3D platformers that hark back to the late 1990’s seem to be around every polygon corner these days. Gladly though, there have been some successful attempts at bringing the goodness of the genre into the modern day. Some have unfortunately not; it’s a difficult type of game to get right, and there are multiple things that, if not well implemented, will ruin the whole experience. Runa & the Chaikurú Legacy is the latest to attempt this tricky challenge. From Argentina-based developers Fanny Pack Studios, they have created a game that is rooted in Latin American traditions and familiarity that I was very appreciative of. Fanny Pack Studios have also made sure to include all the expected sites from a 3D platformer, from the bubbly cartoon characters to the annoying babble noises made when talking, collectibles, and a bright, colourful world to explore. But has Runa & the Chaikurú Legacy done enough to distinguish itself from its predecessors? Let’s find out together, shall we?
The basic premise of the game takes you on a journey to uncover the mysteries of the Chaikuru civilisation. As Agent Runa, your task is to explore the area to look for artefacts and clues as to what happened to the people that once graced these lands and to recover the four mystic seeds. This is achieved through solving puzzles, platforming, finding mystic powers, and defeating enemies that just don’t like the look of you. All pretty standard stuff from a 3D platformer. The setting is the heart of the game, with well-designed areas representing jungles and tombs. You’ll find big statues of apes, hieroglyphics painted on walls, vines growing up and around structures, and the architecture is very fitting. The puzzles themselves felt suitably designed for the setting, and they almost felt like the type you would come across in an Indiana Jones film.
Other parts of South American culture found their way in through Mate, the drink you use to regain energy. This is represented by a bar underneath your health, and you can fill it up by picking up more Mate from defeated enemies. Another cultural inclusion was using traditional instruments when creating the music, and it’s a wonderful addition to the game. It made the experience a fun and jolly time with these high-energy, happy pieces playing, and I really got the sense of the environment from the instruments used. It was a great call and one I was appreciative of. Also, there have been many puns and references included throughout the game relating to South America, but I didn’t pick up on those myself; maybe you need to be from the area to get the best from that part.
Your main weapon is also a traditional fare, called a boleadora. Basically, there are two rocks on the ends of two ropes that you can swing and let loose to cause damage. The combat was fine, a little hit and miss in places with the angles, and there was no real challenge until the very end part of the game. You kind of went through the motions, and I guess in some ways that’s a true representation of the era of 3D platforming games it’s trying to hit. But it doesn’t work in modern gaming, and this is a fine example that sometimes too much nostalgia can be a harmful thing.
One other main aspect of the game is the mystic powers you’ll find through your adventure. Each one gives you a unique power that will help you gain entry to new parts of the game. The first will give you the ability to hover after a jump, the second will give you the power to charge up your weapon and unleash a powerful attack, and others include upgrading your Boleadora so it can grapple onto certain branches. Some fun, if not overly innovative, inclusions that did keep the gameplay interesting and creative.
So far, so good, but unfortunately I did come up against some issues that really impacted my playthrough. The main occurring problem I had was from the camera and the positioning it took. Electing for a top-down type view was a brave choice by the developers for a 3D platformer. Without the ability to pan around the area with the right stick, it felt very restrictive, and it caused me problems that could have been avoided. Sometimes I was at a loss as to where to go, and it normally ended up with a path being obscured by foliage because of the camera angle, or there was an entire area I hadn’t noticed because it was out of my field of vision. It also hindered me in the platforming, causing me to completely misjudge my jumps and causing me to fall to my death on many occasions. There’s a section of the game where you are being chased by a massive snake, and it’s actually one of the better parts of the game. That is, until I got to a certain point in the chase where I was running towards the screen and I had to make three jumps on broken pieces of a bridge. I found this impossibly hard to judge, thanks to the camera panning to be right in front of me, and I spent way too much time trying to complete that section. Other times I found myself walking into enemies and taking unnecessary damage because I couldn’t see them, causing me more frustration than was needed.
Another area of the game asks you to move balls on moving platforms that are high up. It seems like a genuine great idea for a puzzle. But yet again I struggled because of the camera, as when I was on the ground I couldn’t see where they were going or where my goal was. It was highly frustrating, and it was at this point that I decided to stop playing the game. I was just not having any fun as I spent more time battling the camera instead of concentrating on what it was I was supposed to be doing. The camera does try to avoid these situations by panning to other angles, but it really didn’t help to judge distances or angles of jumps, but I appreciated that the developers at least tried. All I wanted was the ability to pan 360 degrees, and it would have solved many of the problems.
Other areas I had issues in were in its performance. I had moments of slowdown and jittery frame rates that impacted my playthrough in many places. At times a screen shake occurred, which didn’t help matters, especially in that snake chase section I mentioned earlier. In the latter part of the game, you need help from an NPC in multiple places, and they either got stuck or ran off before I could get to where it was waiting. Admittedly, I played this on Steam Deck, so that could be the cause of some of the problems I came across. This game has been in early access since August 2024 and has just recently received its full launch, but I feel like it would of benefitted with more time in early access to iron out these issues before hitting its version 1.0.
Verdict
Runa & the Chaikurú Legacy holds a ton of potential in its setting, design, and puzzles. There were moments where I had a blast, with its joyful, charming, and fun gameplay and exploring the culture. But it’s the decision of the camera placements that ruin it and make it unplayable in many areas. I hope Fanny Pack Studios can learn from this and implement these lessons into their next game, but for Runa & the Chaikurú Legacy, it’s probably best to let this one be.
- Release Date
- 29th January 2025
- Platforms
- PC
- Developer
- Fanny Pack Studios
- Publisher
- QUByte Interactive, Fanny Pack Studios
- Accessibility
- Jump hint visibility
Many thanks to the publisher for the review copy.

About the author
Jason
About the author
Jason
Jason has been playing video games for most of his life. Starting out with his brothers Spectrum, he soon evolved to a Master System and never looked back. A keen lover of Nintendo, Sega, and indie games, Jason has a diverse range of tastes when it comes to genre's, but his favourites would be single-player narratives, platformers, and action RPG's.