“Top Run: Retro Pixel Adventure” by Katata Games (Mark Tityuk on iTunes) is an endless runner game. You play as Kevin–and sometimes his dog sidekick Buddy–in order to collect pixels, blast bad guys, and rescue friends.

Kevin is a 1980s teen who’s gained superpowers thanks to mutation. Buddy joins Kevin on the adventure, now and then traveling to his own dimension (“Buddy Time”) allowing the player to collect bonus pixels. Kevin’s three friends, whom Kevin must rescue, have their own superpowers.

Kevin’s main weapon is floppy discs which he fires at foes. He can also collect power-ups: an enemy freezer, a hover board that draws all the pixels towards himself, a triple floppy power-up, and a Buddy shield that’ll make Kevin invincible.

The game is filled with 80s easter eggs, such as the Night Driver (Knight Rider)–a black vehicle that helps Kevin by plowing through his foes. The game is also filled with 80s music thanks to the artist Beckett.

The free version allows the player ten tokens (aka runs/plays), but the tokens recharge quickly. It takes about ten minutes for one token to recharge. You can also buy tokens through pixels or through real world money for $0.99.

In the free version, you’ll have ads that play after random deaths. You can get rid of them by paying the $0.99.

The game also comes with skins for Kevin and Buddy. You can purchase all for $3.99 or save up your pixels and get a random one for 7,500. Or you can buy everything, plus gain access to the Cybervaders arcade game for $5.99.

The game itself is very addicting thanks to the easy to learn gameplay and ability to buy tokens without spending money. The soundtrack also makes it hard to put the game down. The game objectives aren’t easy but not so difficult that you feel like they are impossible.

My main frustration with the game was that the hit box seemed odd at times. There were many times when it seemed like I was passed a foe or had avoided it only to see the game over screen.

Overall, the game is a nice trip back to the old arcade days. The graphics, music, and audio lines keep you immersed in the game. It comes with a nice balance of challenging but not frustrating. 4.7/5

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