While most of our community seems busy being blown away by Simogo's recent release, Year Walk [$3.99] we figured it'd make some sense to shine some light on another game of theirs which we also like quite a bit: Bumpy Road [$2.99]
We gave it five stars in our review which hit a little less than a year ago, and really liked how Simogo took the platformer formula but switched things around to have you control the game world instead of the actions of a specific character inside of it. This shift is a bit of a brain-teaser to start, but once you wrap your head around it, you'll start to do really well.
There's also a photo collecting mechanic that slowly unlocks the story behind the game, adding an additional clever twist to an already clever game. Anyway, check out the video:
There are moments when Rock Runners [$0.99] feels particularly cool, when you dash through a kinetic, ever-changing landscape, dash from portal to portal and generally act like a total badass. But most players probably won't reach those moments, because it can be a trudge to get to them.
It's a runner, but not an endless one—it has dozens of levels across four different worlds. Or, well, four worlds. "Different" is a stretch. When you've seen one rocky cave filled with pipes and mining equipment you've kind of seen them all—particularly when things start to get a little loopy.
It's uncomfortably obvious that Rock Runners' levels are made up of small segments chopped together, and it's not unusual to run through the same segment a few times over in a given level. "Ah," you'll think, "this is the bit where I fly through the portal, swing over the goo, land on the barrel and then swing onto the next platform." Or perhaps it's the segment where the pipe you're standing on falls and you fall with it, jumping and swinging away at the last second, or any number of other segments you've seen a dozen times before.
This economy of design hurts what is otherwise a pretty entertaining one-touch runner. You tap to jump, you tap to hook and swing, and when you're doing well you simply fly through everything. It's fun, that sense of inertia, though it can be hurt by the occasional performance stutter.
Wherever you run you collect gems, which happen to be currency, multipliers and speed boosts all in one. You keep the currency no matter what, but if you stumble—gracelessly bump into something for more than a moment—you lose the speed and the multiplier. This puts a high value on perfection, which is great. Playing perfectly is by far the most fun, so it's good to learn not to screw up early on.
The first couple worlds are not only samey, they're also incredibly straightforward. This keeps the difficulty curve flat for too long, leaving it to spike in the later levels. Those spikes are great, but they're the only breaks from a lengthy series of levels that blur together, differentiated by nothing but their positions on the map.
That map represents Rock Runners longevity. Your goal is to collect fuel canisters and make it to your ship in each world—how you do that is up to you. There's no reason to explore each and every level when the direct route is best. But there are locked levels, and to get at them you need to collect keys. Or you can take the long way around. These are the choices you'll face.
They're relevant, because your place on the game's leaderboards is established by how long it takes you to reach your ship. Not in a linear sense, though. You can clear every single level on your way through—Rock Runners will only count the most direct path you could have taken through the levels you've cleared to gather all the fuel canisters and reach the ship. Improving your times on those levels is paramount if you're into leaderboard competition.
That's the only time IAP may come into play. The game offers a few power-ups in exchange for your bounteous gems, but those power-ups are generally pretty pointless. When you're gunning for a better time, though, something that can save you from a single stumble or from death could conceivably be quite handy. Still, if you can play perfectly you won't need 'em, and they have limited charges either way.
It took me a while to warm to Rock Runners. It's fast-paced and catchy, sure, but I have plenty of fast-paced platformers. Still, as things got tougher and levels got more complicated I started to pay it a bit more mind. And when I realized I could struggle to shave precious seconds off my completion times, I found myself rather hooked. Yeah, the levels start to blend together pretty quickly, but I'm so close to the par time in world three. And I have a couple hundred stars left to earn, and I just might want to earn them.
Recoil Games hasn't come up with anything all that fresh or unique in the world of one-touch platformers, but Rock Runners has hooks that work. If the rest of the game worked as well, relied less on repetition and more on thoughtful level design, we might have something special. Instead we find ourselves with a runner that isn't quite the same old thing, but doesn't do nearly enough to stand out.
