannot take pictures of the wondrous creations they come by. But there’s always that one tourist who thinks they are above the rules. And so, when Steve (not their real name) pops his head out the window to take a picture of a pyramid, a mysterious event suddenly ensues. It topples over the tour bus right through a giant pyramid, emptying all the tourists among the tombs and roaming mummies of the undead. 

As dire as the whole situation sounds, Run from Mummies tells the story in the most comical way. It only uses text and visuals to portray its dialogue and plot –true. However, the writing is top-notch and hilarious, while the accompanying cartoons are a sight for sore eyes. For some gamers, the cartoons and overall unique art style can take a while to settle in. However, it’s no secret that the developers have created a truly special game that stands out from the crowd. Cutting a fine balance between the modern and retro vibe, the graphics easily capture your attention, immersing you in the ludicrous events that unfold. 

Step into History

History buffs will love the portrayal of the fine history of the pyramids, from the statues to the mummies. Although the visuals don’t exactly go for the realistic portrayal of the real-world pyramids, choosing instead to focus on the cartoony retro style of gaming, you do get the sense and feeling of traversing the floors of ancient history. The accurate historical references aside, Run from Mummies wastes no time inducting you into its top-down 2D action-adventure dungeon-crawling gameplay. You reach out to the hand of the developing team as they take you through the controls and mechanics of the game. Trust me, the tutorials will come in handy down the line, so you do want to pay attention to all the tools you need. 

The pacing is quite great and perfect for both newcomers and veterans. You never miss a beat as you easily pick up and play the game. At first, all you need to do is avoid getting nabbed by the numerous traps in the pyramids. Whether it’s spikes that sprout off the ground or statues that swing swords when you sprint past, you have to carefully consider every path you take and stay safe. Now, it’ll quickly sink in, even starting to feel a little easy. Then, the game will introduce the puzzles, which take a minute or two to figure out. Combined, you begin to keep track of two gameplay elements: traps or obstacles and puzzles. And just when you start to grow comfortable, Run from Mummies introduces yet another gameplay element: the mummies.

Fear What’s Behind

You’re up and about, exploring what secrets and mysteries the pyramids are holding when a mummy springs up behind you. It chases you mercilessly through the mazes in the pyramids. You navigate around walls and sprint past inactive spike traps, circling back when you hit a dead end and hoping the mummy is just slow enough to let you get away. If the mummy catches you, it drains your health drastically. So, now, you have to hunt through the levels for more healing items. But the trick is that to scoop up valuable items; you have to pause to take a picture of the respective item. And while you pause, the mummy is catching up to you. And that’s when the adrenaline rises, demanding the careful balance between stopping to gather more items and running for your life. 

Meanwhile, the traps and obstacles you run into grow more treacherous. Suddenly, the threat to your life is not only the mummies roaming about the pyramids but the numerous deathly traps, too. As if that weren’t enough, there are puzzles to solve, too. You can only progress to the next level by beating the traps and puzzles, so there’s really no way around it but through. All of this is adding to the fact that the mummies chase you down along with swarms of nasty spiders. And the spiders, at least, you can destroy with the flash of your camera. However, the mummies cannot die. You can only take pictures of the mummies to stun them, giving you just enough time to pry open a closed door or work out a puzzle. That’s it.

The Past Holds Secrets

As much as it can sound hectic, it’s also one heck of a blast. There’s immense pressure to constantly be on the move. And not just be on the move but running for your life with your breath caught up in your lungs. As the mummies grow in number and new enemies are introduced, the gameplay grows trickier and trickier. You even reach points where you need to run away from bosses who can drain your life too fast. This is where the challenge of Run from Mummies lies, where it balances seemingly simple mechanics with steep difficulty. But the difficulty never grows too frustrating to throw your hands up in the air and give up. Instead, it pushes you to keep trying, and keep fighting, and, no matter what, keep running. And if need be, come back to try your luck, having practiced and learned from your mistakes. 

It’s the beauty of the game where the replayability is incredibly high. And it’s aided, too, by the numerous levels you have to beat: a whopping over 100 unique levels. These are spread across seven distinct regions, from the Eastern Corridors, Grand Gallery, and The Embalming Wing. If that is not enough, you can always enjoy the local multiplayer action that allows up to four players per gaming session. As opposed to more players making the gameplay easier, it makes it even more chaotic. You all face a similar level of challenge that has you running for your life, albeit with the option to choose from four unique tourists. Admittedly, the game is much smoother using a controller. But it’s also not completely terrible on the mouse and controller. 

Catch Your Breath

With the constant sprinting up and down the levels, you’ll be happy to know that Run from Mummies does give you frequent moments to catch your breath. It builds on the comical opening cutscene with more hilarious story beats throughout your playthrough. You often unravel the backstories of the regions you’re exploring or the characters you’re controlling. And all in such clever and intriguing ways. But even more so is the engaging art style and the immersive soundtrack.

Essentially, the entire presentation of the game has been given its due attention and made all the better for it. Performance-wise, the game runs smoothly, save for very few bugs. The developers have been actively involved, though, in receiving feedback and promising future updates. For $20, it’s amazing how much content is available to work through here, in addition to spurring it out with friends.

Verdict

Run from Mummies is a pretty fun game that starts off simple and grows into more complex gameplay. It gives you all the tools you need to thrive and lets you out of the cage to become a master tourist surviving in the ancient pyramids. With only your trusty camera in hand, you’ll navigate treacherous tombs and dangerous traps, taking snapshots of traps and mummies to survive. Your main mechanic is taking pictures, whether to collect items or solve a puzzle. However, the decision of when to take the picture is what matters the most. 

Should you take a picture of the mummy chasing you and buy just enough time to solve a puzzle? Or would you rather keep running for your life until you’ve gained enough ground to collect more healing items? Always, you’ll be on the run, with the moments when you stop to catch your breath highly critical toward your survival. On the story front, too, developer Lost Turnip has outdone itself with the constant nourishment of hilarious jokes, both in writing and cartoon illustrations.