Pug Run Review

Pug Run is yet another casual infinite runner to hit the app store. The hand drawn look of the art gives it an adorable feel and fits in with the storyline. The idea behind the game is that a boy who wants a dog drew Bogart, a pug. As Bogart runs towards the boy the world comes to life and if Bogart is too slow then he is swept into a creeping void. Pug Run is basically an infinite runner that has some arcade elements, like coins to collect and platforms to jump on.

Bogart is always running and players control him by swiping and tapping. Swiping up causes the pug to jump and swiping down when running down a hill will cause Bogart to slide down. There is also a run meter that when tapped gives the dog a speed boost.

Gold Coins are scattered throughout levels and can be collected and spent in the pet shop. Some of the items available for purchase are reasonably priced whereas others are very pricey. Power ups for the dog, called treats, can be bought or picked up in a level. Some of the power ups include one that attracts gold coins to the dog and a power up that increase the height of the dog’s jumps.

There is one infinitely long randomly generated level in Pug Run. Farther into it there are obstacles like bushes and boxes that get in the path of the dog. I really like how Pug Run begins and ends. The color and level elements fade in to view at the beginning of the level and start to fade out when the dog isn’t moving fast enough. There isn’t a good indicator of if the dog is moving fast enough besides the color starting to fade, but when it does there’s always enough time to step it up. One feature I really like is that a marker indicates where in the level my high score is so I know exactly how close I am to beating it.

Pug Run is a fun and easy to play casual infinite runner. It’s like a lot of other games in the genre, but it executes the normal game mechanics of infinite runners well and looks nice.