"If there is an app for that"

Dragon Hills 2

Cezary Rajkowski

Visually, Hoppenhelm carries a retro aesthetic that takes me back to my childhood days of 16-bit games. The game is completely in 2D with a pixel art style that serves as a fantastic homage to SNES games and the like. Despite the pixelated look, Hoppenhelm manages to pack in a lot of finer details, such as textures to indicate crumbling platforms that you need to watch out for. Character models are all unique and distinctive, and the enemies have their own behavioral patterns as well. Animations are smooth and fluid on my iPhone 8 Plus, with no issues of lag or choppiness. To top it all off, Hoppenhelm has a fantastically eerie chiptune soundtrack that fits in perfectly with the game's environment, and the sound effects are delightful.

Since Hoppenhelm is a twitchy reflex arcade game, there are no levels or anything of the sort. Instead, it's an endless game where you test how far you can go. In Hoppenhelm, you control a knight who must hop through a dungeon environment while also attacking and defending himself from various enemies. Each hop counts as a step, and your score is essentially the number of steps you took.

The game's one-touch control scheme makes this incredibly playable anywhere, anytime. There are three large buttons towards the bottom of the screen. The biggest one is in the center, and that's the button to hop forward one space. To the left is the button to perform an attack, and to the right is the button to defend with a shield. While the game sounds easy enough with such simple controls, things are actually challenging and can get pretty tricky.

With Hoppenhelm, you must time your hops carefully if you want to make it to the next platform before the crumbling one dissolves underneath your feet. Enemies also attack you, so you have to take them out before they get a hit in on you, or block with your trusty shield. There's also moving spikes, coins to collect, and other deadly hazards to watch out for.

There are multiple knights that you can unlock in Hoppenhelm. If you have collected enough coins, you can unlock the next character. The price goes up as you get towards the stronger ones, but they're worth the cost. Each knight has a special ability, such as being able to take more hits before dying or dishing out more damage to foes.

Additionally, there are also weapons to unlock. Again, the price is more for stronger ones, and these also include unique traits, such as the chance to land critical hits. With the combination of knight characters and weapons, you can end up with some interesting play styles.

An arcade platformer with one touch controls that presents you will all kinds of dungeon obstacles.

The Good

Hoppenhelm is a fresh take on arcade platformer games. While there are many twitchy arcade reflex games, there aren't too many that have the platforming aspect, so it's nice to see. The graphics of the game are top notch, as it's a great homage to the classics. The chiptune music is done well too.

The controls are intuitive and easy for anyone to pick-up-and-play. But don't be fooled — the game proves to be rather challenging when you factor in all of the dangers that await you. Plus, there's many possibilities of character and weapon combinations, so you can find a play style that fits you.

The Bad

Mostly everything about Hoppenhelm is good. However, just keep in mind that this is a freemium game, so there are occasional ads that pop up every so often. However, it doesn't happen too frequently and is not super intrusive. Like other games, there's always the opportunity to watch an ad to double your coins though. If the ads bother you too much, then there is an in-app purchase that removes ads, but it's completely optional.

The verdict

As a fan of twitch reflex arcade games and platformers, Hoppenhelm is a nice mix of both. I'm in love with the graphics and chiptunes, as they make me feel like a kid again. The one-touch controls make the game easily accessible for anyone with a touch screen, but the challenging gameplay and unlockable content keeps you coming back for more.

9.4

OVERALL

Sound/Music 10

Replayability 9

Game Controls 9.5

Graphics 9.5

Gameplay 9

FREE

Hoppenhelm

BUN GUN AB

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Uncover the Secrets of the Toy Box in GNOG

November 22, 2020 by RSS Feed

GNOG ($4.99) by KO.OP is a playful puzzle game featuring toys and secrets galore. If you enjoyed games like Campfire Cooking and Vignettes, then you're going to like what GNOG brings to the table. It's also available on the PlayStation 4 with PSVR support.

With the holidays just around the corner once again, life's been pretty hectic. You know, with all of the decorating, buying gifts, and planning out holiday feasts. When I need a break from life and reality for a bit, I just want to sit down with some video games. Most of my time has gone into Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp lately, as it's one of the most zen-like games out there (just like Animal Crossing: New Leaf). Still, I'm a sucker for puzzle games so when I saw GNOG on the App Store, I had to give it a try. Plus, it reminds me a lot of Vignettes, which was a fantastic game as well.

