Voodoo is a well-known casual game maker that creates titles for Android and iOS devices alike, such as Helix Jump, Paper.io 3D, Spiral Roll, and various games with the -.io extension. Their latest title for both mobile platforms is Stair Run, and we can tell you that it is an endless runner where your goal is to complete as many stages as possible, score as many points per stage, and earn as many coins as you could while avoiding the obstacles.
Indeed, that’s all it says in the game’s bare-bones description — “try to pass over the obstacles!” Likewise, the change log for updates is similarly succinct, with most entries simply specifying bug fixes.
Laconic description aside, Stair Run is quite an addictive title that is quite easy to learn. But as they usually say in games of this kind, it is also hard to master, and that’s why we believe it’s still a good idea to create a guide for games like these. If you’re trying to earn more coins and complete more levels in this game, do check out this Stair Run guide, where we shall discuss some tips and tricks that could lead you on the path to mastery.
1. The Basics Of Stair Run
As we had mentioned above, Voodoo does not go into any kind of detail when describing Stair Run. It only mentions that you need to get past the obstacles, and the game does not come with any sort of tutorial or instructions. But it shouldn’t take you too long to get the hang of how it works — your objective is to complete the stages by collecting stairs and using them to pass the various obstacles. Get more stairs on the various platforms, then tap in order to move upward by creating staircases with the stairs you’ve collected.
In other words, keep tapping if you want to move up, and let your finger go from your phone’s screen if you want to move down. If you run out of stairs, you will automatically move downward, and if you bump into an obstacle, say, the front of one of the platforms, you will lose some stairs and resume your run at the middle of the platform, thus preventing you from collecting quite a few stairs. You’ll want to avoid this ripple effect if you want to have enough stairs to make it to the end of the stage.
During the course of most stages, you will be able to collect some gold coins, and when it comes to the points you can score, you will need to make it as close as possible to the topmost platform — usually, these are numbered from 1 for the lowest platform and could reach close to 40 platforms at the end, and if you make it to the top platform, you will automatically earn 50 coins (from the prize chest) and get the highest possible score.
If you run out of stairs along the way, you could potentially lose the level if you bump into too many obstacles, though you need not worry if that happens. You have infinite chances to complete the stages in the game, and if you find a certain stage too hard, you can watch an ad video in order to skip it. All in all, it’s pretty straightforward and uncomplicated, though without the benefit of a tutorial, some basic instructions, and of course, this guide, you may need to repeat the first few levels quite a few times before you figure it out.
2. Coins Are Only Secondary To Completing The Stages
Given how coins are the only type of currency available in the game, you may be tempted to go grab them once you see them in the air, either above, below, or between platforms. However, collecting coins should only be your secondary focus, especially if you’re able to figure out the level and find a way to make it to the topmost, highest-numbered platform at the end. It’s more important to determine if there are any platforms above you where you can collect a ton of stairs, or a way for you to fly off a platform and create staircases that would take you to the top and give you the highest possible score and the 50 coins that are in the chest.
Also worth noting is the fact that some levels don’t even have any coins aside from the ones toward the end on each of the numbered steps or platforms. But at the end of the day, there aren’t any special items you can purchase with your coins. No, not even new characters, new platforms, or new backgrounds — these staples of casual games that add to the aesthetics but don’t really change the gameplay aren’t present at the moment.
We’re not sure whether Voodoo has any plans to launch an in-game store — the game doesn’t say anything in the description about this either — but for now, coins are mainly there as a secondary way to evaluate your performance in the game so far. (We say performance in the game because you won’t be informed how many coins you earned in a specific level — just your cumulative total across all levels, failed or not.)
3. Tap Quickly When Trying To Overcome Tough Obstacles
Although it’s possible to avoid these big obstacles — or several small objects that come one after the other — by focusing on the high platforms and thinking of how you can reach the topmost step in the final part of the stage, there are times when you may need to overcome some rather difficult obstacles like the ones we described above. During such situations, it’s best to tap as quickly as possible, creating small staircases that allow you to avoid bumping into the obstacles.
If you see a higher platform that you can climb, you can tap even quicker, but be careful, as your character’s head might hit the bottom of the platform, which, as you should know by now, would result in you losing some stairs or failing to collect all of the stairs in the target platform.
4. Other Tips For Scoring More Points And Earning More Coins
During certain stages in Stair Run, you will notice that there are some trampolines that would help you reach those higher platforms easier. At least that’s how it is in principle, but based on our experience playing the game so far, it is rather difficult to reach those trampolines and land on them in such a way that you could make the most out of them. You’re better off using your stairs to move upward rather than trying to jump off the trampolines.
We’ve also noticed that it’s sometimes easier to climb the steps near the end of the stages by quickly tapping (as mentioned earlier) to create staircases rather than trying to go off a high platform, then tapping as you go along in order to gain enough altitude so you can land on the topmost step. Both strategies may work better than the other in different situations, but in most cases, the safest way to go about things is to do the quick tapping routine while near the final set of steps. Certain steps have some coins slightly above them, and they also seem to help your character move up at a faster pace, so that’s something else to consider.
Aside from the fact that Stair Run is an endless runner with an unlimited number of levels, we’ve noticed that each of the levels are procedurally generated, but not to the point that they regenerate when you retry the level. And it appears that later stages aren’t any more difficult or easier to complete than the earlier ones — with everything randomized, level 85, for instance, may be very easy to go through and may give you a good opportunity to get the 50-coin chest at the end, level 86 may considerably harder, and level 87 may get easier once again. Different players will have different experiences per level, is what we’re trying to say here.
The stairs will always be the same color in any given stage — if you see gold stairs in a certain stage then see small red pieces on a certain platform, those are obstacles and not stairs, and you will want to avoid them if you don’t want to be tripped up and lose some stairs in the process!
We’re not sure if this is a bug, but it is possible to see that you’ve gotten 100 percent completion in a level, only for you to ultimately fail because you weren’t able to even reach the first step in the final obstacle before the end of a stage. That should probably be a foregone conclusion, but we still find it strange that it would say “100 percent” instead of “99 percent” during such situations.
Last, but not the least, it’s best not to pressure yourself at every stage to reach the highest step so you can get the prize chest! Again, there’s no in-game store where you can get stuff with the coins you’ve earned, so it’s all about bragging rights among your friends, or possibly trying to beat your high score per stage. That is, if you can remember the high score — the game also does not include that at the top of the screen as most casual games do!
There you have it! These would be all the tips and tricks we have gathered for Voodoo’s endless runner Stair Run. If you have come across additional tips for the game, feel free to drop us a line in the comments!
Temmy
Wednesday 28th of October 2020
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