Giana Sisters: Dream Runners Review (PS4)
Giana Sisters: Dream Runners is a fast-paced, head-to-head platformer for up to four players developed by Black Forest Games. The game pits up to four players (or AI opponents) against each other in a looping stage, in local and online competition, speed-running for the finish in an effort to push each other off the screen with the help of boosters and power-ups. The layout of the level can also be changed by running through “Dreamgates”. When one player is eliminated, the remaining players have 30 seconds to survive and whoever is in the lead after those 30 seconds wins. Winning a round gets you a star and winning 3 stars wins the game.
The art style in Gianna Sisters: Dream Runners is very colorful and unique. There are 9 different stages to choose from and each has its own setting, ranging from sandy desert to snow and ice covered stages. The sounds and music are a little generic, but fit the game.
Gameplay and controls are pretty simple and self explanatory. The first stage in the game is also a sort of tutorial in which overlays pop ups at certain points of the stage that explain the controls of the game as well as what the powerups do and how to use them. After running through a few stages, the controls became pretty easy to handle.
While Gianna Sisters: Dream Runners is a pretty simple game, it can be a lot of fun with the right people. I tried multiple times to play online, but had problems finding players quite often. The real fun was had with local multiplayer. My family (2 young children and my girlfriend) all really enjoy playing through all the levels when we have “game night” at our house. When you don’t have 3 other people to play with locally, you can sub in up to 3 AI opponents as well.
Score 3 out of 5
It is a lot of fun with family and friends in short sessions, but gets a little repetitive and boring after playing through the stages once or twice.