Blyss is Pure Puzzle Bliss
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Blyss ($1.99) by Dropout Games is a new relaxing puzzler that has hit the market. If recent releases like Dots & Co, Quell Zen, and klocki weren’t enough to whet your appetite, then Blyss is a fine addition to any puzzle game collection. It’s truly a game that will give you some bliss.
I love games on any platform, but since I have my iPhone with me everywhere, I definitely prefer that to the other systems I have, simply out of convenience. Of course, mobile isn’t the best platform for some types of games, but I think it is one of the best for the puzzle genre (also one of my favorites), so naturally, I have a ton of puzzlers on my device that I keep around for those times when I have a few moments to spare. I managed to get a demo of Blyss while I was at GDC this year, and I walked away thoroughly impressed with it and eager to get my hands on the final release. It’s finally arrived on the App Store, and I couldn’t be happier.
Blyss features a minimalistic aesthetic that is both beautiful and soothing. The game itself is done in 2-D, but it features 3—D blocks and sometimes an angled perspective, so it has the psuedo 3-D look and feel. The colors are rich and vibrant, depending on the theme that you use (need coins), but they’re all nice eye candy. Plus, the themes affect what you see in the backgrounds, which also feature subtle animations. Overall, the animations in Blyss are buttery smooth and fluid, with no lag or choppiness on my iPhone 6s Plus. On top of the nice visuals, Blyss has an ambient, atmospheric soundtrack that will melt your troubles away. Each theme has its own track, so you’d better save up those coins to unlock them all — it’s well worth it.
There are three modes in Blyss, though only one is available from the start: Endless Mode, Time Attack, and Playground. In order to unlock Time Attack and Playground, you will have to solve a certain number of puzzles first, though I found the amount required to be rather overwhelming (I believe over 300) — it’s entirely possible for one to lose interest in the game before unlocking the other two modes, so I hope that the developer can change that in a future update.
Endless Mode is just that — an endless stream of puzzles for you to solve. Time Attack involves racing against the clock, and Playground, well, I’m not sure what that one is just yet since I haven’t unlocked it. Each stage is also procedurally generated, so it will never be the same string of puzzles, and there are unlimited options. The main objective is simple enough: clear out all of the blips (dots) by connecting them in lines of three or four blocks. However, they can only be connected horizontally or vertically, never diagonally. So while it seems super easy at first, you’ll get puzzles that are increasingly more complex, like large grids of tiles with two or three sets of blips on them, so some thinking and strategy is involved.
So how are the controls in Blyss? It’s incredibly intuitive and straightforward, and even possible to play with one hand if you can manage it. To connect the blips, just slide your finger or thumb over the tiles you want to connect, either horizontally or vertically only. Remember, to clear them out, they must be at least three blocks long, but no more than four blocks at most. If the tiles have more than one blip on them, then only one dot goes away after you make a match with them, but they’ll remain on the board until all blips are cleared out from the tile. If you make certain combinations of matches (a reference is in Options), then that means it’s a combo, which nets you more points. If there are single tiles left on the board, then that means you failed and that round is over, though you can spend coins to try again.
To keep things fresh and interesting, Blyss has some missions for players to strive for each time they play. These range from “complete 40 puzzles” to “get 10 combos” and the like. Completing these goals rewards you with more coins, so there is a good incentive to try and accomplish them.
If you consider yourself a perfectionist or are curious about your progress, the game does include stats and achievements, though they’re hidden away in the Options menu. It also includes a reference for the potential combos you can make, Game Center integration, and what your active challenges are, as well as various settings you can toggle.
I still have a ways to go in Blyss before I can get the Time Attack and Playground modes, but I am enjoying the Endless Mode a lot. The game has a simple gameplay mechanic that is much more challenging that it first appears, as you have to think about the connections you’re making so that you don’t leave tiles behind. Plus, the graphics are simple, clean, and gorgeous, the music for each theme is captivating and delightful, and there are zero in-app purchases for coins — they’re only earned, which is the way it should be. I just want to see a lower threshold requirement for unlocking Time Attack and Playground modes, because they seem a bit too high for most people at the moment, but this is just a suggestion.
I highly recommend grabbing Blyss if you’re a fan of puzzle games and need some zen this week. You can find Blyss on the App Store as a universal download for $1.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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Severed is a Great Action RPG That Doesn’t Cost an Arm and a Leg
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Severed ($5.99) by DrinkBox Studios is a captivating dungeon crawling RPG adventure with puzzles thrown into the mix for good measure. Think of it like Infinity Blade meets The Legend of Zelda with a dash of Etrian Odyssey. If you enjoy any of these genres or games, then Severed is for you.
