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…
Super Nano Jumpers
While App Store featuring this week has been absolutely dominated by both Monument Valley 2 ($3.99) and the various Apple Design Award winners, you really need to take some time and check out Super Nano Jumpers ($1.99) as it’s among the best Super Meatboy-likes we’ve seen on the App Store. What makes the game unique is the way you control it, which blends auto-running mechanics with the ability to stop on a dime- even in the air.
Like Super Meatboy, Super Nano Jumpers is a difficult insta-death game with some levels that’ll have you dying over, and over, and over (and over). Practically everything you touch kills you, and the three star scoring system takes into account both how many of the coins you collect as well as how few times you die. Collecting coins and surviving is easy early in the game, but quickly gets incredibly difficult.
Your character automatically runs from the left side of the screen to the right, and by tapping the right side of the screen you jump and by tapping (or holding) the left side of the screen you stop. It’s fascinating how these controls allow you to do some incredibly precise platforming. They feel a little strange at first, particularly when you’re stopping in air. If you’re mid-jump and hold the left side of the screen, your character just stops and will fall with gravity. It’s a control scheme I really hope more games start using.
Similar to Mikey Jumps (Free), each level segment takes up the entire iPhone screen, so there’s no side-scrolling or anything else to worry about. You can see all the obstacles you need to avoid, and figure out a strategy for how to overcome them. 75 levels in all are included stretched across four worlds, and there’s even a second time trial mode to extend play time.
If you’re into difficult platformers, don’t miss Super Nano Jumpers
