Steph Thirion’s Eliss [Free] is a brilliant game. It launched in the App Store way back in March of 2009, when the App Store was still relatively new and trying to establish its identity in the world of handheld gaming. Eliss promptly went on to earn recognition and awards for its innovative design and outstanding use of multi-touch. Back in 2009, Eliss was a shining example of the type of game that would only be possible on something like an iOS device, which we duly noted in our review.

While Eliss is an older game, it’s no less engaging today than it was when it first launched. It’s seen several price drops during its lifespan, and has been available for the bargain price of 99¢ more than once before. However, for the next several days, Steph Thirion has made Eliss free for the first time ever. The circumstances for the sale are a bit unfortunate, though, as it’s meant as a tribute to the untimely passing of Steve Jobs. The first line of text in the Eliss App Store description reads:

Eliss could not have existed without you. You changed my life deeply. Thank you Steve.

It’s been a sad couple of days for Apple fans everywhere, but it’s been really inspiring to see just how many lives Steve Jobs has touched during his time on Earth. And of course, Eliss is a fantastic game, and should definitely be downloaded by everybody during its free promotion. We’re also looking forward to Steph’s follow up iOS title Faraway, which has been in development for more than a year and a half but last time we checked should be arriving sometime this Fall.