When people think of mobile games, they probably think of match-three puzzles, more or less, or perhaps the infinite runner. In all honestly, because of the amount of junk in the App Store, some people may not take mobile gaming seriously enough. Fortunately, there are always going to be some exceptions that truly shine on the platform, and Severed is one of them. I noticed the game at GDC this year, though I didn’t actually try it out until E3, where I got to meet with one of the developers and try the game out. After my brief time with the demo, I fell in love with the game instantly and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Now the day has come, and it’s been well worth the wait.
I’ll go right out and say it: Severed is also one of the most macabre and morbid games I’ve played recently, especially on mobile. If the thought of severed limbs bothers you or makes you squeamish, then this game may not be for you. But if you can get past all of that doom and gloom, then the game is pretty fantastic.
Severed tells the story of Sasha, who discovers that she has lost an arm and is in a nightmarish world all alone. As she explores her surroundings, she finds out that her family has been captured by evil monsters, and it’s up to her to find and save them. But with one arm, that’s going to be quite a feat. As you guide Sasha, you’ll find a mysterious creature who gives you a sword, which ends up being her weapon of choice, as well as her mother’s armor in another room of what appears to be your house, even though it technically isn’t. And since Sasha only has one arm, using a shield is impossible, so that sword must serve as her offense and defense (parry). She’ll face incredibly tough demons who stand in her way, but once she cuts her way through them, she can even use their severed limbs to empower herself. Like I said, this game is pretty dark.
Moving around in Severed is easy — just tap on the left and right sides of the screen to turn around accordingly, and drag two fingers around on the screen to look at your surroundings (since you see the world through Sasha’s eyes), which is useful for any possible items to pick up. To move forward, you just tap on an opening in front of you, and there is a mini-map in the top right corner that tells you where you are, where you’ve been, and what lies ahead. If you’ve played games like the Etrian Odyssey series, then this map navigation system will be familiar to you. If you find items that you can interact with (they blink), such as limbs or keys, just tap on them to view or pick them up for your stash. Once you have keys, just tap on the locked doors to open them and proceed forward.
When you find what appears to be a glowing flame in front of you, this indicates an enemy spawn. When you move into that room, a battle will commence. The game starts out pretty easy with just single targets, but as you advance, you’ll have fights with multiple enemies at once, up to four, though some special battles can have up to eight foes at once. To switch your target in a multi-foe battle, just tap on the sides of the screen to rotate, or jump to a foe quickly by tapping on their icon at the bottom.
The combat in this game is what takes the cake, for me at least. If you’ve played any of the Infinity Blade or Fruit Ninja games before, then it should be familiar to you. To attack foes, just swipe on the screen to do a slash attack with your sword. A longer slash does more damage than a short one, so keep that in mind as you unleash your fury. You can parry an incoming attack by swiping against their slash, and then use that opportunity to counterattack. As you land hits in on your enemy, you’ll build up your focus meter, which activates Severed Mode, giving you a chance to cut their limbs off after they’re defeated for your own upgrades.
However, each enemy has their own unique attack pattern, and the key is learning their move sets so you know when to attack, parry, and counter. While there are only so many enemies, having to learn all of their moves and weak points can be a daunting task in itself, so it makes up for the lack of enemy variety. This is because you’ll have to be on the offense and defense at the same time — chipping away at foes while making sure that you don’t get hit yourself, or let certain threats build up their momentum as you’re busy trying to kill another one.
When the game starts, Sasha will only have so much health, and no mana. But as you make your way through the game, you’ll also find heart and brain pieces to refill your health and mana, as well as increase the amount when you collect a set of five. And when you cut off the limbs of your foes (each one has a different slash pattern and you only have a few seconds to do so), you can spend those parts on upgrades for Sasha. To upgrade, just tap on your health bar and it opens up a menu. From here, you can see what kind of upgrades she can get (sword for example). You can tap on each skill in the tree to see what the upgrade is and what the cost is, as each one is different and requires a number of specific limbs.
