Nightstream review - "Sci-fi runner that trips over its own feet"

Nightstream's shiny sci-fi aesthetic feels very early-'90s - all neon signs and hoverboards and hip cyber-rebel speak. It's rather quaint, in a way.

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But the gameplay beyond that aesthetic could have come about any time within the past ten years or so. It's a 3D runner from the Temple Run mould, albeit with some rather hit-and-miss tweaks.

Back to the future

You play the part of an Axon Runner - essentially (as far as I can tell) a high-tech information courier who scoots about a futuristic metropolis on a rocket-powered hoverboard.

This sets the scene for a game that mashes together Subway Surfers, Wipeout, and the bonus stage from Sonic 2.

You must glide into the screen, through tunnels and maintenance ducts, collecting glowing dots and avoiding obstacles. The method for this is a whole lot more involved than most endless runners, however.

Touching and dragging left and right on the left side of the screen shifts your ride. Swiping in any direction on the right side of the screen jumps you in that direction. If there's a flat surface at the end of your leap, you'll stick to it.

Collecting floating power-ups, meanwhile, will instantly initiate speed-ups, slow-mo phases, and homing missile attacks. The latter are particularly handy on the odd occasion that drones decide to attack.

Struggling for balance

Nightstream's action is definitely more involved than your average runner, then. But it's also a lot messier and more frustrating.

Some indistinct texture work, the general speed of the game, and occasionally flaky controls often combine to send you smashing into a wall or girder at high speed. Which is annoying enough, but when this prompts a 30 second video advert before you can have another go, it can be downright maddening.

All in all, Nightstream's controls only occasionally feel up to the task of powering you through its precariously arranged sci-fi highways. When it all clicks, it can be a thrilling experience, but it's all too often an exercise in stop-start frustration.