If you have ever played Temple run or Subway Surfers, then you will enjoy Kanairo 101.
This is a game that had some thought, time and effort was put into and it shows.
The scene/environment is set up in the busy Nairobi CBD and you can see and feel it while playing. Streets are filled with hawker stalls with the Nairobi skyline in the horizon, there are handcart pushers aimlessly crossing the road and loud matatus with touts hanging on the doors trying to finish you off.
More than that there are also the notorious Nairobi motorcyclists who appear from nowhere and almost knock you down while on your run, it really is survival for the vigilant. The game is quite balanced; it is difficult but playable.
Instead of collecting coins, you eat Nairobi street food on the move like roasted maize, smocha and fruits such as Avocado to increase your score, you have to keep running and get away from the Kanjo (County Council Security) successfully, if he catches you, the chubby man does a very cynical but cool dance.
To play, you swipe up to jump, swipe down to slide, left to move left and right to move right. When you swipe left or right, the character does some really cool Kungfu movements while moving.
The music used in the game is very nice and catchy, it’s a beat you would listen to on your normal commute to work in a matatu.
You get various characters with different attributes to choose from as your player of choice in the game, from Mtush-man who is the default character and a second hands clothes seller to Odie who seems like the ultimate character in the game. In normal Nairobi daily life Odie would also be the guy who really knows his way around the streets of Nairobi, a true hustler. There are 13 characters to choose from in total.
The characters can dance really well, just like your normal Nairobi city dweller.
This is a game that you can play while chilled out at home or while on a long commute, if you need a distraction from busy surroundings then it also comes in handy. It is that anytime is game time kind of game. I have had it for two months now and it was worth the install.
Besides the usual video ads that almost every mobile game has, this is a game that you can recommend to friends willingly.