If you’re not put off by the grisly nature of the Severed’s plot and gameplay, then you’re in for a treat with the visuals and music department. Even though this is definitely one of the darker games I’ve played, the world that Drinkbox managed to create is colorful and vibrant. And while it looks 2-D on the surface, the navigation and combat gives it that immersive 3-D experience that pulls you in to the nightmare world that Sasha is in. Animations while navigating the map and during combat are smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 6s Plus. And to top things off, Severed has an eerie, atmospheric soundtrack and sound effects that will send a chill up your spine. DrinkBox truly knocked it out of the park with this game.
I am still fairly early on in the game, but I am hearing that it contains about six hours of gameplay if you do a straight playthrough without mistakes. While that doesn’t seem like a lot at first, it’s important to note how Severed is more of a console-like experience than most other mobile games these days. The visuals are stunning, the music is great (grab your headphones), the combat system is rather intricate and complex so it’s challenging, and the grim story is superb. Severed is a masterpiece of a game, and I’m glad to see that it has finally arrived on iOS (released first on PlayStation Vita on April 26, 2016 and also coming to Nintendo Wii U and 3DS later this summer).
I highly recommend checking out Severed if you like dungeon crawlers, exploration games, puzzles, and RPGs. It’s a game that should not be missed. Severed is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $5.99 until Aug. 4. After that, the game will be $6.99.
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Take the Road Not Taken in Spry Fox’s New Roguelike Puzzler
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Road Not Taken ($4.99) by Spry Fox, LLC is a puzzle game about the surprises of life. If you enjoy turn-based puzzle games that are as challenging as life itself, then Road Not Taken will be right up your alley. Don’t be fooled by the cute fairy tale style — this game won’t be easy.
Over the years, I’ve played a lot of video games, especially on mobile as I’ve been here at AppAdvice. While I do enjoy a wide variety of games, some of my favorites on mobile continue to be puzzle games, with roguelike games also quite high on the list. So when I saw Road Not Taken on the App Store, I was pleasantly surprised. After all, this game also came from Spry Fox, which is one of my favorite game development studios at the moment after the release of Alphabears and Bushido Bear. I mean, who can resist their adorable art style and addictive gameplay? Road Not Taken may not feature the same cute bears from these releases, but that’s completely okay — Road Not Taken has its own set of challenging charm that sets it apart from recent Spry Fox releases.
The visuals in Road Not Taken are beautiful and stunning. From the App Store screenshots, you’ll immediately think of some kind of fairy tale or something that is whimsical like that. But the truth is the game is far from it. Still, I found the game’s cartoonish graphics to be rather impressive, as everything is packed with texture and detail, and character sprites are bouncing with life and emotion. The colors that are used are a nice range of soft pastels to rich and vibrant hues, depending on the situation that you find yourself in, of course. Animations in Road Not Taken are smooth and fluid, so I had no lag on my iPhone 6s Plus. Music in the game is also incredibly well done, as there is an evocative and atmospheric soundtrack in the background that reflects the challenges you’ll be facing. If only real life worked the same way, right? Overall, Spry Fox did an excellent job in creating a gorgeous world for a charming and engaging game.
In Road Not Taken, there aren’t exactly levels for players to go through. Instead, you’ll get dropped into the story of a ranger, with the magical capability of levitation and telekinesis, who finds himself in a remote village during the aftermath of a powerful winter storm. Being the good guy that you are (as the ranger), you end up taking on quests to help out the villagers who have lost their children in the forest as they were sent to help their parents pick winter berries. Each time you play, you will experience a procedurally generated story, so every run you try will be different. Naturally, as you talk to the villagers, they will describe to you an ideal way of life that involves getting a job, falling in love and getting married and then having children. But as you start each new journey for the day, paths will change, characters are different and result in different relationships to forge, just like in real life. And since everything is procedurally generated as you set out for the day, there are unlimited possibilities of what you will encounter. The replay value is definitely up high with Road Not Taken.
The controls in the game are simple and straightforward. To move, just swipe on the screen in the direction you want to go, or hold down on the screen to continuously move in that direction. To interact with objects, like trees, lost children, bee hives, and more, just tap on them when you’re adjacent to them. You can carry the items around as you move, but this will take up energy (one for each square you move), which is shown in the top left corner. If you tap on the screen as you’re carrying an item, you will throw it in the direction that the item was facing. If you have not yet moved while holding an object, you can simply put it down without throwing it by doing a long tap on the screen.