Campfire Cooking

Layton Hawkes

Vignettes

Skeleton Business

Visually, GNOG is stunningly gorgeous. The game has a nice mixture of both 2D and 3D graphical elements. But the puzzles themselves take place in 3D toy boxes that are shaped like charming monster heads, and each one is unique and distinctive. GNOG is full of bright and vibrant colors that definitely serve their purpose as eye candy. All animations are buttery smooth and fluid, so there was no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The ambient and atmospheric soundtrack is soothing to listen to as you solve the puzzles, and the sound effects are delightful, fitting in well with the overall toy box theme. Plus, the monster heads eventually sing along to the music, which changes during the puzzles, and it's amazing.

Like most puzzle games, GNOG is level-based. There are nine toy puzzles to solve at the moment. While that doesn't sound like much, the puzzles can be rather lengthy and challenging, so you do spend quite a bit of time on them. And there's not really any tutorial or guidance, so you're left to figure things out on your own. While some may prefer not having their hands held in games, others who need a little push may feel a tad lost in GNOG.

The goal in GNOG is to solve the puzzles within each monster head puzzle box, where entire worlds can be found. These worlds tell a story through pictures, and these actually serve as clues to how to solve the puzzles. While some are fairly straightforward and easy to figure out, others are more intricate and complex. Regardless, the key to GNOG is paying attention to fine details, so it's a test of your observing skills.

Controls in GNOG are intuitive and optimized for touch screens. A swipe of your finger horizontally on the screen lets you rotate the monster heads, so you can see both the front and the back. There are buttons to press with a tap, sliders to slide, and handles to turn. All of these actions are simple on touch screens, and it makes everything feel even more realistic, as if you're truly poking and prodding at an actual toy.

For a bit of fun, GNOG utilizes iOS's ARKit, so you can play the game using your camera viewfinder to set the background. However, controls in the AR mode are a bit clunkier than normal, so it definitely feels more of a gimmick than it is useful. But it's great to show kids.

An interactive 3D toy that lets you swipe, pull, push, and more to what can happen.

The Good

GNOG is a beautiful puzzle game that simply captivates with pure charm and delight. The graphics are one of the best parts of the game, as the designs for each of the monster head boxes are special and remarkable. In a way, a few of the designs remind me of Dia de los Muertos, which isn't a bad thing. The music is relaxing and I like how it changes once you start to figure out the puzzles, and having the monster heads sing along is a nice touch.

While GNOG is available on a console as well, and even coming to Steam, this is the kind of game that seems to be made for touch screens. The way you need to poke, pull, twist, and turn various interactive parts of the toy box just seems perfectly designed for touch, so it feels natural.

The Bad

While GNOG is a great game, it's not perfect. The lack of guidance can confuse some people, and make them feel stuck. And while the nine existing puzzles provide a distinctive experience, it feels a bit short for the money. I hope that more puzzles are added in the future, if possible, as that would extend the life of the game.

The verdict

GNOG is one of those quirky games that brings in a special kind of experience to iOS gaming. The graphics are amazing to look at, the dynamic music is upbeat and catchy, and the controls feel natural. But the lack of guidance can be a drawback for some, but overall, it's a great game to sit back and relax with.

9.2

OVERALL

Game Controls 10

Graphics 10

Sound/Music 10

Gameplay 9

Replayability 7

GNOG

KO_OP

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All Hail the Queen in Reigns: Her Majesty

November 22, 2020 by RSS Feed

Reigns: Her Majesty ($2.99) by Devolver Digital is the official sequel of the popular, original Reigns game (our review) that came out last year. If you've ever wondered what it felt like to rule over a kingdom as a queen (or king with the first game), then this is the perfect bite-size mobile game to help you accomplish that. In some ways, Her Majesty feels more flushed out than its predecessor.

In the age of Tinder-style apps (such as Popcorn), it's not surprising that this format would end up in mobile games. The format is perfect for the choose-your-own-adventure kind of game, which is what Reigns is. In the original, you sat as the king, overseeing a kingdom and making tough decisions that affect your church, people, army, and treasury. It was a simple concept, as you were just presented with situations and two options for choices. I loved the original, but even with the additional character cards to unlock, it felt like it was missing something. And now Her Majesty has arrived.

