RUNNER vs with Mountain Smiling
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RUNNER
Experience a future-noir visual novel set on a colony world. Follow the story of a former smuggler navigating corporate life and events leading to a larger narrative. Features a fully voiced interactive story, unlockable art, and a vaporwave soundtrack.
- Future-noir visual novel
- Interactive narrative
- Fully voiced
- Unlockable CGs
- Vaporwave soundtrack
Read full descriptionHide full description
PREAMBLE is a future-noir visual novel experience that tells the story of "Vice," a former smuggler turned corporate cog on the colony world of N-351, and the events leading up to the opening moments of RUNNER. Featuring a fully voiced interactive narrative with a veteran cast, unlockable CGs, and an incredible vaporwave soundtrack composed by Fat Bard.
with Mountain Smiling
Embark on a challenging Antarctic expedition in this adventure game. Navigate treacherous terrain, manage resources, and learn from repeated failures to reach a remote inland station. The journey emphasizes experience and discovery over traditional victory.
- Antarctic expedition gameplay
- Resource management (fuel, food)
- Hazardous terrain navigation
- Story-driven progression
- Return-to-Base system
- Learning from failure mechanic
Read full descriptionHide full description
"with Mountain Smiling" is an adventure game set in the Antarctic interior, created by veterans of the Japan Antarctic Research Expedition. There's an anecdote about Ernest Shackleton, an explorer from the early 20th century, who reportedly advertised for crew members in a newspaper during an Antarctic expedition with lines like these: MEN WANTED for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. In this game, set within a limited one-year timeframe, the story revolves around a trip from the Showa Station on East Ongul Island near the Antarctic continent to the Dome Fuji Station inland. The distance is roughly 1,000km. While this might seem like a manageable distance on paved roads, the speed of snowcat is at most 8km/h, and limited fuel, food supplies, rugged terrain, and adverse weather conditions obstruct progress. Even if the inland trip fails, there's no need to despair. One can easily return from the snowcat to the station using the Return-to-Base (RtB) Pod. By failing or gaining experience, new stories can be acquired, which can then be utilized during subsequent trips. Gather stories through repeated failures and reach the lost Dome Fuji Station. Now, it's time for the departure of new expedition members. No lose, No win.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RUNNER at Free against with Mountain Smiling's $3.99. RUNNER also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
RUNNER is free to download; with Mountain Smiling costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | RUNNER | with Mountain Smiling |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | — | 42.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | — |
| Update frequency | — | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.6 GB | 210 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Truant Pixel LLC | Kyohei Yamada |
Customer experience
RUNNER
with Mountain Smiling
In-app purchases
RUNNER
No in-app purchases
with Mountain Smiling
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is RUNNER free?
Is with Mountain Smiling free?
Do RUNNER or with Mountain Smiling have ads?
Other comparisons















