Run 3 Characters: Who to Unlock and What Each One Is For

Run 3 starts you as the Runner, and the Runner is fine: average speed, average jump, no tricks. Every other character trades something away to be better at one thing, and the level map is built so that several branches are only passable with the right trade.

The Skater is the first unlock and the one most players use most. He is faster than everyone, which turns long gaps into short ones, and his slide lets him duck under low obstacles. The cost is control: he is harder to stop on a small platform. The Lizard jumps higher and hangs longer, which is what the vertical levels want. The Child has a weak jump but can jump again in the air, and there are gaps on the map that only a double-jump crosses.

The Bunny is the fastest of all and jumps automatically, which sounds like a gimmick until you find the levels designed for it. The Duplicator, the Pastafarian, the Gentleman and the others each have a similar single trick, and the story tunnels introduce them one by one.

Power cells pay for all of this. They sit in levels, they are worth collecting on the way through, and Infinite mode is the fastest place to farm them if a character is just out of reach. A sensible order is Skater, Lizard, Child, then whichever the map is asking for.