The Run nearing the finish line for PC and mobile devices

• Announcements by Jack Allin
• Published:

Choice-driven FMV thriller from writer/director Paul Raschid to debut in time for Halloween on iOS and Android

This just in: Jogging is in fact BAD for your health! (I knew there was a reason I didn't do it.) Don't believe me? The proof will follow soon enough in writer/director Paul Raschid's upcoming choice-driven FMV thriller, The Run. 

A "famous fitness influencer" named Zanna Hendricks has headed to Northern Italy to record herself traveling the scenic but isolated running trails of Lake Garda. Her journey comes to an abrupt halt, however, when she spots a group of armed men dressed all in black with scary masks arriving by car, and what started as a refreshing morning run "spirals into a fight for survival." Why they're here is unknown, but what's eminently clear is that Zanna is being hunted, along with Matteo, a local farmer she meets in her desperate attempt to escape. It's up to players to make "split-second decisions that will shape the story in real time" and ultimately determine their fates in a game where "one wrong move could be fatal."

Having kept players cooped up in a single room in his latest interactive movie, Hello Stranger, Raschid (The Complex, Ten Dates, The Gallery and more) lets us stretch our legs this time around in traversing lovely (if terrifying) outdoor woodlands, old ruins and creepy underground tunnels. Promising a "nerve-shredding full-motion horror-thriller" experience, the game features "over three and a half hours of intense filmed content, blending cinematic storytelling with interactive gameplay." An impressive cast includes the likes of Roxanne McKee (Game of Thrones, Strike Back) and George Blagden (Vikings, Versailles), along with "memorable cameos from horror master Dario Argento and Italian screen legend Franco Nero." There will be many branching paths, both literally and figuratively, that rely on player input (with either timed or paused options available), leading to five "distinctly different conclusions" – or one of twenty "unique, harrowing deaths if the wrong choices are made."

The Run is scheduled to debut exclusively on the App Store and Google Play for mobile devices on October 28th, with a PC release to follow later in the year.