Chameleon Run Review – Jump and Switch Colors to Win!

Introduction 

Chameleon Run is a mobile auto-runner game in which switching colors to match the environment is key to your survival! In addition to your chameleon power, you must also jump your way around the obstacles and use an array of abilities to get to the end of the level! 

This review covers the Android version.

Pink is good when you’re pink, and yellow is good when you’re yellow 

The controls in Chameleon Run are in their simplest form: tap one side of the screen to instantly switch your color and tap the other side to jump – but it’s what you can do with the two-button control scheme that matters. The game will throw every kind of obstacle at you, from dark gray walls you absolutely can’t touch, to seesaws that shift to your weight, to platforms that move on their own, and so much more. To teach you some of the more advanced knowledge, there are tutorial levels showcasing how you can rely on your moveset, and it leaves learning the individual parts of a stage to you. One mistake ends the run, but the game very painlessly restarts you in about half a second when that happens. 

While the basic goal is getting to the end of the stage, there are extra objectives which unlock more of the level when cleared, such as collecting orbs, smoking crystals and beating the level without switching colors. You can only do one objective at a time and in that order, but as you clear them, you turn gray platforms into colored ones and unlock boosters and even the snowboard, which gives you a massive speed boost – all of which are necessary to get the 3-stars for a level. 

While the game is a little closer to the hard end of the difficulty scale, the skill level is extremely high when it comes to 3-starring a level. It requires you to know the layout of the track, and to jump and switch at the right times to the correct color just before landing to get a speed boost and chain this several times, sometimes with very tight reaction times! The snowboard is also required for the 3-stars. The result when you pull off a 3-star run is very satisfying with all the effort that went into it. That said, make sure to take breaks every now and then – a 30-second level can become a 30-minute grind for the best time! 

One of my least liked aspects of Chameleon Run is how some levels have a few platforms that change their color on every new run. It feels like a cheap way to sneakily increase playtime and mess with your expectations. On a lesser scale, the game only has 20 main levels plus 8 themed levels, so the actual content is rather short. On the plus side, no ads or in-app purchases! 

Blending with the environment 

As a mobile auto-runner game, Chameleon Run’s visuals are simple and blocky. There isn’t a large variety of colors given how the game’s mechanics are centered around two colors – but where possible, it makes up for it with background details, like with the palm trees in World 2. 

It’s also no slouch when it comes to the audio. The music is also just as simple, but catchy. You can switch between the tracks in-game by pausing and retrying, essentially letting you select the mood you want to run to. The sound effects are also varied; for example, there are light thuds when you make a short leap or heavier ones when you fall from a distance, and it also serves as a cue when you boost. 

In Conclusion 

It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you want something that’s short to an extent but challenging, you can pick Chameleon Run to scratch that itch. It’s one of the better examples of “easy to learn, hard to master” kind of games, and it’s very easy to get absorbed into it thanks to quick restarts. It’s also got simple achievements covering the 20 main levels, but also a leaderboard system just to entice you to break your personal bests several times over. I’d go for it if you have a few minutes to spare and don’t mind spending a short break on a single level!

For a chunkier auto-runner game, take a look at Geometry Dash! You can also look at our other mobile game reviews, such as for Pocket City, Antiyoy, and Cat Quest!