The idea behind the TouchArcade Game of the Week is that every Friday afternoon we post the one game that came out this week that we think is worth giving a special nod to. Now, before anyone goes over-thinking this, it doesn’t necessarily mean our Game of the Week pick is the highest scoring game in a review, the game with the best graphics, or really any other quantifiable “best" thing. Instead, it’s more just us picking out the single game out of the week’s releases that we think is the most noteworthy, surprising, interesting, or really any other hard to describe quality that makes it worth having if you were just going to pick up one.
These picks might be controversial, and that’s OK. If you disagree with what we’ve chosen, let’s try to use the comments of these articles to have conversations about what game is your game of the week and why.
Without further ado…
Glyph Quest
This week was kind of a strange release week in that there weren’t any big name, highly-anticipated, blockbuster titles released. However, there was a respectable list of lesser-known and quirky games to dive into, and I’ve definitely been surprised by some of the gems that have come from that list. However, one game which was not on that list but has captured my attention the most since the moment I fired it up is Alex Trowers’ Glyph Quest (Free). It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of game like Dungeon Raid and Puzzle Quest, and in general if you can take an already solid game mechanic and toss in a bunch of RPG elements on top, you may just have a hit on your hands. Well, Glyph Quest does just that but with its own twist.
As you might expect, you’ll partake in quests and engage in combat with enemies by making matches on a board. But, it’s not simply a matching game, as there are all sorts of strategic mechanics layered on top. The board is made up of different kinds of elements, like Water, Air and Fire, and you can create all kinds of different attacks based on how and what you match up. There are also items on the board as well as standard weapons you can buy in the shop to further add variety to the formula. Seriously, though, the whole elemental matching system is deep. One big drawback to Glyph Quest however is that it isn’t the best about fully explaining the ins and outs of the gameplay. Thankfully, our forums come to the rescue again and this post in particular lays out how the combo system works in detail.
Once you do become familiar with the mechanics, Glyph Quest really opens up and digs its hooks into you. Definitely take some time to read through that forum thread if you’re struggling to understand something, and the developers are already working on making a more informative tutorial to add to the game. The most important thing though is that you check out Glyph Quest if you’re into these sorts of games, as it’s already one of my very favorites. It’s free to try too, and if you like what you see then a one-time purchase of $1.99 for the “Mage License" will unlock the entire game for you. Give the free content a try, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
