Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on February 2014
There’s more to mobile gaming than Candy Crush. If you’ve got more than ten minutes on your daily train trip, then you have plenty of time play the new crop of tablet and phone diversions. Our commuter gamer chooses three of his favorites.
Icycle: On Thin Ice
Damp Gnat Studios, ¥100
(iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch)
Are you cold? Do you feel a little chilly in Tokyo’s brisk winter weather? Well, allow me to put things in perspective for you. Icycle stars Dennis, an unfortunate man on an unfortunate mission. His quest? To cycle across a frozen tundra on a kiddie bike wearing nothing but a wool hat and a worried expression, seeking his frosty love.
Damp Gnat Studios’ clean, vectored design and Monty Python-esque humor bring poor Dennis’ struggle to life as he pedals his way squeakily across each cleverly designed and perilous situation. The world has now been covered in a thick layer of ice, providing unique and thrilling platform elements while almost appearing alive and organic themselves. The unique levels, the bizarreness of Dennis’ quest and the brilliant yet minimalist sound design make this a no-brainer insta-buy. Though the levels are few (twenty, plus two bonus levels) the replayability is sizable, with three additional missions that vary per level and a host of collectables and upgrades to find, this is a game well suited to quick bursts of gameplay while offering a bright level of simple humor that will cheer anyone’s mood.
Badland
Frogmind, ¥400
(iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, BlackBerry, Android)
Apple’s Game of The Year 2013 for iPad, Badland can be summed up in three words: entertaining, intense, rewarding. Sporting only 20 levels at first, it was increased to a final level count of 80—and at entirely no additional cost.
The game itself has a more interpretive story, focusing rather on the unique levels and their design to set the scene in its very organic and later, heavily industrialized environments.
Played as a left-to-right side-crolling action adventure game with simple yet highly effective one-touch controls, you must guide a delicate fumbling and flapping little creature to the vacuum-like teleporter at the end of each stage. Simple enough in explanation, but far more challenging in execution. The levels themselves are packed with numerous and inventive deathtraps from simple spikes and obstacles, to churning buzz saw blades and chomping pistons.
The creature in question has only one life, but with that, perhaps the most important game mechanic comes into play: cloning. Though there are many power ups that are required to be collected throughout each level (ranging from speed increase and decrease, shrinking and enlarging, stickiness and bounce) the cloning power up adds a morbid level of survivability that demonstrates the game’s dark sense of humor perfectly. Pick up that cluster, power up and let the others take the fall. As long as one creature makes it out alive, the game continues, however the game often scores you on how many little critters survive. If anything, Badland is very reminiscent of the 90s classic, Lemmings, where group survival is key and reaching the end of each level feels like real success.
This game is guaranteed to have people either side of you, peeking over your shoulders as you play.
The Room & The Room 2
Fireproof Studios, ¥100 & ¥400
(iPhone, iPad)
Not to be confused with the world’s worst movie and unfortunate sequel (“You’re tearing me apart Lisaaaa!”), The Room games are very close to my heart as the best—and most rewarding—puzzle games to ever grace the AppStore. It would be unfair to review the most recent game without including the first, as both stand on their own as perfect examples of intelligent level design and labors of love for the developers.
In both games, the player is tasked with discovering how to open a certain box within a room. The boxes themselves are marvelous and impossible contraptions where a keen eye and logical thought are the most valuable tools at your disposal. With the assistance of a special eyepiece, you must inspect, prod, rotate and reveal all of the secrets and hidden mechanisms that the devices conceal, often opening up parts of the machine to an almost Tardis-like space inside. Along the way are many letters addressed to the player written by the mysterious “A.S.,” a previous user of the boxes, offering small insights to the growing mythos within this most cryptic of stories.
This is a must for all mystery and logic lovers out there.
