We’ve blasted through dungeons in 10000000 ($2.99), tried our hand as a shipwright in You Must Build a Boat ($2.99), and taunted other players in Smarter Than You (Free), but next year we’ll be digging through puzzles in Photographs, the next title from EightyEight Games. Photographs is a mysterious puzzle game with stories spread across five different times and locations. Each story features its own puzzle-packed gameplay. Check out the trailer:
What has us raising our eyebrow at Photographs is the developer’s insistence that it isn’t specifically a puzzle game, instead, it’s a narrative-based game. Or, as they put it, “Why have a level select screen? Why not use that time and space to elevate a puzzle game and really tell a story? That’s the problem that Photographs sets out to solve." It’s an interesting question, and so far I’ve loved everything released by EightyEight Games’ Luca Redwood so… whatever strange direction Photographs goes in, I’m totally onboard.
Oh, and if the art in the game looks familiar, that’s because it’s by Octavi Navarro of Thimbleweed Park ($9.99) fame. Ben Prunty is behind the music, and he also did the soundtrack for FTL ($9.99). With this kind of talent in the mix, I’m not sure how Photographs could be anything but amazing.
Just played the tutorial and the first mandatory game, looks awfully more polished than Mobile Legends so far.
Mobile legends has always felt like a joke to me, Vainglory is the only really well made MOBA I've found for mobile, I hope this is at least close to as well made as VG.
Its different.
I find Vainglory to be the best mobile MOBA around... but I just cant play it on a phone, the control scheme just feels so much better on my iPad.
The control scheme of AoV is closer to Mobile Legends, but the game itself looks more polished and feels less clunky
lol it doesn't even come up in the app store search -- the only way I could find it is via TouchArcade button. The new App Store is so broken.
Amazing that it's not iPhone X compatible.
Totally agreed - kind of a joke
Reason why I won’t bother giving it a try.
Probably after the 3rd. It was suppose to launch for Nintendo Switch as well.
How does this compare to Vainglory?
Just incredible I have forgotten vainglory ( before that I play it everyday!)I play since it was out in Europe and I can just say try it it's really really great
After a few matches.
I can say gameplay wise it doesn't hold a candle to VG, AOV is very casual and streamlined compared to VG's depth. The items for example are all just stat boosts.
Both run equally as smooth though
Graphic wise it's also inferior, with no artistic direction whatsoever, it's as generic as it can get.
But outside of the gameplay, like the Menu and its overall presentation, it's cleaner and more organized than Vainglory's convulted UI. It also has more features like voice chat.
I'm enjoying it quite a bit, not enough to replace VG but it's good enough to admit
Items have a sense to fit with the role every heroes but you can't see that after only a few match and if you play on higher ranked levels you can see is not that linear... ;)
Well yeah a mage wont buy attack damage items but it doesn't change the fact that the items are just stat boosts and offer no active abilities
You have talents for doing that ...and there is a lot of items who can can really changed the way you play your favorite characters in game ;)
First impressions are that it's a little slicker than Vainglory but admittedly, I haven't played VG in awhile. Very close to league in most regards, works really well on mobile. The control scheme is good but I don't have a problem with virtual sticks. If you come from a MOBA background you'll dominate the early rounds. Not seeing the DC licensed characters in Canada. Anyone else seeing them?
Right, because China has NEVER doctored statistics to make their country look superior, EVER. 100 million my left cheek.
You know... in a way, 100 million isnt that many, considering the population of china, lol.
You can pull up these stats on third party services like Appannie, Sensor Tower, etc...
In China, there are people playing this game in every corner of the country. I have seen major cities and small villages with people huddled together playing this game. Factory workers in manufacturing plants catching a quick game during their break, different kids playing together while their parents are socializing, zhubo whom streams their games to tens of thousands of players on a casual night, the noodle shop owner playing this between making noodles, etc etc etc. The Chinese of the game ties in many Chinese mythological and historical figures, and even pop figures, with people going broke all the time to get the latest skins. It's more than a fever as it has brought to surface many side effects of mobile gaming addiction. No, the 100m is not an exaggeration. This game makes Tencent so much money in China every single day and continues to do so, and it's effect on the popular culture cannot be ignored. So before you criticize China for inflating numbers (I don't know why the country needs to inflate a number like this by a private corporation), maybe go to China first before daftly betting your left cheek.
If it IS true? That’s...honestly pretty sad since the game is rather shite. 5 matches of button mashing resulted in 5 matches where the score wasn’t even CLOSE for the other side. Just mashing skill buttons, run around and repeat until stuff blows up. Has the entire country just turned their nose up at Vainglory?
You need to play a few more games to get your MMR to where it needs to be, right now you're getting tossed in games with a massive influx of players who haven't played the game (or maybe even a MOBA) before.
I WOULD make the “I shouldn’t have to slog through 20 hours of boring grind matches just to make the game good” argument, but the game is free, and therefore I really can’t make that complaint.
Who said 20 hours?
just go in gold level you will see people are playing better it was the same as vainglory in low level....
Marketing. Vainglory may be a better game technically to you but they don't have the reach and pockets a company like Tencent has. Once a game reach critical mass then everyone will trip over each other to adopt it in order to make more money, including advertisers and mass media. It only snowballs from there.
How your daft taste is better than the "shite" taste of the "entire country" of China is for another topic.
Different strokes for different folks I guess. It’s not as if Vainglory has no foothold in China. Hey some people choose Coke over Pepsi, we can’t all be perfect.
Vainglory can't even beat Mobile Legend Bang Bang in the U.S. (check out Google Play numbers, 5 million downloads vs 50 million for MBLL, check top grossing charts etc, it is not even close).
Vainglory launched in China, the company that imported it spent a huge marketing campaign and got it all the way to #1 download chart for a day. You can't say they didn't try. Then it fell like a rock and never to be seen on top 100 or 200 again, just like U.S. / Europe.
Players worldwide already voted with their wallet, it is the small minority "hardcore" players can't see how flawed VG is on a phone.
While I can’t debate what you’re saying since I haven’t been to China there is one thing that irks me about your comment. That so many people play outside their homes!! I can’t play using cellular data on iOS. 😓
Any word on the switch release date for this game?
Too bad iOS users can’t play on cellular. Sucks considering that it’s a mobile MOBA.