Video games always feel like they are oddly missing something when they don’t include the ability to run. Players like to get where they are going and fast. With running in video games, it’s essential to make sure it looks right and powerful, rather than goofy to take the player completely out of the immersion that they are in.
As video games continue to evolve as a higher medium, it’s no surprise that some of the most iconic running animations out there have evolved with them. Developers further strive for consistency and detail with new technology and new demands from gamers, and these running animations are some of the best that gaming has to offer.
9 Bloodborne
Players will experience a different and more fast-paced journey in Bloodborne. Not only is the game challenging, and more unique to other FromSoftware titles, but the running animations are too. Players need to keep themselves fast and strong, as they encounter all sorts of oddities, monsters, and beasts in Yharnam.
The running in Bloodborne seems rather strong and heavy, with the character softly swaying during their sprint. Players can run for quite some time, and even add a few rolls and dashes so that they can successfully evade and run from a plethora of foul beasts.
8 The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Running in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has all sorts of advantages and a recognizable animation. As Link carries on his journey through the ruins of Hyrule, he will have to climb and maneuver all manners of terrain in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Through sprinting, Link can achieve this and can climb almost any surface as long as he has the stamina bar for it. The running animation is fairly frantic, and Link will produce sweat as he continues to sprint, swinging his arms out in a dashing run.
7 Assassin’s Creed 2
There are plenty of races to be found in Assassin’s Creed 2, and plenty of opportunities to evade the law and Templars that seek to stop Ezio Auditore and the Assassin Order. In Assassin’s Creed 2, there’s a uniqueness to the running. Through running, players can easily leap across buildings and platforms, climbing their way to their goal.
What makes the running animation in Assassin’s Creed 2 so iconic is the fact that Ezio can run around with his hidden blades extended. The way he runs is so smooth, calm, and confident as if he could easily evade his opponents to blend in with the crowd after a fast sprint.
6 Batman: Arkham City
It’s not surprising that a video game of Batman involves such great running animation. Batman: Arkham City is iconic for many reasons, and the running animation is one of them. It’s impossible to not know that the person sprinting is Batman, due to the pointy ears, swaying cape, and tank-like sprint toward danger.
When Batman runs in Batman: Arkham City, the danger is most certainly afoot. The animation itself is hard to control and turning feels rough. However, the way Batman sprints is with calculated precision and a controlled heart rate, after all, he is Batman.
5 Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots
There’s a lot of running around in Metal Gear Solid games. This can be for a multitude of reasons, as there’s some backtracking required, and perhaps Snake has been spotted by the enemy and needs to hide to get that stealthy image back. However, perhaps the most iconic of the Metal Gear Solid games is that of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.
When it comes to Metal Gear Solid 4, Solid Snake has become rather old. Now going by the alias in the HUD of Old Snake, Snake will grunt, groan and get tired as the player sprints. The running is still tactically designed, but Snake can’t seem to enjoy a good rest.
4 Super Mario 64
It would not be right to not mention Mario, probably the most iconic runner and plumber in gaming. Super Mario 64 featured Mario’s debut in a 3D space, in which players can jump and leap around an open-spaced area and explore to their heart’s contempt.
Mario runs like a ball, barreling two fists on either side of him as he sprints across the Mushroom Kingdom and the paintings inside to save Princess Peach from the dreaded Bowser. Super Mario 64 was a revolution for the gaming industry, and Mario’s running was just a small piece of that.
3 Grand Theft Auto 5
It’s hard to keep away from Grand Theft Auto 5. The game is iconic, and almost an entire decade old. Considering the game is so popular, it can be found everywhere, and for good reason. Part of the charm in the running animation for Grand Theft Auto 5 is how players will make gentle fun of it. From the way characters move, jump and run, it’s perfectly replicated in the real world, and notably jarring.
The charm of Grand Theft Auto 5’s running animation comes from how strangely tankish it is, and how it doesn’t seem to sync up with the player’s button pressing. Nonetheless, it’s a fun animation that has seen plenty of use in internet videos.
2 Sonic The Hedgehog
Running around at the speed of sound, Sonic the Hedgehog has places to go and people to see. This blue hedgehog with red sneakers is known for his running, and it wouldn’t feel right to not include Sonic the Hedgehog, a character whose entire gimmick is “gotta go fast”. In Sonic the Hedgehog, his legs and feet become a concoction of a red and blue blur for how fast he is running.
The speed at which Sonic runs is a fun gameplay element of all Sonic games and just shows how speed can work in video games. Sonic the Hedgehog has the title character running across the level designs and stopping for no one.
1 God Of War (2018)
Kratos is an entirely powerful god who has seen much warfare and death in the God of War series. The character singlehandedly took on the Greek Pantheon and seemed to win with violent ease. However, when the character returned for God of War (2018), there was a notable calmness and reserved nature about him, but Spartan Rage continued to linger in Kratos.
With an entirely new Pantheon and a new gameplay for Kratos, God of War presented a new running animation. Kratos sprints with a fiery speed and holds his fists at the ready. Players can go directly from a sprint to a devastating attack with the Leviathan Axe, Blades of Chaos, and even fists as Kratos makes the Norse Mythology know that he was once the Ghost of Sparta.