There’s no question that mobile gaming has gone through some general evolutions over the years, and as the times have changed they’ve continued to be dominated by different styles of games. While some types like Match-3, or some variation thereof, have remained more constant, on the action-oriented side there have been quite a number that have emerged. One that took hold for a while, and is still represented to a lesser degree, is the endless runner, and that makes sense since it is simple but still can be engaging. While it adds more of a 3-dimensional angle to things, that’s what Toree Saturn generally reminds me of… and that can be a good and a bad thing.

The emphasis here is on not just surviving the given course that you’re on, but also doing so as quickly as possible, and grabbing everything you can along the way. With the barest minimum of instruction and help, you’ll simply be thrown into a race where you’ll quickly learn what few controls and basic mechanics there are. Whether it’s stars that launch you up or forward, or speed pads that will give you some quick acceleration, you’ll want and need to use everything you can to keep moving, or your initial flying opponent will pass you by. On a basic level there’s not much to learn or know, so the emphasis is then just on doing your best to maximize every advantage you can to keep moving.

The issue, at least in my eyes, is that it wants to do this in a fully 3D space, and honestly it isn’t very well equipped for that. There are two problems that can be confounding at times when it comes to being successful while running along. The first is that your sense of depth perception isn’t great, and you get a taste for that right on the first track. Having a sense of precisely where the boost stars are in space is tricky visually, as they leave no shadow and have no shading from an understood light source, so until you simply get used to the game or given route to the degree that you “know” where they are by memory the game does you no favors. The second issue is that when you’re trying to shift 90 degrees, or see where things are off to the side where you’ll soon be jumping, you’ll find that the camera controls are touchy and generally not very helpful for you having success. Whether you’re trying to shift it yourself, or hitting the button to recenter, the rough way everything changes can make staying on course a real challenge. While you can get a feel for things by giving it a little time, considering the pretty simple nature of play I’m not sure there’s enough here to warrant the effort.