| Runaway: A Road Adventure | |
|---|---|
 Original Spanish box | |
| Developer(s) | Pendulo Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Dinamic Multimedia FX Interactive Tri Synergy (North America) |
| Composer(s) | David García-Morales |
| Series | Runaway |
| Engine | Hollywood Monsters engine |
| Platform(s) | Windows, iOS (re-issue) |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Graphic adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Runaway: A Road Adventure is a 2001 graphic adventure game developed by the Spanish company Pendulo Studios and published by Dinamic Multimedia. It follows the story of Brian Basco, an American college student on the run after he unwittingly saves a murder witness named Gina Timmins from assassination by the New York Mafia. Searching for clues about a mysterious crucifix linked to the murder, Brian and Gina embark on a cross-country journey through the United States while pursued by two Mafia hitmen. The player assumes the role of Brian and explores the game world while collecting items, solving puzzles and conversing with non-player characters.
Inspired by the road movie genre and films such as Pulp Fiction and Raising Arizona, Pendulo Studios began Runaway in 1998. The team abandoned the nonlinear and parodical nature of its previous title, Hollywood Monsters, in favor of a more straightforward and adult-oriented approach that blended humor with drama. Runaway initially featured hand-drawn 2D graphics; production problems necessitated a switch, one year into development, to pre-rendered 3D characters with toon shading. The change caused major delays, exacerbated by a shortage of qualified character animators in Spain: the country's recovering game industry had a limited talent pool. Runaway's small core team of nine members was supported by part-timers and freelancers during development.
Runaway was highly anticipated in Spain, and it won awards and positive reviews upon its July 2001 release. Early domestic sales were strong, but Runaway's distribution and international debut were scuttled when Dinamic Multimedia closed that September. Forced to downsize in response, Pendulo fought for roughly one year to buy back Runaway's rights; the developer finally secured global publishing deals during 2002 and 2003. DTP Entertainment and Focus Home Interactive had significant success with Runaway in Germany and France, respectively, and the game sold 600,000 units across Europe by 2006. Runaway was well-received by German publications such as PC Games, and a panel of journalists and industry figures in France named it one of 2003's best titles. Reviews in the United States were mixed.
As Pendulo's first international hit, Runaway financially revitalized its developer. Pendulo built on the game's design and visual style in future projects, and became Spain's longest-running game developer by 2019. Although adventure games were in decline before Runaway's global release, publications in Germany, France and Spain reported that the game helped to reenergize its genre. Runaway has been named one of the best Spanish games and best adventure games of all time, but also cited as a polarizing title; in Germany, it inspired the popular term "Runaway Syndrome" to denote poor adventure game design. The game spawned two sequels—Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle (2006) and Runaway: A Twist of Fate (2009)—and formed a series that sold over 1.5 million units worldwide by 2010. Hidden Runaway, a spin-off, followed in 2012.