Reigns

GHI Media, LLC

Visually, Her Majesty features the same art style as the original Reigns. This means a minimal aesthetic with flat, 2D visuals that have a low-poly design. The color palette remains similar as well, with a nice mix of bright, vivid colors and muted, earthy tones so that everything contrasts nicely. The character designs on the cards are all unique and distinctive, so you can tell what they are in a single glance. The icons for the kingdom's various levels are the same, and the green and red transitions help you identify when a decision positively or negatively impacts your kingdom. Animations are smooth and fluid, and I had no issues of lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The original soundtrack by Jim Guthrie is ambient and soothing, while the sound effects are as quirky as ever.

In the original game, players ruled as the King and various citizens of the kingdom came to you with a wide variety of situations. You were given two choices, which could be revealed by swiping left or right (you can pull the card slightly in either direction to see your options). Each choice you make will affect the levels of your kingdom (religion, people, army, and money), and you continued until your inevitable death. The goal was to see how long your rule would last, and then you'd play again as a new King.

While Her Majesty is the same concept, it adds in a few new elements to spice things up again. With these new additions, the game feels more robust than before, while providing the same gameplay that you loved from the original.

In Her Majesty, you're actually ruling together with a King by your side. However, don't let that fool you — you're still making all of the tough decisions, and the King will just go along with whatever you say. And since you're a female in this game, there are choice you must make regarding how you dress, and you'll even have children. The game has the same great humor that was in the first one, so that hasn't left.

Additionally, Her Majesty has some new game mechanics, such as usable items and puzzles. To access your item stash, just tap on the arrow at the bottom, then select the item you want to use, then tap on the character card you want to use it on. Puzzles involve remembering steps and doing them in the correct order, finding hidden secrets in the castle, and even finding your way through a maze. Her Majesty also has a combat system, but it may take you a few attempts before you even see this, as you'll need to manage the kingdom without it falling apart first.

To keep players coming back, there are new characters to unlock, like in the first game, and objectives to complete.

Reigns returns in an all new time period with all new swipe based choices.

Her Majesty is a great follow-up to the original game that came out last year. The first game felt a bit basic, but this sequel adds in many new features that make the game feel more whole. Plus, the game's simple style is endearing, the music is incredibly well done, and the controls are still intuitive. The humor is carried over too, which is sure to bring a smile to your face as you play.

If you were a fan of the original Reigns, then Her Majesty brings more of the same.

Even with the new additions, Her Majesty still feels a lot like the original Reigns. While this may not necessarily be a bad thing, the concept is no longer fresh and interesting as it was when it first came out. It is also rather hard to not have some misfortune fall upon you before reaching the new game elements, such as combat and childbirth.

The verdict

Reigns: Her Majesty is a great sequel that fans of the original game must check out. The graphics are as charming as ever and feel more polished than last year. Jim Guthrie's music is top-notch once again, and the soundtrack is just lovely. The diversity of gameplay mechanics in Her Majesty will keep you coming back for more, and it does make the game more challenging.

If you're looking for a fun choose-your-own-adventure kind of game, make sure to grab Reigns: Her Majesty.

9.6

OVERALL

Replayability 10

Game Controls 10

Sound/Music 10

Graphics 9

Gameplay 9

Reigns: Her Majesty

Devolver

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It's Every Man for Himself in the Apocalyptic Ashworld

November 22, 2020 by RSS Feed

Ashworld ($3.99) by Pascal Bestebroer is an open-world survival adventure game that takes place several hundred years in a post-apocalyptic future. If you enjoyed games like Death Road to Canada, then you may enjoy what Ashworld has to offer.

Let's face it — whenever you tune in to the news these days, you may just wonder when the world is going to end, because it's inevitable at this rate. It may actually be better to start preparing for an apocalyptic future, honestly, and that's pretty much what you're getting in Ashworld. I've been a fan of Orangepixel's other games, like Meganoid 2017, Heroes of Loot, and Space Grunts, so when Ashworld was announced months ago, I was eager to give it a shot.

$10.99

Death Road to Canada

Rocketcat LLC

Meganoid(2017)

Pascal Bestebroer

Heroes of Loot

Pascal Bestebroer

Space Grunts

Pascal Bestebroer

Visually, Ashworld retains the retro, pixelated art style that Orangepixel's titles are known for. Everything's rendered in 2D, though the game does feature dynamic lighting and daytime cycles, which give everything a bit of oomph to it. And despite the fact that everything is pixelated, the game still manages to pack in plenty of fine details and textures. The tiny character sprites on the open map are still distinctive from each other, though it's probably best to play this game on an iPad.

