Lode Runner Legacy (Nintendo Switch) Review

Like all those golden oldies, the concept is pretty simple: the titular space-suited hero runs around the small stage, collects gold, avoids enemies, and, when needed, uses his trusty blaster to temporarily destroy a floor block, and thus be able to jump in the gap and reach a section he couldn't do so, before or trap a foe that's on his tail. Sounds like a generic old school videogame, right? Well, guess again. Sure, this didn't catch on as other videogames of its era, yet this was probably due to a misunderstanding of what Lode Runner is.

Simply put, while this feels like an action title, it's actually a puzzler with some pretty neat action elements. The gameplay might not be as addictive as, say, Tetris, but it is definitely lots of fun. However, no more time should be wasted on explaining what Lode Runner is. This review is mainly about its newest iteration, and what does it have in store. So… what does it have in store? The answer is: not something substantially different from the original.

Worry not, as this is not a complaint - just a word of caution for those who would like to experience a "new" Lode Runner title, with lots of extra bells and whistles, as this has none of those. Sure, it's not 100% devoid of anything new, but nothing that is worthy of mention. The biggest improvement is in the audio-visual department, which is actually very good, as the new voxel art style retains, and maybe enhances, that special '80s charm, with the catchy tunes being the cherry on top.

Most of all, this is basically a collection sort of package; one that includes an adventure mode with 70 levels, the 150 old school ones, complete with the same visual style, albeit, in voxel form, and, finally, 50 levels of pure puzzling, meaning that these don't have any enemies. As an added bonus, there's also a co-op mode for those into some good couch entertainment… one that involves remaining dressed, at least. Long story short, this is easily one of the most content-heavy titles on offer, and, without any doubt, one of the best in the series.

Wrapping up, this is tons of fun, especially when approaching this with a competitive, arcade-y mindset, as trying to get the highest score or time in each level can be quite addictive. It must be mentioned once more, however: Lode Runner Legacy doesn't add much to the original recipe, if any at all. This is nothing more than a facelift of the classic Lode Runner, which just happens to include more levels than before.

Does it matter? No, because 'Level Editor!' This part was left for the end, but it's really where most will get lost in. This insane time sink of a mode not only lets you craft, share, and rate custom levels, but also makes it easy to create new designs for the hero, the enemies, and the gold collectable. The editor could surely have more tools to shorten the sculpting procedure, but all gets forgotten the moment you see Super Mario being hunted by Metroids, while collecting Castlevania chickens.