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…
Toast Time
This was an awful, awful week to be either myself or Eli. There were a ton of awesome games released this week, and trying to settle on just one to be our Game of the Week was much more difficult than it usually is. Final Fantasy VI was a huge, highly-anticipated release, Threes! marched in out of nowhere and took the world by storm Flappy Bird-style, and there were tons of quirky titles that captured out attention too like Spell Quest, Toad Rider, Only One, Eliss Infinity and more. Any and all of those games are worth your attention. But when it’s this hard of a week to choose, I usually rely on what my gut tells me, and this week my gut was all about Toast Time ($2.99).
Toast Time ticks all of the boxes that make for a great mobile game. It’s simple to play and simple to control, but takes real skill to be good at. It has charming visuals and sounds, and an incredibly high level of polish. It’s a simple idea executed at a high level, and most important of all, it’s fun. As to what it is you do in Toast Time, I don’t think I could explain it any better than our forum member Bronxsta already has:
Okay, played a few levels and this game is awesome. It’s like a more acrobatic, more skill-based Super Crate Box, with a simple one-touch controls scheme. In each level, you have to protect your clock from encroaching enemies. Levels start off flat, but soon become multi-tiered and featuring hazards and special items like jump pads. You tap to shoot towards that spot, shooting the ground launches you upward. Actually shooting anywhere propels you in the other direction
So gameplay becomes all about timing (to build combos for high scores), movement (to get the best angles to converse your limited ammo), and adapting to whatever weapon you pick up.
The thing that really makes Toast Time feel fresh and unique is the way your weapons actually propel yourself around the arena. To borrow another quote from Bronxsta, “That feeling of being half out of control as you bounce around the screen, half in control as you position yourself and time combo shots." That really nails the awesome feeling you get from playing Toast Time.
Bolstering the satisfying gameplay in Toast Time is a robust weapon and character customization unlocking system. As you progress in the game, you’ll reach certain tiers which unlock new weapons for use during play and tons of different items to outfit your adorable toast hero with. This seems like an area of the game that would be ripe for IAP, but Toast Time contains none of it–all the unlocking you’ll do in the game will need to come from good old-fashioned playing. What a refreshing notion.
As mentioned, this was an incredibly great week for new iOS games, all worth your time and consideration, but don’t let this little gem called Toast Time slip by. It’s a one-off purchase with no IAP shenanigans, which people are always saying they want, and the folks in our forums have been loving it just as much as we have. Oh, and as a fun little bonus, if you do pick up Toast Time be sure to play the playable credits screen.
