Barely Running: First Impressions of a Hilariously Broken Demo

I'm taking a first look at a brand new demo called Barely Running, and it is easily one of the most bizarre games I have played in a long time.

Right from the moment I booted it up, it gave off heavy vibes of The Long Drive, but with a far more unhinged, dark comedy spin on the formula.

The randomness starts the second you hit the main menu. Every time you spawn in or start a new save, the game throws a completely randomized set of junk and vehicle parts at you.

One run gave me a fairly pristine saloon car, another gave me a motorless bicycle that I could not even steer, and one run spawned a car with a wheelchair wheel in the garage for good measure.

The physical interaction controls are chaotic to say the least. You are constantly fighting with the mouse physics just to attach doors, slap bumpers onto the frame, or pour fuel into the tank without spilling it everywhere.

Once you actually hit the open road, the game gets even crazier. I found an abandoned plane packed with ammo and got chased down by aggressive NPCs.

The driving physics are hilariously sensitive. You barely tap the brakes and the car immediately spins out into a ditch.

My character kept randomly dying of thirst, needing to stop on the side of the road for emergency bathroom breaks, and eventually watching the entire chassis crumble into pieces after hitting a tiny bump.

It is clearly very early in development, but if you love chaotic physics sandboxes, it is definitely worth a watch.

Check out the full demo video below and let me know what you think in the comments!