Animation is something we sort of take for granted in games, these days. Most of it is now pretty good, but do you remember a time in PlayStation's history when even a simple run animation was laughable? We certainly do. Not everyone can be Naughty Dog, but that's the beauty of it; games old and new have wildly different animation, some of it brilliant, and some of it hilarious.
We've gathered a small collection of some of our favourite running animations, both good and bad. Ready? Go!
Gabe Logan - Syphon Filter
An oldie, but a goodie. Gabe's wobbly saunter looks like all the parts of his body are moving independently. How he gets any spying done in that state is anyone's guess, but if it works for Gabe, it works for us.
Wander - Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus is one of PlayStation's greatest games, but let's not pretend that everything is perfect. As with Ueda's other titles, Wander has a clumsiness about his animations, and it looks as though he's struggling with the simple act of running in a straight line in the above GIF.
Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
This running animation is up there with the best. Extremely smooth and very natural looking, Snake's run is some sterling work. What a trooper.
Tanner - Driver 3
Driver 3 - or Driv3r, if you're an arse - was the first Driver title to go open world, in a doomed attempt to compete with Grand Theft Auto. The cars handled well, but as soon as Tanner steps out of his vehicle, things start to fall apart. Just look at this crab-walking mess.
The Joker - Batman: Arkham Asylum
The Joker's challenge maps in Arkham Asylum offered an entirely different way to play, but one of the best things about them was the chance to see the villainous clown's animation up close. It's full of personality - goofy, over the top, and the polar opposite to Batman's serious strides.
Voldo - Any SoulCalibur
Just look at him, guys.
Ghost - Enter the Matrix
Both playable characters are poorly animated, to be honest, but Ghost's robotic run is atrocious and hilarious. Come on now, no one runs like this.
Nathan Drake - Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
One of the best animated characters in gaming, Drake's convincing jog is expertly done. It's smooth, believable, and realistic - much like the rest of the game's fantastic animation.
And there you have it - a few of our favourite running animations, whether so-bad-it's-good, or genuinely impressive. Are there any you think deserve a mention? Do you recall a particularly bad run? Race to the comments and let us know.
Comments 30
Solid Snake and Nathan Drake has best running/jogging animations ever i seen
Yeah the animation in Uncharted is unreal. I remember seeing Drake put his hand on a nearby wall in Uncharted 2 and my mind was blown.
I absolutely loved And appreciated Snakes running animation. The weight, movement, and speed really stuck out as top notch. Dude had some track speed.
Some good runs there. Glad you included Gabe. Snakes is great in MGS5 but kinda weird when sprinting?
Max Payne runs around like he's on ice:
Fully redeemed in 3 though. Which is nice, it was a story of redemption after all.
VOLDO WINS - FLAWLESS VICTORY
I'll have to say that the animation in Infamous Second Son is pretty good too...at least the characters blink in more than 1 minute of no eye movement. Also, even though the game wasn't rated top, The Order has some really good animation in it too. Also, Ratchet And Clank Future on the PS3 was rated as great Pixar-style animation. If we're going into bad animation though, just look at the game on Dreamcast called CARRIER. The mouths continue to move and never go with the voices at all!
My favorite is the main lady in mass effect Andromeda. I can't be bothered to remember her name.
I'm surprised Andromeda wasn't in the mix. Some of the animation in that game was great for memes.
Havent played FIFA since the 2017 demo but I always(in the more recent versions to be exact) hated parts of how the players run, kind of difficult to explain maybe I'll download a FIFA demo again so I can explain myself better
2B all the way.
Now I wanna play MGSV again.
@Th3solution truth
It's not a realistic animation, but I really enjoy the running animation of your character in Monster Hunter World.
The awesome, flowing armour sets in Bloodborne make for some fabulous running animations too.
@Kidfried I remember enjoying Enter the Matrix at the time, but looking back, it was pretty bad
@Quintumply I loved Enter the Matrix but tried to replay a few months ago when I was messing around with my wii and boy oh boy was it not as good as I remember. I could not work out the camera at all.
Animating running is one of the more aggravating things. I really don't enjoy it.
But watching a team comprised of experts both fail and succeed at it makes a single person not feel so bad.
@kyleforrester87 And if we’re talking just walking animations, no one can get close to 2B. Greatest walking animation of all time, hands down.
Cora from Andromeda when compared next to the walking gorilla/Connor McGregor cocky ring walk had me in stitches when it came out.
"Solid Snake - Metal Gear Solid V"
You did that on purpose, didn't you?
Gabe logan from syphon filter has the best run in video game history.word up son.and its the best ps1 games ever.worddd uppp sonnn
@porhawj2016 nope .gabe logan from syphon filter is the best.word up son
@Neolit @kyleforrester87 gabe logan syphon filter has the best running ever.word up son
@kyleforrester87 max payne 3 one of the best game ever.best run ever is gabe logan from syphon filter word up son
@ShogunRok gabe logan is the best.from syphon filter.word up son
That's a very good idea! And great job on the gifs too! I'd like to add Tomb Raider and Resident Evil(the eariler, PS1 era). Remeber how the characters seemed to "walk" when you wanted to turn left/right? Tank controls FTW!!
@Grim-Tuesday
@Th3solution Yeah, this. I think it's the only game where the act running itself is fun.
@PS_Nation
The best running animation will always be Impossible Mission on the C64 and as you can play it on PS3 and Vita, it is a valid entry for this article.
FFXV's isn't bad
IF we’re talking RUNNING animations it’s criminal that Sonic isn’t on this list.
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