As you explore each path and try to accomplish the quests, you’ll encounter many challenging puzzles along the way. It’s important to pay attention to the signs — they will tell you what you need to do to unlock the path to the next area (such as matching a group of trees), or even give you some helpful hints, such as telling you that four bee hives will give you honey, which replenishes energy (any type of food will have this effect). Any enemy characters you encounter are dangerous, so you’ll want to steer clear of them. But sometimes you may not have a choice and you’ll be face-to-face with danger, since the enemies move when you do. But since you have telekinesis, you can also pick up enemies and throw them, so make sure to take advantage of that if the situation arises. The game has a wide variety of dangerous foes that you’ll face, and there are also boss battles. Essentially, you will have to think before you move in this game.
If you run out of energy, then it’s game over. You’ll see what you’ve accomplished on that run, and then you’ll find yourself back in the village once again, ready to set out on the next journey. Each run will be different in terms of paths, characters, enemies, and obstacles, so the surprise is a great element to keep you coming back time and time again.
I’m still very early on in Road Not Taken, but so far, I’m enjoying the challenge that the game presents. The visuals are top notch, just as I’d expect from Spry Fox, and the soundtrack is truly captivating and immersive. I think the controls could be better optimized, though, as I did have some moments of struggling when I was trying to figure the game out, especially when it came to throwing and placing things down. Still, the story of the game is vast, and reflects real life well. And the puzzles themselves are rather tricky and devilish at times, which is nice to have. Plus, the randomly generated runs each time mean you’re always going to be in for a surprise.
I highly recommend checking out Road Not Taken if you are a fan of Spry Fox, or just like roguelike puzzle games in general. You can find Road Not Taken as a universal app on the App Store for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV for just $4.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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Connect the Dots and Don’t Implode in Comblosion
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Comblosion ($1.99) by Sebastian Miedtank is a twitch reflex arcade game that is all about connecting and collecting. If you want a much more fast-paced game about connecting dots, compared to Dots & Co and other puzzle games, then Comblosion is just your style.
Even though I have several different console systems, I still do most of my gaming on my iPhone these days just because of the convenience. While I get the most enjoyment out of puzzle games (they’re a great way to relax), sometimes I do want something that moves at a faster pace and lets me chase high scores all day long. Comblosion is one of those games, and while it’s about connecting the dots, it’s much different compared to some of the popular games out there, like the Dots series.
In terms of visuals, Comblosion features a super simple, minimalistic style that will appeal to everyone who likes a clean aesthetic. The game sports a black background with colored dots and lines that contrast nicely due to the bright and vibrant hues. The animations are buttery smooth with no lag on my iPhone 6s Plus. The game doesn’t have a continuous soundtrack in the background, but it does have charming little sound effects as you connect and collect. While Comblosion is pretty no-frills in the visual and audio department, the developer still did a great job in creating something that just looks great on your Retina screen.
Since Comblosion is an arcade game, it’s essentially just a high score chaser. There are no levels — you just play infinitely as long as you can, progressing to the next stage layout as you rack up the points. The objective of the game is pretty straightforward: connect the dots as they appear on the screen. Once you connect to the dot, a new one appears. But you can’t cross over previously drawn lines, and you only start out with a few seconds on the clock, but each dot you connect with adds another second to the countdown. There’s no end to connecting the dots unless you run out of time, which can be pretty fast. Sometimes items will appear on the screen, like gifts, extra time, and point boosts. If you see those, make sure to collect them before connecting to your next dot, as they disappear otherwise.
The controls in Comblosion are easy enough — just connect the red dot to the other red dot (with the orange dashes around it) with your finger. However, I recommend watching how you draw the lines, because the placement of the next dot is always random, and sometimes the game puts it in a spot that you can’t get to due to trapping yourself. Sometimes it just can’t be helped, though, and the procedurally generated nature of the game keeps things interesting. Again, if a power-up item spawns on the screen as you’re trying to make another connection, make sure to collect them along the way for nice bonus.
Despite the game being an endless high score chaser with no levels, there are times when you will advance to the next stage once you obtain the power-up or get enough dots, which means a different layout. In addition to not being able to cross over previously drawn lines, you cannot touch the red areas that are on the screen, which will always vary with each attempt. If you touch the red areas, your line breaks and you’ll have to try again, hopefully circumventing that section and any other existing lines already.
If you are good enough, you’ll eventually get the rocket item, which can be used to give yourself a head start and net you several hundred points before you even make a single connection. I have yet to unlock these rocket items though, so I’m assuming you have to reach a certain point threshold to get access to them.
