Fri Oct 17 2025
Thank you for playing! This update contains many stability and performance improvements.
Populus Run is quite possibly the most joyful and bizarre runner I've ever played. Instead of the typical 'lone hero' trope, managing a giant, wobbling crowd of people through a world made of fast food is pure comedic genius. The physics of the crowd—how they stumble, regroup, and occasionally get flattened by a giant macaroon—is both technically impressive and hilarious to watch.
The levels are beautifully designed, with a vivid color palette that makes every frame look like a candy store. The boss fights are a standout feature, requiring you to sacrifice members of your crowd to trigger mechanics, which adds a surprisingly dark but funny tactical layer to the game. It’s a perfect example of how to take a well-worn genre like the 'endless runner' and turn it into something completely fresh and character-driven.
Innovative crowd controls
Bizarre and colorful food world
Original upbeat soundtrack
Hardcore mode for expert runners
Swipe to move your group left and right. When you run into other people, they join your crowd. Avoid obstacles—hitting a giant hamburger will knock out some of your runners. Try to reach the end with at least one person to pass the level!
Each world ends with a massive food-themed boss, like a giant pizza or a rampaging soda bottle. Use your entire crowd to trigger switches and defeat the bosses. Look for 'Secret Runners' hidden in each level to add unique characters to your permanent roster.
No, it features hand-crafted levels with specific start and end points, as well as distinct boss fights.
This Game Is Fun And Very Awesome, But… Can You Add More New Levels? Please? I Beat The Game And I Was Wondering, Are You Ever Going To Make More New Levels In The Future? If You Do That, I Will Be Super Super Excited! But If You Don’t Feel Like It, Then That’s Ok, Or You Can Make A New Game That Is Called Populus Run 2! But If You Also Don’t Feel Like It, Then That’s Ok.
Populus Run has some of the best designs that I’ve ever seen in the App Store. I loved the gameplay, and I loved the “sugar free” theme. But here are some problems. I don’t know how to set difficulties on the levels! How do you set it to hardcore mode!? How do you bring it back!? I really wish there was a setting where we could set it to the difficulties would really be great. Another problem is that I don’t know what special features the full version has. I don’t seem to see anything different from the free version. It looks like that was what I got from spending four dollars on this. No new levels. One more is that the boss fights are so laggy. Maybe I used up a lot of my space and it might get laggy. But I’m not going to leave it out. Overall, I think the game could be better than three stars, but I like it. Controls: 8/10 Graphics: 10/10 Theme: 8/10 Details: 6/10 Design: 9/10 Music: 77% Good effects Fine bosses
I am happy I got to meet this game in Apple Arcade. I like the sound design very much. Some levels seem hard to achieve but practice makes perfect. I hope you make an Arcade comeback at some point with fresh and new games. Best of luck on your journey!
Populus Run is incredibly well designed across all aspects, including interaction, gameplay, haptics, music, 3D environments, and more. Just look at the level selector! This game was a standout Apple Arcade Original, and it’s now available for direct purchase on the App Store.
Populus run is just the best game I don’t even know how to explain it because of how good it is I don’t even care that I have to pay for most of the game I like doing levels over and over again I only got this game 3 days ago but it is the best game ever😉
I pre ordered this game and I probably was one of the first to play it. Never-mind that though, the music is fire and the gameplay is pretty fun. I love that you can add a controller to play because it makes it easier to play and control. If your reading this review, then you should probably get this game!
So I already got the ripe avocado and it’s really fun and I’m trying to figure out how to play and stuff but I’ll give it a five out of five stars so if you play it download it I think there’s in app purchases so yeah so it’s really fun
Beat the whole game & it was great but was missing 2 achievements due to glitches. The game also started to lag, stutter & overheat my phone after about 15 minutes of play time. Still recommend but beware of these issues.










Produced alongside our friends at PocketGamer.fun - THE place to discover your next favourite mobile games - here's our pick of the best...
Pocket Gamer.biz Tue Sep 24 2024
Populus Run, the formerly Apple Arcade-exclusive game where you control a crowd of people as you race along through levels, is coming to Android and the iOS...
Pocket Gamer Tue Sep 24 2024
Developer FIFTYTWO is bringing this unique take on the endless runner in which you collect and lose a group of runners on your way through...
Shacknews Wed Feb 24 2021
Watch out for massive falling cupcakes in FiftyTwo's new game.
CNET Wed Feb 24 2021
In this unconventional running game, players control a group of people confronting crazy obstacles with the objective of finishing the course with at least one...
iMore Wed Feb 24 2021
Populus Run involves guiding a group of people past gigantic fast food. Plus there are rap battles. Because games.
Cult of Mac Wed Feb 24 2021
As you'll likely have already guessed from the name, Populus Run is an upcoming endless runner from FIFTYTWO that's heading for Apple Arcade...
Pocket Gamer Wed Feb 24 2021