PikPok have seemingly been around forever in the iOS gaming scene, and have released a number of App Store classics, many of which remain on my phone to this day. While there have been numerous memorable collaborations with Adult Swim such as the excellent Monsters Ate My Metropolis (Free), it’s probably Flick Kick Football ($0.99) that has take up the most of my time, as the arcade soccer mechanics merged with what were (at the time) innovative touch screen controls proved to be a natural mix. However, PikPok’s newest game is nothing like either of these titles; Shadow Wars (Free), which has today launched worldwide, takes a far more serious take on the Puzzle-RPG genre, and tasks you with battling demonic creatures around the globe, through color-matching gameplay that necessitates well thought out moves and strategic planning.

Shadow Wars offers a variety of monsters of collect, train and evolve, from humanoid beasts to more demonic claw-wielding creatures, all of which are illustrated with a beautiful and detailed comic book design that PikPok have adopted in their most recent release. This variety in monsters, coupled with numerous unique abilities and skills that can be used to tailor certain play-styles to your own preferences, suggests that Shadow Wars has a significant amount of depth that defies its derivative initial match three-esque appearance. While the inevitable free-to-play mechanics may be a deterrent for some, Shadow Wars has gone out of soft launch and is available worldwide, so this is a great opportunity for anyone enticed by our preview, or any fans of PikPok’s extensive library, to give Shadow Wars a go – and don’t forget to share any impressions on our forum thread.