Hello Kitty Tap and Run

 don't care who knows it - I think Hello Kitty is the tops.

The design of the character and wider world created by Yuko Shimizu while at Sanrio is the epitome of cute, and Hello Kitty is a global icon for that reason.

So far the Hello Kitty games on iOS have largely been extremely casual affairs, which occasionally take unexpectedly intense turns if you play them for long enough, like I often have.

With Hello Kitty Tap and Run, our titular hero looks to be involved in some sort of auto-running caper, so perhaps the game is going to tap into this ever so slightly more mid-core stratosphere of the marketplace to broaden its appeal.

There's only one way to find out: by playing the game for a week and writing down what I think about it on the pages of PG. I'll start doing that now.

First impressions

Hello Kitty Tap and Run is simple fare. There are two buttons on the screen: 'jump' and 'shoot'.

You'll need to jump over chasms along the path you automatically run along, or you'll lose one of the members of your party. You'll need to shoot any enemies that also happen to get in your way, because if you smash into them you'll take damage.

Each stage scrolls slowly, and while it's a relaxed affair to start off with you still have to tread carefully. Along the way there are trinkets to collect, the purpose of which isn't entirely clear, and once you reach a set metre goal you finish the level.

Outside of the game you can upgrade your character by mixing it with other characters, much as you can with Rage of Bahamut's card sacrifice system. It feels a little odd, and against the innocent appeal of the brand, "using" one kitty to improve the power of another, but perhaps I'm over-thinking it.

So far it's a decent enough distraction, but very basic, and I'm quickly running out of Stamina, meaning that I can't play the game for long periods of time.

How are you getting on with the game? You can tell us and the rest of the PG community about your experiences by leaving a comment in the box below. Click here to learn about our free-to-play review policy.