Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2018
I Hate Running Backwards
Developer Binx Games, Croteam Incubator, Croteam
I Hate Running Backwards is a 2018 shoot 'em up game developed by Binx Interactive and published by Devolver Digital. One or two players traverse procedurally generated levels using several characters, including Sam "Serious" Stone, the protagonist of the Serious Sam series. The screen scrolls vertically as the player character runs backwards through a partially destructible environment and battles enemies… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
141 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Jul 31, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
76
LovedLoved
105 positive · 34 negative
95% range 68–82%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 105 | 34 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
2 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
183 of 245 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 141 · most liked firstTL;DR Yes, buy it - it's worth it. It takes a few tries to get used to it, but once you do, you are hooked. If you are a fan of Serious Sam, this game will not disappoint you. The gameplay is very similar to the other Serious Sam games but from a top-down perspective. The goal? Destroy anything and everything. Notice I didn't say "anything and everything that moves". That's right - you can demolish almost everything in the environment. In fact you are encouraged to, because most of the items…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game if you are looking for couch coop. But the game advertises as both Local Co-op and Co-op (indicating there are 2 different co-op types... Only 2 I know of are local and online) If you are looking for Online co-op, such as i was, you will be let down. I refunded until such a time that they add Online coop. Also I originally saw this game as 4 player. 4 player has been removed from this release. singleplayer and 2 player couch coop only.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game in a way destroyed pax east for me. i noticed this game was going to show up after i flew over to boston and i added it to the list of games i wanted to see while i was there. little did i know that this was effectively the only game i would end up playing. a shmup is the perfect place for a spinoff to a game that is basically a first person shmup. easily the best sam spinoff.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good enough for the first several runs, but soon you'll notice that there is very little variety in gameplay. You have to constantly spin around with your melee weapon to demolish the environments and gain xp points for upgrades. Most weapons are not efficient and most characters are not fun to play. But the worst thing is - it doesn't matter if you are good at aiming/dodging and timing your shots - it takes only 1 mistake and the run is over. I'm talking about situations when you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A perk got named after me which is nice I guess. Seriously this game is really fun, it maybe difficult at first but you will get into it and unlock awesome weapons and characters
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Hate Running Backwards... but that's about the only thing I hate about IHRB.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a fun arcade top down run(albeit in opposition to the usual direction) and gun that's easy to pick up and play with another human being next to you so for a properly low sale price... give it a go why not.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You think Immortal redneck had the Best chat intergration ? this was EPIC. This game is a blast and way more then what meets the eye. Lot of cool mechanics and depth, and just over all a really joy to play. I cant wait to see what else these guys add to this game, its so damn fun.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game set in Serious Sam universe obviously so expect "aaaaa" and some dope one liners. You run and shoot. As simple as it gets you have to worry about ammo and use special attacks reasonably. I was on the edge with this one... at one side it's a good arcade like shooter where you dodge enemies and environmental hazards. From the second side it's a bit tedious and requires a lot of repeating. There's some serious challenge here and I guarantee you will not get through the whole game on one go.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to love this game, but just can't. It has all the elements one would need for a fun top-down arcade shooter, but something went terribly wrong between getting all the pieces and making the game. The principal issue is balance: it took me a good hour playing and re-playing to beat the first boss "Scorpion King"; I got a flawless victory on the second boss "Scrapjack" the first time I got to him. Then there is mind-numbingly frustrating "restart" mechanic. When you die and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The whole running backwards thing becomes normal surprisingly quickly. It's got great music, if you liked what was on offer in Serious Sam, it fits the nature of the game really well. Tons of guns and characters and things to unlock, so for people against permadeath, there is something to carry over.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game but its way too hard I can't even beat the first boss on the "baby" mode included in the game and I generally enjoy harder games but this one has some serious design flaws that make it not a joy to overcome the difficulty. * all of my attention is at the top of my screen as i am going backwards constantly and this feels jarring to stare at the top of my monitor constantly * I don't like running out of ammo on a shoot em up, its not fun to manage such small ammo…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An incredibly fun little shmup with all your favorite Devolver-owned characters! Even though I suck total ass at this genre, I couldn't help but enjoy my time with I Hate Running Backwards. With a little practice, you can overcome the serious onslaught of foes, I didn't find the difficulty curve to be too intense. Make no mistake though, this game'll throw an insane amount of enemies at you. A fun soundtrack, impressive visuals with fully destructive levels and countless little particle…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've tried picking up this game like 2-3 times after buying it but I just can't get into it. The game is somewhat hard but even when I started doing well the gameplay didn't feel very satisfying. If you like endless runners or other more challenging run oriented mobile games you may like this, but this is not for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love running backwards in "I hate running backwards". The game is smooth, fun, explosive and unforgiving. Prepare to die, a lot. score: GITGUD/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Might be fun in co-op, but when on my own this is extremely dull. Enemy spawning is too slow, having to restock ammo seems a bit pointless, spinning to smash obstacles is annoying, movement for the first boss is difficult meaning it's hard to track in between the two streams of gunfire, none of the specials or guns so far are very entertaining. Just overall a massive let-down. Overall this is one of the most disappointing games I've ever bought on Steam. Nothing stands out, about as many…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty good and difficult, worth checking out if you don't mind the randomly generated nature, and the fact that co-op is local only.