Lately we’ve been seeing some great puzzle games hit the App Store, and Burn it All [99¢] is no exception. Published by Bulkypix and released as a universal app, Burn it All greatly expands on the rope burning formula of Burn the Rope [$1.99 / Lite / HD] with a great new mechanic for actually lighting the ropes themselves that makes the game play totally different even though they may look similar in screenshots.
The object of the game is to ignite the ends of ropes by dragging a flaming lava rock to each end and watch them burn down before the timer runs out. The gameplay is loads fun and revolves around figuring out which ropes to burn in what order, which becomes increasingly difficult as the game progresses.
In between lighting a rope on fire your lava rock will automatically return to the volcano to briefly recharge and ignite to be used again. Initially I assumed this to be a fault of the games controls but I quickly realized that it’s an important component that the developers obviously wanted to leave in. This gameplay mechanic of making you wait in between recharges is what adds another level of both excitement and frustration to the game, and because you’re being timed your first inclination would be to go as fast as you can. But move too soon and you’ll quickly find yourself way off your mark, wait too long and you’ll be wasting valuable seconds, timing is everything.
As you progress through the levels, new ropes and obstacles are introduced from slow burning ropes, to moving bats, and wooden objects all of which you’ll need ignite. Also each world gives you a new lava rock to control with different abilities. Some of the later puzzles can get very complex, between a maze of ropes and water droplets waiting to extinguish your flame. Each level is constructed incredibly well, and the overall difficulty ramps up very nicely. With Game Center and Open Feint achievements there’s some great replay value for those perfectionists out there looking to get that 100% completion.
There’s currently 4 worlds with 25 levels each, with updates planned for more in the future. Burn it all is a solid puzzle game that plays wonderfully, even though its premise might not be all that original. Burn it All is an easy recommendation, especially if you liked Burn the Rope. Similarly, if you download and enjoy Burn it All, you’ll ned to give Burn the Rope a try.