While a lot of attention is paid to iOS games that seek to replicate and modify the experiences of dedicated gaming devices, one area that has little competition to the mobile scene is the casual genre. Relic Rush [$0.99], from Forest Moon Games, is the latest title from the casual-minded producer and hits a lot of the right notes for a simple gameplay experience. While Relic Rush is a bit short on content and lacks some features that are expected in this day and age, it's still a fun, simple platformer worth checking out.
Simply put, Relic Rush can best be described as Donkey Kong on auto-run. Players take the role of an explorer searching for lost relics. Relics are obtained by taking on missions, with each mission consisting of eight single-screened stages. Each stage puts the explorer at the bottom of an enemy filled setting and tasks him with maneuvering past all the baddies to get to a door at the top of the stage. Reaching the door leads to the next stage and so on (until you get to the last stage with the relic). Getting hit by an enemy forces the explorer to start the stage again from the beginning.
Meanwhile, a timer at the top of the screen keeps track of how long you've spent on the overall mission, with your final ranking being based on the timer's position. When you combine the old-school graphics and music with the above gameplay, Relic Rush feels like a multi-layered retro platformer inspired by the arcade hit mentioned above. While this isn't a bad thing, I did find the gameplay to be incredibly formulaic, with the game's different worlds and enemies only doing so much to add some variety.
Where Relic Rush differs is in the auto-run controls. Your explorer is constantly moving and the only control afforded to you is to stop him (which can be done by simply touching the screen). Enemies and platforming elements are always in motion, so the entire goal of Relic Rush becomes a balancing act of timing your explorer's movements, avoiding the enemies, and getting past the stages in as fast a time as possible. It's an incredible simple system but it still offers room for timing and tactics.
Thankfully, Relic Rush gets a lot of things right in making sure that its simple control scheme succeeds. The hit detection is near perfect, meaning that you (hopefully) shouldn't be frustrated by errant enemy attacks when it looks like your explorer wasn't touched. In addition, while the difficulty certainly ramps up in later stages, the challenge is never overbearing. I'd argue that Relic Rush is a little too easy, but considering its casual undertones, I'm not too going to complain too much.
Considering what Relic Rush gets right, there are a few missteps and omissions that I thought would have helped improve the overall experience. For example, Relic Rush lacks any Game Center support. While I don't care much about the achievements portion of Game Center, I think leaderboard support would be a very nice add, especially for a game based on completing levels as fast as possible.
Of course, in order for leaderboard support to be meaningful, it'd help if Relic Rush also featured an actual timer for keeping track of how long it takes for you to complete missions. Currently, the only indicator is a bar that slowly depletes and changes color, letting you know when you've fallen down a relic tier. While this simplified method of tracking progress works with the rest of the game's motif, I still would have liked something more detailed. This and leaderboard support would have gone a long way towards adding some replayability, an important consideration since Relic Rush currently only has twenty missions (with each mission featuring eight levels).
While the above concerns are important for players looking for some longevity, others looking simply for a casual title with an incredibly approachable control scheme and a cute retro-inspired theme need not look any further. Relic Rush may not have the length or variety to propel it to the upper tier of iOS casual games, but it's still worth a shot for folks looking for a simple platformer to try.
Earlier this morning, Eli and I gave Die for Metal [$0.99] a shot. It's a "masocore" style 2D platformer that gleefully dishes out impalement and dismemberment basically every time you screw up the timing or placement of a jump. That's not to say it's a good member of the genre. Die for Metal's foundational elements are shaky -- inputs can feel laggy, the hit boxes on some obstacles are ridiculous, and the level design can feel hollow.
What drew us to Die for Metal was its theme and tone. We haven't seen many rock and roll inspired games, so that was enough to grab attention. And for what it's worth, there are definitely some solid production values in this. Anyway, video:
Heads up: Edge Extended [$2.99] is now free for what we assume will be a limited time. The app is usually $2.99, so you'll be saving a few bucks if you jump on this sale.
Edge Extended, if you're not in the loop, is a re-mix of Edge, which is a block-based puzzle game that tasks you with rolling a cube through dynamic mazes. This version of the game uses a new engine and boasts other bits of unique content including 48 brand new levels and new mechanics to play around with.