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WHAT A GAME! Ever feeling frustrated, and want to let that frustration out? Look no further. This is the game for you. Start it, pick a character and let your frustration out on swarms of enemies, simple as that. Want to saw enemies in two? You can! Want to cast IMBA spells? You can! Want to shoot large lazers? You can! Want to make a bull your b****? You can! Want to reflect an incoming rocket barrage? You can! Want to destroy s***ton of buildings? You can! Many different characters to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitely a very good game, if you like arcade shoot em ups then you'll definitely appreciate it. There's so many weapons and characters from other Devolver games to unlock plus there is couch co-op so there's a very great replayability here
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Seriously BLOWN AWAY from how fun this game is. I utilized it on stream and my viewers had fun sending hordes of enemies at me and I was having a blast. This might be my new favorite game to stream. The viewers loved the ability to absolutely destroy me by saving up a lot of enemies and unleashing them all at once. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played this at gamescom 2017, was instantly hooked. This boils all first person arena shooters down into its most primal form, running backwards shooting everything you see, only its not first person anymore. Its a top down rogue lite style with progression being how long you survive against hordes of enemies with guns and a melee spin attack and eventually kill bosses untill you inevitably die. The sound design is on point from the serious sam games and it is glorious. Had a smile bolted on my…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The games chosen art style's first impression does not do it justice. The game is full of frantic action with awesome weapons, characters and sub items. Like any game of it's kind it's punishingly difficult but rewards high skill with great rewards. Base game too easy? Add some modifiers to make it even more difficult. Random missiles from the sky? Added. Acid pools appearing underneath your feet? Do that too and watch your score sky rocket. If you hate a streamer, tell him to play it and then…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not very fun Tried it in 2020 for a bit, did not like it. Tried it again in 2023: Still not very fun. It has potential but needs a lot more polishing. Weapons do not feel powerful
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boombastic! Countless enemies, tons of weapons and infinite hours of fun. The perk system is great, it let you progress the way you want and allows you to upgrade your character like you see fit. Unlocking new weapons also brings something new to every game played. Either you are playing single or co-op, I definitely recommend this game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a phone game, being sold for 15$... It is not fun, you get the same amount of joy from watching the trailers. -3/10 why tf is this on PC
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best Twitch Integration Of All Time. This game is endless amounts of fun! Very Challenging But Very Rewarding. Don't Even Hesitate On Your Purchase.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really fun game, just wish I was better at it and had friends.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Must buy! This game will provide you a lot of fun and stress at the same time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →run backward game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Hate Running Backwards is a fun and addictive run & gun with procedural generation and rogue-like elements. It features characters from Devolver published games like Richard from Hotline Miami, Lo Wang from the Shadow Warrior reboot, The Bullet from Enter The Gungeon... the main hero being Serious Sam himself, which is the only character that has voice acting. Actually, most of the game is based upon the Serious Sam series, taking weapons, enemies, sounds, music, theme and locations from…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Much hurt, much fun!!! And I just can't stop running backwards, ffs!!!!! IF you love streaming, then this is the game for you. Watched some streams and Twitch integration is sick with watchers spamming enemies for streamers. I haven't tried Co-Op yet, but I will since they mentioned you can play with people online with Parsec. Some streamers even played Twitch mode with Parsec and no visible lag or problems. Very fun game with some of iconic Serious Sam enemies and also iconic characters from…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →www.mkaugaming.com Croteam have come together with Binx Interactive to give you a crazy infinite runner. If you are not familiar with Croteam, they are the team behind Serious Sam, bringing Serious Sam and plenty of experience in the industry to this joint project with Binx. The game itself is an infinite runner, with stages shown by a progress bar at top centre of the screen. At the end of each stage you get a choice of perks to make you stronger in the battle of running backwards. The name…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great game! 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You might think running backwards might not sound bad on paper, I think it kinda does but when done right it might have been interesting. It is terrible after all. Quite simply. Funny thing is that it introduces 3 characters from excellent games: Hotline Miami, Enter the Dungeon and Nuclear Throne. All top-down games. Nuclear Throne itself is excellent in the roguelike genre. Then we have this: A game with Serious Sam mobs who runs backwards. The environment is important but not that radically.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I thought as god awful as serious sam 1-3 are, this might be some fun since I liked the other spinoff games DDXL and Bogus Detour. Turns out it just sucks balls, imagine that. This is a game that is way harder than it needs to be. They could have left it at running backwards and being swarmed by enemies, but try doing that while also dodging traps and rocket towers. You also run out of ammo way too quickly and trying to get to ammo boxes while being over run with enemies is hard enough, but add…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Why doesn't he just turn around?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →> playing for 5 hours > getting kinda good at it > got that one secondary weapon which kicks a** > killed a bunch of everything - got really far > sudden onslaught of kamikaze > spam secondary get lost in the vfx > got stuck on a wall > siriran werebull makes a smoothie from me > throw controller in wall such passion, 11/10 would destroy hardware because of this game again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is simple and fun! A fun game for sp and coop gamers! Buy this game if you're looking for a new coop game. For everyone else wait for a sale! Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgEUEJeXr0E
