Boxcar Hazard Rush Review

Endless runners are all about sticking to the right rails, but the post-apocalypse is all about a world that's gone completely off the rails. So how does a game marry those two ideas? Boxcar Hazard Rush offers a wonderfully ragged solution.

Boxcar Hazard Rush captures the intimidatingly free feeling of a world without rules through endless runner gameplay that's much looser than that norm. Sure the basic "run as far as you can" formula remains. But right from the start players will feel overpowered thanks to their ability to jump forever and essentially float across levels like Kirby. However, soon enough they'll encounter traps like ceiling spikes and floor flames that force them to stick to a safe path. Still, the amount of control players have over their character feels very different from mostly tight and linear runners.

Meanwhile, the physics-driven collision system has players awkwardly knocking over various minor obstacles. So instead of navigating some highly designed layout, players worry more about tripping over their own feet and staying ahead of encroaching doom. Again, it's a familiar but off-kilter feeling for this genre; a decayed version of a world players previously knew. And the presence of standard power-ups seems more like a formality, although it is fun to discover old nuclear missiles.

Post-apocalyptic settings also provide an excuse for some great bleak imagery, and Boxcar Hazard Rush doesn't disappoint. Aside from an incongruously cartoony hazmat suited protagonist, the world is harsh and gritty. Grimy metallic environments, droning air raid sirens, crackling flames, and grey smoky air bring the atmosphere to deathly life. There's also a thick, almost film grain effect covering the screen at all times, like the game is being recorded by a barely functioning camera.

Boxcar Hazard Rush shows how just a few tweaks to the feeling of a genre can turn it into something very different, especially when paired with a complimentary theme. It's not just about endlessly running for fun; it's about endlessly running for your life.