Basically, if you like Edge you'll probably dig Extended. We've embedded a video below to give you an idea of what you're about to get into for zero bucks:
In early December, Renegade Kid ported their popular and critically acclaimed platformer Mutant Mudds [$4.99], originally a Nintendo 3DS title, to the iOS platform. As we talked about in our review, it was quite a success. While the original price of the iOS version was the lowest tier possible at 99¢, a veritable steal, for today and tomorrow only Mutant Mudds can be had for the even more enticing price of FREE.
Mutant Mudds is somewhat of a different kind of platformer. For the most part, iOS is populated with twitchy speedrun-style platformers, often with a focus on very brief levels and fast action. Mutant Mudds is more of a tactical game, I would argue. You really need to have patience to work your way through its levels and past the dastardly Mudds. A simplistic item upgrading system gives the title legs as you go back through previously played levels and use your new abilities to discover alternate paths. Also, a big highlight of Mutant Mudds is the ability to hop in and out of the foreground and background, something that's mostly just neat but also plays into the puzzle and discovery design of the levels.
I love platformers, and I love a lot of iOS platformers, but to me there's really nothing quite like Mutant Mudds on the App Store. It was a wholly satisfying experience working my way through the game, and it's also quite challenging. The virtual controls hold up well though, and its slower pace is a perfect complement to my other twitchy platformers that also have a permanent home on my device. Definitely give Mutant Mudds a download while it's free, and stop by our forums to let us know what you think.
Super Hexagon creator Terry Cavanagh is testing a port of his other notable game, a pyrotechnic platformer called VVVVVV, on iOS. In a tweet this morning, Cavanagh said he's been trying to complete "no death mode" in the game on an iPhone when he has a couple of "moments to spare here and there." That doesn't mean a release is imminent, though. He also noted that it'll be "ages" before we see it.
If you're not familiar, check out the video we've embedded below. In a nutshell, it's a retro-inspired platformer with some radical music and a really neat "flip" mechanic. We can definitely see why it'd take awhile to nail an iOS port.
Breach Entertainment's Shardlands [Free] now has a free version on the App Store. And get this: this version includes three levels that aren't in the full game. So, even if you've been up, down, sideways, and otherwise all over the original release, there's a reason to try the free one anyway. Kind of a weird strategy, right?
Shardlands, if you didn't know, is billed as an atmospheric puzzle game and that feels pretty true to what's going on. In the game, play as a person who wakes up in some sort of magical cave and is tasked by a talking spirit with collecting shards that, for some reason, have the power to transport you to other caves. Shards can also give you magical powers, like say, telekinesis, which comes in handy whenever you need to construct makeshift bridges out of platforms. Give it a look:
Earlier this morning, Eli and I spent some time with Wipeout [$1.99]. It's an "old" game by TA Plays standards, but it's an otherwise interesting one because of its staying power in the App Store charts. We took a look at it in this context, and were kinda surprised by how not bad it was. This is a pretty fun physics-based platformer on its own, and we're guessing it hits even harder for fans of the TV show it's based on.
If you didn't know, in Wipeout you're tasked with weaving your character through three platform-based obstacle courses under a certain time limit. Each course is littered with weird, rubber-y machines designed to knock you off the platform. You can fall down as many times as you want. It's the time that matters.
Give it a look if you haven't yet. It's pretty cool in its own way.
As mobile hardware reaches the point of being comparable to consoles, we're seeing less and less "Game Boy" versions of popular gaming franchises. That is, it's no longer becoming necessary to dumb down or limit a version of a console or PC game just to create a mobile version. In fact we've seen plenty of straight up ports of console and PC games that sacrifice very little technically in order to work on the iOS platform.
That's all well and good, and I love taking carrying games likeGTA: Vice City [$4.99] and Bastion [$0.99] around in my pocket wherever I go, but there's almost always some sort of compromise you'll need to be willing to deal with when shoehorning virtual controls onto a game that wasn't meant for it. I'm fine with that for the most part, but it also makes me really appreciate those games that try to reinvent themselves with touchscreens in mind when transitioning to iOS.
