Stagehand

PLATFORMING, BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT. $2.99 | stagehandgame.com

IT MAY LOOK like a regular platformer, but in Stagehand, you don’t control the character — you control the stage. What this means is that the character runs forward, constantly, as you pull and push the randomly generated obstacles and floor in front of him to make sure his path is clear. If not, he’ll run into a wall and you’ll lose. It’s a neat idea, well executed, with an appealingly bright look and a few extra characters to unlock.

However, it’s missing a few things that would elevate the game to being something you could play as regularly as Super Mario

Run. You collect coins, but all they do is increase your score, which is used to unlock new characters; it’s a shame these coins don’t translate to actual spendable currency, even if it was just used to buy hats or something.

Secondly, there’s clearly some kind of narrative thing going on, as the game starts by declaring “MONDAY” ominously, clearly implying that there’s a TUESDAY and maybe even a WEDNESDAY. As you run, the day changes to night, and we can indeed confirm that TUESDAY exists — but the game is far too hard to progress all the way to the theoretical SUNDAY. So what’s the point in the days, we wonder? Still, Stagehand is a compelling, intensely paced platformer that will tickle the part of your brain that likes this sort of thing.