A “bit” of news
First launched by Choice Provisions (formerly known as Gaijin Games) in 2009, the Bit.Trip series has endured a lot. The fact that it’s still standing after getting its start on the much-maligned (but beautifully scored) WiiWare service almost 15 years ago proves that it has legs. Now those legs are moving into the maker space with Bit.Trip Rerunner; a brand new title in the franchise.
Originally there were six games in the Bit.Trip story (Beat, Core, Void, Runner, Fate and Flux), but then Runner really took off, inspiring two numbered sequels and one free mobile spin-off. Both of which featured Charles Martinet (best known for voicing Mario) in a prominent role. So in a roundabout way, it makes sense for the Bit.Trip Runner subseries to continue to follow in Mario’s footsteps with this new “Maker” title.
Details are scant, but the Choice Provisions Twitter page tells us that Rerunner will have “Over 150 new levels, each with increasing challenges”, a new “Runner-Maker tool to create and share your own levels” and “gameplay mechanics inspired by the original Bit.Trip games”.
The feature I think most Bit.Trip fans will want to see is the option to play with the original voxel visual style. Mario Maker definitely spoiled us by giving us Mario 1, 3, World, and “New” modes to play with. Unbeknownst to many, the Bit.Trip Runner series has used five distinctly different visual styles in past games as well (voxel, Atari 2600-style flat sprites, NES-style sprites, 2D drawings, and rounded polygons), so the options are already there.
We may find out if Rerunner will rerun all four of those looks when we see the game in action!