One of the more recent and excellent examples of doing just that is Ubisoft's Rayman Jungle Run [$2.99]. It took the assets of Rayman Origins, a fantastic and critically acclaimed platforming game on traditional gaming systems, and repurposed them into an auto-running platformer built specifically for mobile touchscreen devices. We thought it was a hit because of how thoughtfully it was brought to iOS, and I'm pretty sure Apple liked it too. It definitely makes a difference when something is tailored for mobile.
There's no denying Kumobius'sTime Surfer [$0.99] owes a lot to Tiny Wings [$0.99 / $2.99 (HD)]. It has the same swoopy hills, the same leap-and-glide movement, and the same joy of flight. After that, things go a bit off the proverbial rails.
If the '80s exploded all over Tiny Wings, we'd be part way there. Time Surfer is a glorious mess of bright colors, pixel art and the most upbeat of chiptunes. It's more than that, though. Take the calm simplicity of Tiny Wings, crank up the speed, stick it in space and add a dozen good ways to die. Not so calm, but death is just a state of mind: you can turn it around with the rewind button.
The rewind button is key to the whole Time Surfer experience—you'd only be half a time surfer without it. As you surf you collect gems; these add to a pool you can use for a bit of quick time travel. You can only head back a few seconds, even at full power, but that's often enough to save yourself from death or a bad jump.
More than that, time travel lets you be creative. Given the usual laws of physics, it might be impossible to grab a certain powerup and also manage a perfect curve on your next jump. You, however, aren't limited to the usual laws of physics. Grab that powerup, then rewind and line yourself up for the perfect jump. You have the power.
Platforming games can be a finicky genre on iOS. It almost always comes down to the controls. I've played otherwise great games that were marred by terrible virtual controls, and on the flip side I've played some platformers that controlled beautifully but were bland and boring. To really shine, a platformer has to nail both the controls and the design to a high degree, and that's exactly what Renegade Kid's Mutant Mudds [$4.99] has accomplished.
The premise in Mutant Mudds is simple: brown, globulous, muddy aliens named Mudds have invaded Earth, and they've totally disrupted main character Max's day of watching TV with his grannie. Not cool, Mudds, not cool. Max isn't going to take this slighting lying down though, so he sets out to dispatch the alien menace using his trusty water cannon and a cool jetpack that allows him to briefly hover around. I wish I had one of those when I was a kid.
To celebrate the release of Time Surfer [$0.99], a new endless runner that we took for a spin yesterday and are enjoying a great deal, developer Kumobius has dropped the price of their first iOS release, the platformer Bean's Quest [$0.99], for a limited time. Bean's Quest has a pretty interesting history. It originally launched in July of 2011, and we thought it was fantastic at the time but woefully short, calling it a "fun five minutes." The plan according to Kumobius was to add more levels and worlds to the game post-release, a promise we've heard many times on iOS but one that isn't always followed through with.
However, Kumobius came through, and through a series of updates they tripled the size of the original game by adding new worlds and levels, culminating in the final update last February. It took a bit of time, but Bean's Quest finally realized its potential and became the full-fledged platformer that we always knew it could be. And right now you can and should grab it for free for the first time ever.
Bean's Quest took a fresh approach to platformers when it released. It tasked you with successfully bouncing your way to the end of each level, which could be difficult in and of itself. But then it turned around and asked you to do it in the least amount of bounces as possible, which really turned up the intensity for those craving a serious challenge. Its level design, controls, and retro-aesthetic were all top-notch, and eventually the amount of content in the game matched that same high level.
Don't mess around, grab Bean's Quest while it's free, and have a look at Time Surfer while you're at it as a way to say thanks to Kumobius for this freebie.
Winding the clocks back to August of last year revealed Infinite Warrior [$3.99], or, as we called it, Brad Nicholson: The Video Game. Infinite Warrior is/was basically the result of taking the life of our own Brad Nicholson and game it gameplay mechanics. Similarly, Glass Bottom Games is providing the same treatment for the grand master of the Kitty Korner, Jared Nelson. Check out the trailer:
Essentially, it's an auto-runner that seems to be all about collecting cats, which consequently also happens to be Jared's main hobby. There's also the twist that you're a fireman, but I'm going to assume that was thrown in there to add a more universal appeal than any factual accuracy in portraying Jared Nelson in Jared Nelson: The Video Game. Also, according to the developer, "It's also built around levels and progression, rather than straight-up high scores. I'm trying to hit a middle ground between static levels and endless."
