It follows protagonists Brian Basco and Gina Timmins as they retell events from Runaway: A Road Adventure (2001) to a film producer interested in their life story.

[2] Alongside its object-hunt gameplay, Hidden Runaway features optional minigame puzzle sequences, such as matching musical notes, piecing together a ripped ticket or playing a variant of Whac-A-Mole.

[1] It is set after that game's events: protagonists Brian Basco and Gina Timmins have since fallen out with each other, but have been reunited by a film producer to recount their life story for the script of his new feature.

[9] According to writer Josué Monchan, both projects came at a difficult time for Pendulo, as the commercial failure of The Next Big Thing and ultimately Yesterday alienated publishers and made funding hard to obtain.

In 2012, he called hidden object games "very attractive for us" going forward, as they were similar to Pendulo's existing work but at a smaller scale and with different expectations from buyers.

Hernáez said that Hidden Runaway would be the first of several casual titles intended as lighthearted counterparts to the studio's darker Yesterday and Day One.

[20] Hernández and Fontanet-Bel both enjoyed the gameplay, and, like Jeuxvideo.com's writer, felt that Hidden Runaway effectively translated Pendulo Studios' style to a touch-controlled casual format.

[3] Fontanet-Bel concluded his review by calling Hidden Runaway an encouraging sign for Pendulo's future on iOS,[2] but Hernández went further, arguing that it "once again highlights the enormous potential of smartphones and tablets when it comes to embracing graphic adventures".

[15] Combined with the poor performances of The Next Big Thing and Yesterday, and the failed crowdfunding campaign of Day One, Hidden Runaway contributed to Pendulo's financial decline.

[10] After its release, the company entered a multi-year period in which it launched no original games,[10][21][22] and instead ported its back catalog to iOS in an attempt to survive.