It seems it’s a good day for good game design, as not only did the audio visual feast that is Wave Trip ($0.99) launch earlier today but we stumbled across another incredibly stylish little game called Wide Sky (Free) from developer and motion design specialist Marcus Eckert. In it you play as an adorable little hedgehog who must swing around each level trying to smash into an orb, breaking it into a bunch of shards, and then go around and collect those shards as quickly as possible. You’re given a grappling hook-like rope that can attach to clouds and swing your hedgehog around to build momentum and launch yourself towards your targets. You tap and hold the screen to attach your rope and tilt your device to swing around.
They’re really interesting mechanics, but also incredibly tricky. Like, I am terrible at this game so far. Unlike most other hooking games, in Wide Sky your rope will only launch from the top of your hedgehog, so you need to keep an eye on its rotation before launching so you can aim properly. It takes a certain kind of finesse that I just don’t seem have yet to attach the rope where you’re intending to. I’m just fumbling around at the moment, but I think it’s one of those things that will eventually “click" and I’ll improve. You can see Wide Sky in action in the trailer below, which I should add is one of the nicest game trailers I’ve ever seen in my life.
While I’m still figuring out the mechanics in Wide Sky, I can’t help but marvel at just how thoughtfully everything else has been designed in the game. It reminds me of the kind of minimalism and ingenuity showcased in an app like Figure mixed with the whimsical audio and visual styles of companies like Simogo and Lucky Frame. It’s also a hilarious game, as the description texts and tutorials are all colored with a ton of humorous dialogue.
Wide Sky is just oozing style all over the place, and while I’m still waiting to come around on the gameplay portion I’m enjoying myself a lot nonetheless. If you’ve got a spare buck lying around and can appreciate tremendous design, then I’d suggest giving Wide Sky a look and checking out our forums for more discussion and impressions while you’re at it.
