Robot Rundown

Okay, a bit of background first, eh?

Robot Rundown is the first official game tie-in to the scathingly hilarious comedy sci-fi web series Transolar Galactica. Back in 2012, it completed a Kickstarter campaign to create a second series of the show that mercilessly pokes fun at the likes of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and Firefly.

We can only hope that Robot Rundown heralds the imminent coming of the successfully funded Season 2. In the meantime, the exploits of the Sol-Bot should hopefully keep fans hot and ready to be serviced by Captain Elliot 'Remmington' Trigger.

Transolar Galactica episodes bagged the show's audience not only through its wicked, sledgehammer humour, but through surprisingly outstanding production values. These videos are your first introduction to the Sol-Bot's adventure, and set the tone beautifully.

As is typical for Captain Trigger, the ship is needlessly destroyed and the crew left floating in the cold and deathly vacuum of space. All except the Sol-Bot, of course, which has less need for oxygen and warmth.

Taking control of the bot it's up to you to see it through the wreckage safely, using single-button Flappy Bird-style controls.

Tapping the button boosts the robot vertically, after which is sinks again, allowing you to navigate the remnants of the ship - and various other environments in later levels - while shooting obstacles out of your path.

You're also equipped with a slowly regenerating shield that allows you to crash through floating corpses, space flotsam, and enemies safely when activated.

So essentially it's a Flappy Bird clone that includes guns and shields, which we don't have a particular problem with. Not because its gameplay is revolutionary, or even that great, but because it boasts the same dose of jackhammer hilarity as its web series heritage.

Robot Rundown adopts a pixelated 16-bit-era retro-styled visual and audio theme that, blended with the top-notch production values of the live action sequences, makes everything look quite ridiculous

The contrast of the two embodies the delightful nonsense that Transolar Galactica revels in.

And the game needs this slapstick veneer. It plays well enough, but there aren't really any surprises in the gameplay, and it's easy to lose sight of your robotic character amid the chaotic mosaic of brightly coloured pixels in the background.

Yet it's easy to forgive these shortcomings thanks to the superb interstitial entertainment between levels. The whole experience embodies the crackpot nature of the web series by mixing together ludicrous, nonsensical, and pointless action with slices of Adult Swim-quality comedy.

There's nothing in Robot Rundown that's not to like (except for the game, perhaps).