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not fun at all, not worth the money. If like me, you are tempted because you love Enter the Gungeon and Nuclear Throne, well you probably won't like this one either.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a really cool idea! Nice graphics, soundtrack and much fun to play this game. I think this is the best indie game in the universe of Serious Sam!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love "I hate running backwards" because i love how they hate running backwards while still loving to hate running backwards.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played this game on Gplay Gaming WKND Sofia, and the game is AWESOME!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excellent game. I would recommend playing co-op with controllers.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's really fun, but it is hard as balls!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very quick game to get into and play a couple of rounds when you have some free time. The stages get frantic quickly, the arsenal you get is quite varied and interesting, so there are always new and fun ways to get rid of the enemy swarms.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You Need to be Playing This Game Rather watch than read? Me too: https://youtu.be/J3B9i5h9cWQ So I Hate Running Backwards is an insanely chaotic roguelike full of off-the-wall weapons and powerups that never gives you a chance to take a breath before it throws more and more at you. The game is EXCEEDINGLY fast paced and never slows down once your run starts. You are given 2 main weapons as well as a special third weapon that has limited ammo. The main weapons are what you'd think: Miniguns,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a really fun game to play. It brigns back childhood memories.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is great, fast paced and challenging and a blast to play with a friend. Developers are friendly and they communicate with it's fanbase on IHRB discord channel. Updates are frequent!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a huge Croteam fan boy, i confess i bought this game kinda blindly, knowing it had serious sam messy action vibes, but havent a clue about the gameplay. And what a good surprise. The gameplay is quickly understood and you'll find yourself wanting to play once more, each time you loose the game. About the gameplay itself, it is difficult for me to compare to it to something. The screen is moving downwards and loads of ennemies will come to you from the bottom of the screen, while obstacles,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Crazy. Insane. Pure Madness. This is the best Serious Sam spin off game as of yet. Incredibly hard, but fun. And if you can get enough viewers on your stream, Twitch integration is a blast. I'm having a lot of fun improving over time and learning how to overcome each challenge.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Would run through the jungle shooting at charging baddies, dodging lasers, sidestepping werebulls, knocking back missiles at huge bosses while spinning like a madman again. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Brilliant game with countless enemies and billions hours of fun. I would say the way to go is grabbing a cold one with a friend and crashing the couch while you spent hours and hours in game but single player is fun as well so just buy the game and enjoy this work of art. :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a write a review for this game, trying to be completely honest. Here goes: Graphics: - graphics are very good, very 'tunable in options, but the art style is not my preffered one (blocky characters, cartoony shaders etc.. ). Effects are really nice, composed out of many smaller effects to grant big ones (which looks very nice). The only con i have is the collisions polygons (which are technical but a good eye can see them), sometimes a thing hits you or kills you without even touching you…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you love Serious Sam, but hate running backwards, you will love this game. The perks and powerups are fun as is the fast pace and replayability. Do yourself a favor and pick this up today!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's very repetitive and feels more like a minigame than a full-fledged game like any of the other titles it references.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I hate running backwards too mate
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Hate Running Backwards is a really badly made 2D top down low poly arcade shoot'em up with a fricken massive world changing difference... instead of shoot 'em uping upwards, the game scrolls up but you shoot downwards. What a time to be alive. Yeah these guys thought inverting a basic Unity shmup template would turn them into game developers, regardless of how many (presumably asset flipped) low poly assets they shoved into their terrible Galaga ripoff. You can't make this up, this is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Imagine running forward lol
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a good game, and it is hard. Have you ever played Serious Sam on serious? Even if you don't, you can play this one too, but don't be a whiner just like the others negative reviews before you understand the concept of this game. It is a rogue-like game, which means: you die, you start over. All over. This is what a rogue-like game is. You need to play several times to get good and unlock permanent things, like characters and weapons. I had no issues with gameplay or optimization,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's too repetitive and is fun only on the first hours.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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