I’ve only just started playing Comblosion, but so far I’m enjoying it, even though I’m doing terribly by trapping myself in my own web of connections. As a fan of minimalism, I like the aesthetics, the sound effects are whimsical, and the gameplay is simple but challenging. The only thing that would make the game even better is different game modes, if possible, but the infinite high score chasing right now is sufficient enough.
I recommend checking out Comblosion if you are searching for a fast-paced high score chasing arcade game to pass the time with. You can find Comblosion on the App Store as a universal app for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99.
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Plan Your Activities Through Optimal Weather Conditions in Foresee
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Foresee: Your Personal Activity Forecast ($0.99) by BorderLeap, LLC is a weather app that helps you plan out your day and activities. Foresee is definitely an app that will help you make the most of your day given the present weather conditions of your frequently visited areas, and a great app for making life a bit easier. It’s the first app from the game developer BorderLeap, who has made some great hits like har•mon•y, Alpha Omega, and Drop Flip.
Like everyone else, I live a fairly busy life that is full of work, personal things, errands, appointments, meetings, and any other thing that gets thrown my way. It can be hard to plan things, but everything gets thrown into my calendar so that I can make sure I remember something coming up. However, aside from the normal things every day, I don’t necessarily schedule new activities ahead of time based on the weather, because to me, it seemed like a hassle — I’d have to use two different apps and always constantly check how the weather is as the day approached. Fortunately, that problem is now solved with Foresee.
In terms of visual design, Foresee is gorgeous. The app will launch with a gorgeous background photo (you can change this for each location) that is transparent enough for text to be shown clearly on the foreground. You’ll clearly see the present temperature and weather conditions at the top in large text, with a full two-week timeline underneath, with a projected forecast for the next seven days. Navigation is quick and easy with the recognizable buttons, and there is a lot of flexibility with the criteria you want to put in for activity planning. Plus, with the wide variety of different background images that you can use, there is a lot of customization in Foresee.
The first thing that you’ll want to do in Foresee is to grant it permission to your present location. This makes it easy for you to plan activities in your home or work area. The app also lets you add multiple locations, though you’ll have to tap on the hamburger menu button in the top left corner to access the menu. Along with adding several cities from this menu screen, you can change the temperature and wind speed units. There is also an introductory tutorial in case you need some guidance on how to use the app, though I believe it’s pretty self explanatory.
When you are ready to start planning an activity for the weather, just select the location you want to plan it for, and then tap on the plus button under the present weather bar. This is where the magic of Foresee happens.
The first thing you’ll want to do is give your activity or event a title, and then choose the appropriate icon for it: running, walking, cycling, mow the grass, walk the dog, etc. There’s a lot of options to choose from, and you can just swipe horizontally to scroll through the icon ribbon. Then, you will set your time and date preferences, including how often this activity will occur and at what time range. You can set it to notify you when your conditions are met as well. After the date and time are set, you can tweak your optimal weather preferences for the activity. These include specific temperature ranges, chance of precipitation, cloudiness levels, wind, and humidity levels.
Since I live in Southern California, the weather has not been optimal for me to be outside during peak afternoon hours most of the time. My skin also has a sensitivity to heat, so I’m finding Foresee to be incredibly useful, even though I’m seeing that my optimal weather conditions may not happen around this time of year (oh woe is me). However, it’s amazing that I can tell the app what I consider to be perfect conditions for a certain activity and it will let me know when that day arrives so I can do what I want to do.
You can add separate activities for each location, as well as multiple events in one area. The app tells you from the main location view whether or not the day’s weather meets your criteria. Even if it does or doesn’t, you can tap on the activity and see the conditions for the time range that you specified.
To change the background image for your cities, just tap on the photo icon in the upper right corner. It brings up a ribbon of thumbnails that you can scroll through horizontally, and when you find an image you like, just tap on it to select it. The location detail screen will refresh with your choice, and it’s pretty fast to render as well, so you can constantly change the theme on-the-fly.
I only downloaded Foresee over the weekend, but I can see this being an invaluable tool to plan my outdoor activities, especially in the SoCal heat. The app itself looks gorgeous and is intuitive for anyone to use, and the ability to customize your optimal forecast for specific activities and events is fantastic. I think the only improvement that should be made to the app is the ability for users to add in their own photos as background images, giving it even more of a personal touch.
I recommend giving Foresee a try if you want a weather app that works with you to schedule your activities in ideal weather conditions. Foresee is available on the iPhone App Store for just $0.99.
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