Proun+ Review

Proun+ is an on-rails racing game for the hardened gamer. Sure it’s accessible enough to learn for newbies, but you need fast reactions to be any good at it. Previously a successful indie release on the PC, it deserves your attention and patience.

During each race, you guid a ball traveling at speed along a pipe. While the ideal scenario is to also beat your competitors to the finish line, early on you’ll just be pleased to maintain momentum and dodge most of the obstacles up ahead. Traveling forwards is mostly automatic, with a boost and brake button affecting how fast you go. The main requirement of you is to duck left and right to dodge what’s coming up. There are plenty of twists to negotiate and Proun+ is far from forgiving. Get stuck behind a post and you immediately lose a lot of speed.

It’s fun though, if slightly frustrating at first. Tracks are designed with a sense of speed in mind, with various tunnel style effects arising at regular opportunities. If you want to dodge some frustration you can turn the difficulty level down by playing the ‘relaxed’ set of levels, but I found these a little unexciting. They’re too slow for anything more than coming to grips with the controls, and you’re better off persevering at harder tracks.

Control-wise, there’s a choice of touch or tilt-based controls. Unusually, it’s the tilt controls that work the best here. Touch controls aren’t quite fast enough to pull off the quick turns, while tilting your iOS device gives you a lot more power over where the ball goes. It’s a far smoother experience and all the more enjoyable this way.

Throw in a funky jazz based soundtrack and Proun+ has a lot going for it. It’s a pleasant change of pace from typical racing games and its controls lend themselves well to the potential of mobile gaming. Crucially, it’s fun if occasionally frustrating. Even then, it’ll make you want to play again and again.