Underplayed Gems

Running Wild (1998)

Running Wild cover
Developer
Blue Shift Inc
Publisher
989 Studios
Platforms
PlayStation
Genres
Racing

More by Blue Shift Inc

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

a breezy, silly arcade dash where cartoon animals sprint across varied terrains, racing for bragging rights rather than realism.

lightheartedarcade-ysimplecompetitivequirkybreezylowkey nostalgiccasual

About

A racing game in the purest sense of the word, Running Wild pits six bipedal animals against one another in a footrace across six diverse environments (two of which must be unlocked), with the sole aim of being crowned the fastest animal on the planet. The menagerie of racers includes Mei-Ling the panda, Gwynn the rabbit, Brazz the zebra, General the mountain ram, Coronado the bull, and Boris the elephant. The courses, taking place in remote locations such as the arctic, jungle, and desert, are littered with hazards and power-ups to both aid and hinder your progress. The former is made up of a plethora of obstacles such as pipes, ice and lava pits, thorn patches, and other such impediments, many of which must be cleared using your animal's innate jumping ability. The power-ups provided allow characters to fly; turn into ghosts in order to avoid obstructions; transform the course into mud or ice or even increase in size in order to squash any competitors in their path. Speed strips are scattered about the locales and will provide much-needed boosts when run over.

Screenshots

Running Wild screenshot 1Running Wild screenshot 2Running Wild screenshot 3Running Wild screenshot 4Running Wild screenshot 5Running Wild screenshot 6

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More by Blue Shift Inc

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.