Just Keep Running

Never Yield is an auto runner style experience from the titular Aerial Knight that’s available on all major platforms.

This game is oozing with style! From the thumping funk / hip-hop beats, to the colorful semi-pop art style graphics, everything about this game screams “play me!” There’s only one issue, I became burnt out with the gameplay fairly quickly.

The game centers on Wally as he tries to escape from a facility to spread the word of its wrong doings. Your goal is to run all the way to the city’s media outlet to deliver the evidence and let the world know, all the while being pursued by security robots, police, and a mysterious figure that’s very similar to Wally himself.

Gameplay consists of running a length of environment while using the d-pad (or combination d-pad / face buttons) to dodge incoming obstacles with a slow motion parkour move. For the first few levels this felt great, but as I continued playing I noticed that was all the gameplay had to offer. There was no evolution to the formula, simply run and dodge. In this aspect the game does a decent job and the core of the gameplay was very solid, but combined with the repetitive scenarios, environments, and obstacles between levels (and even in singular levels) it fell short to keep my attention. If there was more variety in obstacles and environmental events I believe I would have been more invested.

I do need to give a shoutout to the final stage though. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the use of perspectives was well thought out and I loved it! The music track was also amazing!

Speaking of the music, this game has some great beats to it! The soundtrack is one of the top stars in my opinion, and the lyrical pieces scattered throughout are awesome. The music meshes perfectly with the style and theme of the game and really helped me get through some of the longer levels of the game.

Graphically this game is beautiful but suffers much like the gameplay in repetition. The first time I was running down suburban streets, or jumping through a factory filled with deadly machinery I appreciated the venues and how they were designed, but after the 3rd or 4th time going through an area that seemed to be a copy paste of a previous level it all became a blur of “I’ve seen this already”. Don’t’ get me wrong, the environments, characters, and visual effects are all top notch, but the lack of diversity didn’t quite sit well with me.

This is not a bad game, but it does have design choices that didn’t sync with what I enjoy. The base experience of this game is solid, but I feel like a bit of polish is needed to make it become what I hope that it can. Please don’t let this review stop you from checking out the game if it caught your eye, but if you have doubts check out the demo first.