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…
Developer Joseph Gribbin has previously worked as an artist for Nitrome, who is known for having some of the finest pixel art in town. So when he struck out on his own to create his own game, you could bet that it was going to look great. What I didn’t expect though was flat out brilliant puzzle design, but that’s exactly what you get with Gribbin’s solo release Magnibox ($3.99), which arrived this week. Magnibox has you playing as a box, that’s also a magnet. Get it? Magnibox? You move around each level going end over end, not totally unlike Nitrome’s own Gunbrick from a few years back. Also like that game, positioning is everything in Magnibox. Only one of the sides of your box is magnified, and you’ll need to use your magnet powers to do all sorts of things, from simply traveling across a level by attracting yourself to a metal box to activating switches and much more.
It’s these interesting variables coupled with the need to make sure your box is positioned appropriately to tackle each situation that makes Magnibox feel so ingenious. More than that, it makes YOU feel like a genius when you figure out what you’re supposed to do and finally solve a level. It’s just very, very satisfying. Additionally, Magnibox is a premium game with no ads or IAP and a whopping 160 levels to work through, all of which are unlocked right from the start so you’re free to jump between levels as you see fit of if you get stuck on one and need to chew on a different level for a bit. There’s also no time limit or anything, and in general Magnibox is happy to just present its challenges to you and let you work through them at your own speed, which I really appreciate. If this is what we can expect from Mr. Gribbin going forward I think we’ll be in for many more treats to come.