Glass Bottom games is also responsible for two other projects, Gravitaz, a racer that didn't get off the ground from a funding perspective and The Savage Garden which was put together for the 2012 Independent Games Festival. Jones on Fire is scheduled for a 2013 release and is currently in the tweaking and play testing phases of development.
Auto-runners have really found a home on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Built from the ground-up for portability, these games are easy to pick up and put down on a whim. You can play for seconds, minutes, or hours depending on your mood and location. Playing couldn't be simpler, either -- with intuitive swipes, taps, and tilts, you can guide a given avatar through magical worlds full of dangerous obstacles without fumbling with your device.
In 2012, we've seen the runner take off. Most owe a lot to Imangi's Temple Run [Free], but the best of the best we've seen this year have executed on their own unique ideas and built on the concept of the runner, as opposed to straight-up copying.
Our favorite auto-runners of 2012 show that there's more to the runner than what meets the eye. Each of these bring something really cool to the table, be it a fun new perspective, a new style, a fun take on a known property, or even new mechanics.
Into the Dead, Free - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - [ TA Plays ] - We're tired of running away from zombies, too, but Into the Dead invites you to experience the physicality of an escape, which is a welcome thing. Presented in a first-person perspective, Into the Dead puts you right into the thick of the action of the zombie her. Smart camera work as well as animations make every stumble and turn feel real, adding to an overall feel of recklessness of a run.
Verticus, Free - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - [ TA Plays ] - This isn't as much of a stretch as you think it is. Verticus is a game about falling, but it leverages runner ideas and constructs in order to deliver a fast, wild ride that has you tossing, tilting, and turning in the skies to avoid mines, grab coins, and of course, to save the world. It's a nice change of pace that uses familiar stuff.
PITFALL!â„¢, Free - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - [ TA Plays ] - The re-imagining of Pitfall is more than an everyday behind-the-back endless runner. It does some really cool stuff with perspective switches, pulling you out of the typical action in favor of more traditional third-person platforming. Pitfall also has a great visual style, as well as sharp instance design. One second you'll be jumping over pits and avoiding snakes, the next you'll be riding in a minecart.
Temple Run: Brave, $0.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - [ TA Plays ] - These runners probably wouldn't exist as they are if Temple Run was not a thing that hit it big on the App Store. Brave isn't so much of a twist as it is a change scenery, but it's a welcome one. Brave feels fast and honest to the Brave IP, and it's a blast to play just like Imagini's first game.
Subway Surfers, Free - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - This was one of the first behind-the-back runners to use a lane-switching mechanic that actually felt fun and intuitive to use. It also introduced a variety of interesting environmental challenges and choices, with alternate paths and moving trains that had you making split-second decisions just to keep yourself in one piece. Add a boatload of customizable items and rewards to earn and this was an endless runner that stood out from the pack.
Punch Quest, Free - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - [ TA Plays ] - Punch Quest adds punching to the runner mix, and it's an awesome addition that adds some actual interaction to a genre that normally asks you to be purely reactive. Plus, there's tons of stuff to unlock between actual abilities you can use and superfluous hats you can wear, so the "one more run" nature of the game has a greater purpose.
Ski Safari, $0.99 - [Review] - [Forum Thread] - Ski Safari was novel back when it released in May for having an excellent sense of style and utilizing a brilliant one-touch control scheme. Simply hold down on the screen to rotate Sven your skier as he navigates the bumps, cliffs and hazards of a mountain while trying to outrun an avalanche. Its wide variety of environmental elements, customization options, and unlockable items and themes make Ski Safari one of the silliest runners around, and that continues to expand through steady content updates.
While most of our community seems busy being blown away by Simogo's recent release, Year Walk [$3.99] we figured it'd make some sense to shine some light on another game of theirs which we also like quite a bit: Bumpy Road [$2.99]
