From the outset, Tumblestone (Free) pulls no punches in its app description, with the bold claim that it is ‘the first original action-puzzle game of the past fifteen years’. You Must Build A Boat ($2.99), its predecessor 10000000 ($2.99) and the myriad of other inventive puzzle titles on the App Store might want a word with you, Tumblestone. However, such grandiose assertions don’t detract from the fact that Tumblestone does look like a lot of fun – with an alleged 40+ hour story campaign and limitless randomly regenerated levels to try out, its positive reception amongst console gamers on its previous release is certainly less controversial than its App Store description. If you did miss out on its 2016 Steam release, Tumblestone is today available on the App Store as a free-to-play game, with an in-app purchase to disable advertisements.

At its heart, Tumblestone features a column-clearing puzzle mechanic that is reminiscent of Bust-a-Move, as you’re tasked with shooting the titular blocks to connect three and eradicate them from existence. However, aside from this somewhat derivative gameplay, Tumblestone has an action-RPG wrapper around it. With a story centred around recovering the lost Tumblecrown, you must help an eccentric cast of characters – from a goblin king to a sausage – progress around the game’s world. Hundreds of quests and personalisation features provide a role-playing relief from the action, although three arcade modes provide an option for purists wanting puzzle gameplay without the bells and whistles. With no obvious in-app purchase options from the outset apart from a ‘Disable Ads’ option, Tumblestone looks like a rock-solid puzzle game option for those wanting something new to play, even if it is sadly lacking the multiplayer options from the console iterations that is demonstrated in the trailer above. For more discussion on the game, roll down to our forum thread and Discord Server for impressions and tips on Tumblestone.