The colors in Ashworld are mostly dark and gloomy to fit the post-apocalyptic theme, but there's some bold and vibrant hues from fires and cartoon blood that contrast nicely. Animations are smooth and fluid with no issues of lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The game also features an eerie soundtrack that goes well with the overall tone, and sound effects are fairly realistic for what it's worth. For a more immersive experience, I'd recommend playing this game with some good headphones.

With Ashworld, even though it's an open-world adventure that's procedurally generated on new games, you still have the same opening each time. The story behind Ashworld is that in 2017, a nuclear war began. It's been 400 years since, but the remaining humans are still cleaning up the mess from that nuclear war. It's a game about survival, and resources like food and water are as scarce as they come. The Ragers rule the barren land, terrorizing their way to become top of the food chain. And at night, there are the Skellies, which only become more powerful as time passes.

It's up to you to help the protagonist survive this mad world by making use of what's left. You'll encounter various friendly NPCs who will help you if you help them, different weapon types to help you take out your foes, food and water to help you replenish energy, various vehicles to help you get around or squash enemies, and more. Ashworld even has its own crafting system, and you gain experience and level up to increase your survival skills.

While the game is open-world, it's an adventure that involves resource management and tests your survivability. And if you usually don't like open-world games because there isn't much guidance, Ashworld has story missions to help you get where you need to go. There's also sub-quests if you want even more to do. Once you have a mission, you can access the game's map at any time to view where your destination is. There's also an arrow pointer above your character that points you in the right direction, which is always helpful for those who get lost easily (like me).

The controls in Ashworld are simple enough, and they're fully customizable as well. In the bottom left of the screen will be an invisible virtual joystick that lets you freely roam around on the overworld. If you go inside of a building, then you'll have two buttons for moving left and right in the bottom left corner. The bottom right corner contains two buttons: X and A. The X lets you do actions, such as attacking with your equipped weapon. The A button lets you talk to NPCs or jump, depending on where you are. The A button shifts around slightly, depending on if you're on the overworld or inside a building.

When you're driving a vehicle, the game adds a forward and reverse button above the X and A buttons. You use these to accelerate or reverse the vehicle, and steer with the left and right arrows. It does take a bit of getting used to, but feels pretty good after a while.

If the default controls aren't to your liking, you can adjust them in the game's settings. It separates them into Platform, Running, and Driving controls, and lets you re-position the buttons as you wish, adjust sensitivity levels, and the touch area size (big, small, or default normal).

Ashworld is a tough and challenging game, and definitely not for the feint of heart. There's a lot of open space with the barren lands, and Ragers can come in at any time to fight you. It's all about quick thinking and reflexes in this game, as well as managing what few resources you have. Plus, nighttime is even more dangerous with the Skellies coming out, so trying to survive in the day to get enough weaponry is a task in and of itself.

An open world survival adventure set in a post apocalyptic future.

The Good

Ashworld is definitely a fun, albeit frustrating open world survival adventure. The vintage-style graphics are great, though a bit small on iPhones, and the sound is delightfully haunting. There is plenty of things to do, and surviving long enough to do it all is a test of skill. The controls are simple enough, but the customization really takes the cake. If you're not satisfied with the default settings, make sure to go into the options and tweak it around until you find the right settings for you.

The Bad

While Ashworld is a good game, it's not for everyone. As mentioned earlier, the game is not forgiving and can be rather difficult to get far enough to make good progress. I also found the slight shift in the A button position when switching between the overworld and platforming to be a bit annoying, but at least you can change it if desired. I also think the opening should be skippable, because I've seen it a few times already now.

The verdict

If you're craving a tough-as-nails survival adventure game, then Ashworld is going to be right up your alley. The game has great pixel graphics, the sound design is great, and the controls are highly customizable. But if you're more in the mood for a game that's relaxing, you won't find it here.

Still, if you're searching for a post-apocalyptic survival game, then Ashworld is a good contender. Ashworld is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $3.99. The game is also available on Steam for $13.99.

8.5

OVERALL

Replayability 9

Sound/Music 9

Game Controls 8.5

Graphics 8

Gameplay 8

Ashworld

Pascal Bestebroer

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Get Rolling and Save the Sweets in Super Donuts!

November 22, 2020 by RSS Feed

Super Donuts ($2.99) by Nice Westwood is an old-school platformer without a jump button. If that sounds a bit confusing at first, think of games like Sonic the Hedgehog, where momentum is the key to moving around. Super Donuts is similar to other games on the App Store, such as Eggggg and Le Parker: Sous Chef Extraordinaire.

