Update | First it was Snowden, the movie - now you can play the video game

Fleeing through the dark corridors of NSA Headquarters, snatching up green USB sticks while a secret agent chases your heels...This is the gripping story of Edward Snowden - or at least the video game version. 

Currently available as a free download for both Android phones and computers, Snowden Run 3D is a satirical game produced by Belgian computer scientist Michele Rocco Smeets. Originally intended as an entry for Ludum Dare, a contest that challenges creators to code a playable game within 48 hours, Snowden Run 3D was developed by Smeets in less than 30 hours. It is an “endless runner” game, with a constantly moving playable character, and is similar to popular mobile favourites Temple Run and Subway Surfers. It was originally released to the public on 19 July.

In the game, players control Snowden as he runs through three different locations: the NSA Headquarters, Hong Kong and Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport. Snowden can be controlled with finger swipes (or mouse movements, in the computer version) to jump and slide his way through various obstacles in the environment, picking up USB sticks and laptops along the way. If Snowden collides with any of the obstacles, he runs the risk of losing the game and being sent to Guantanamo Bay by an NSA agent constantly running a few steps behind him.

There are also a few power-up items in the game, including an option to call Russian President Vladmir Putin – referred to affectionately as “Uncle Putin”. If the player calls Putin, a USSR hydrogen bomb will temporarily clear all obstacles from Snowden’s path.

The game, which features an aggressive soundtrack with songs by Peruvian-American rapper Immortal Technique, has a lot of bugs, but Smeets told the South China Morning Post in an e-mail exchange that player response had been positive so far.