Hold to rise, let go to fall: a one-touch neon flying game
Pulse Runner is a neon arcade game you play with one finger. Hold anywhere and your ship climbs; let go and it falls. Fly twenty levels that get faster and tighter, then see how far you get in Endless mode. It plays offline, with no account.
Free on Google Play for Android 7.0 or newer. The game shows ads; a one-time purchase removes every ad you did not ask for.
What you get
- One-touch controlHold anywhere on the screen to climb, let go to fall. There is no other button.
- 20 levels, Easy to NightmareEach level is faster than the last, and its gaps are narrower.
- Six kinds of obstaclesWalls, teeth, combs, spinning saws, sliding gaps and narrow slots join level by level.
- Same course every tryNothing is random once a level starts, so a level you keep failing is one you can learn.
- Endless modeNo finish line: the world speeds up until it reaches its top pace. Your furthest run is kept.
- Plays offlineEvery level and Endless mode work without an internet connection.
- No accountNo sign-up, no email; your progress stays on your phone. Google Play Games is optional: 12 achievements and an Endless leaderboard.
- No subscriptionFree with ads. A one-time purchase removes every ad you did not ask for.
How to play
- Tap Fly on the home screen to start your next level, or choose one under Levels. Nothing moves until you first touch the screen.
- Hold anywhere on the screen to climb and let go to fall. The ship takes a split second to reach full climb, so start rising a little early.
- Fly through the gap in each obstacle. Touching anything ends the run, and that includes the neon rails at the top and bottom of the lane.
- Reach the finish line to clear the level and open the next one. If you crash, Try again puts you back on the same course, and once per run Keep flying lets you watch a short ad to carry on from where you crashed.
Twenty levels and Endless mode
- Levels 1-3 are Easy, 4-6 Normal, 7-8 Hard, 9-15 Extreme and 16-20 Nightmare. Each level is faster than the one before, and its gaps are narrower.
- Walls and teeth are there from Level 1. Combs join at Level 3, spinning saws at Level 5, sliding gaps at Level 7 and narrow slots at Level 9. From Level 11 all six come at you from the start, closer together and on longer courses.
- Your best percentage on each level is kept, so you can see how close you are to the finish.
- Endless has no finish line and a new course every run. It speeds up and tightens until it reaches its top pace, and your furthest run is kept. With the optional Google Play Games, it also goes on the Furthest Flight leaderboard.
Questions people ask
How do you play Pulse Runner?
Hold anywhere on the screen and the ship climbs; let go and it falls. Steer it through the gap in each obstacle without touching anything, the neon rails at the top and bottom included, and reach the finish line to clear the level. Clearing a level unlocks the next one.
How many levels are there?
Twenty, in five steps: Levels 1-3 are Easy, 4-6 Normal, 7-8 Hard, 9-15 Extreme and 16-20 Nightmare. Each one is faster with narrower gaps, and new obstacles join along the way; from Level 11 all six kinds come closer together on longer courses. Endless mode comes on top of the twenty levels.
Is a level the same every time I play it?
Yes. Each level is built from its own fixed seed and nothing is random once you take off, so a level is the same on every attempt and for every player. Endless mode is the exception: it lays out a new course every run.
Any tips for a level I keep failing?
Use your crashes to learn the course, since it never changes; your best percentage shows how far you have got. Start climbing a little before a gap, because the ship needs a split second to reach full climb. Short taps make small corrections and long holds make big climbs, and the rails at the edges count as obstacles too.
Is Pulse Runner free?
Yes. The game is free and paid for by ads: a banner on the home screen and on the end-of-run card, and an occasional full-screen ad when you tap a button to move on from a finished run (never two within 45 seconds). No ad plays while you are flying. There is no subscription, energy system or loot box.
How do I remove the ads?
Settings has a one-time Remove ads purchase; it is not a subscription. It removes the banners and the full-screen ads for good. The optional Keep flying ad stays available and plays only when you tap it.
Does it work offline?
Yes. All twenty levels and Endless mode play without an internet connection, in airplane mode too. The internet is used only for the ads (served through Google AdMob), Google Play (the purchase, updates and the optional Play Games) and the usage statistics and crash reports sent to Google's Firebase. Offline there are no ads, so the Keep flying second chance is not offered either.
Is my progress saved? Will it move to a new phone?
Your cleared levels, your best on each level and your furthest Endless run are saved on the phone itself. Android backup is turned off for this game, so progress is not copied to Google Drive or to a new phone, and uninstalling deletes it: on a new phone you start again from Level 1. A Remove ads purchase is not lost, because Google Play restores it on the same Google account.
Do I need an account? What data does it collect?
No account is needed. The only sign-in is the optional Google Play Games one, for achievements and leaderboards; nothing else in the game needs it. Your runs and progress are never sent anywhere, except the achievements and leaderboard scores that go to Google if you sign in to Play Games. What does leave the phone is the data Google's ads collect and the usage statistics and crash reports sent through Firebase, which carry no name or email; the privacy policy lists all of it.
Which languages is the game in?
The game itself is in English and Turkish. It follows your phone's language, and Settings lets you switch.
Can I play on a tablet?
Yes. Pulse Runner runs on Android tablets and plays in portrait there, just as on a phone; it has no landscape layout.
Which phones does it run on? Is there an iPhone version?
Any phone with Android 7.0 or newer. Pulse Runner is an Android game only; there is no iPhone, iPad or web version.
Pulse Runner