When I was a kid, I remember spending hours on my SEGA Genesis system playing Sonic the Hedgehog 2. It was one of the few video games I had (I didn't have many) and I have incredibly fond memories of it. I'd always make silly mistakes that end up costing me, but I never gave up and strived to beat the game on my own. Ever since then, I've grown rather fond of platformers in general, including other classics like Super Mario Bros. So whenever a new platformer style game hits the App Store, I have to check it out, as it's one of my favorite genres. When I saw Super Donuts on the App Store, I was intrigued — I love donuts, sweets, and platformers, so this was almost like a dream come true.

Eggggg - The Platform Puker

Hyper Games AS

$1.99

Le Parker: Sous Chef Extraordinaire

Play Pretend LLC

Free

Sonic The Hedgehog Classic

Sega America

Visually, Super Donuts! has a retro 16-bit pixel art style that definitely harkens back to the golden age of gaming. It has a cheesy look and feel to it all, which makes me love it even more. The game is rendered in 2D fashion, and the colors are bright and vibrant, just like the good old days. Animations are smooth and fluid, so I had no issues of lag or choppiness on my iPhone 8 Plus. There's also an upbeat and quirky soundtrack that I found delightful to listen to. The sound effects are pretty fun to hear too. I'm a bit surprised that the game doesn't have chiptunes, considering that it's inspired by the classics, but the sound is still done well for what it is.

Like classic platformers, Super Donuts is level-based. There are several different areas in the world of Sweetzerland, and each have a handful of stages. In total, Super Donuts has over 40 levels right now, which should be enough for anyone to get their platforming fix at the moment.

The levels can be pretty straightforward, but some are a bit lengthier and trickier to get through, so there's a bit of time involved if you plan on getting through all of the available levels. The goal in Super Donuts is easy enough: find all of the lost baby donuts that were taken away from home and rescue them. Of course, this is always easier said than done at times.

The controls in Super Donuts are incredibly simple and intuitive. In the bottom corners, there are buttons that let you move your donut character left or right. The only catch to everything is the fact that there is no jump button. That's right — this is a platformer that is sans a jump button.

"Then how do you jump?" is what you're probably thinking. Think of how Sonic moves when he's going fast and goes off a sloped ramp or bounce pad. He's able to gain air because of momentum, and that's how you "jump" in Super Donuts. When you move left or right, you can gain a bit of speed since you're rather round (you're a donut, after all). us your momentum and the law of physics to get the donut off the ground and reach platforms it wouldn't reach otherwise.

Additionally, there are power-ups that you can find that give you a much-needed boost. These power-ups include Bounce, Sticky, Giant, Super Sprinkles, and more.

In each stage, your main objective is to find the baby donuts that are hidden somewhere on each stage. Roll over them to collect them, and then the exit gate opens up on the stage. Along the way, you can collect the sweets, including the secret one that's tucked away somewhere just out-of-reach unless you put in the extra effort to get it. If you manage to collect all of the sweets, then there's a special treat awaiting you, but it takes skill and patience to get this.

Super Donuts! is a fresh and sweet take on the classic platformer genre, and it harkens back to many classics.

The Good

Super Donuts is a nice throwback to the classic platformer games of yesteryear. The game retains the vintage pixel art style that many of us grew up on and love, and the music and sound is designed well. The controls work well enough and it's easy enough for anyone to pick up and play. The goal is straightforward but there's still plenty of secrets for those who want to go back and get 100 percent completion.

The developer is also promising free updates with new features (high scores and speed runs) and levels in the future, so it's something to look forward to once you finish the game.

The Bad

I'm thoroughly enjoying my time with Super Donuts so far, but I did notice that the controls seem less responsive than I'd like them to be. For example, if I'm speeding along towards the right, but want to quickly turn around, I just seem to stop when I press the left button, rather than stop and then move in the other direction. It's a bit annoying and I then have to check to make sure I'm pressing the button touch area, so it isn't as streamlined as I hoped. The developer did say that an update is coming soon with some fixes, so hopefully this is one of them.

The verdict

Despite my small issue with the controls, I'm still having a good time with Super Donuts. The graphics take me back to my childhood days, and the music and sounds bring a smile to my face. I like the idea of a non-traditional platformer (in this case no jump button) and this game executes the concept nicely. I just hope to see more optimized controls in the future, and I look forward to the levels that are in store in upcoming updates.

8.7

OVERALL

Replayability 9

Graphics 9

Gameplay 9

Game Controls 8

Sound/Music 8.5

$0.99

Super Donuts!

Nick Westwood

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