"If there is an app for that"

KAMI

State of Play Games Ltd

Strata

Graveck Interactive LLC

Open Bar!

Gingear Studio Inc

Visually speaking, Kami 2 is downright gorgeous and stunning. The game revolves around an origami theme, so there are a ton of fine details that make the game beautiful to behold. Kami 2 showcases a fine paper texture throughout everything, from the levels to menus, and the patterns range from simple to intricate and complex. The color palettes used feature a myriad of tones, from earthy, muted hues to soft pastels to bold and vibrant shades. The smooth and fluid animations in the game are one of the biggest reasons to check it out, as it’s hypnotic to watch the colored paper fold and unfold on the screen, and then have the “Perfect” sticker slapped on when you complete a stage is just so satisfying. To top things off, there’s a soothing atmospheric soundtrack and the realistic sound effects of folding paper is delightful. It goes without saying that State of Play Games has another hit on their hands.

Like many other puzzle games, Kami 2 is level-based and features about 19 chapters with six stages in each, giving players over 100 puzzles to start off with for free. While you get access to six levels at a time, you must complete all of the puzzles in a section before the next chapter becomes accessible, so the game is still fairly linear in that aspect. In case the amount of regular stages is not enough, there is also a daily challenge puzzle to solve, and this time around, Kami has a level editor so players can create, share, and download their own unique stages with players all over the world. Regardless of how you choose to play, the goal of Kami 2 is the same: fill the screen with a single color in as few moves as possible. Things start out simple enough but get much more complicated as you progress in the game.

The controls in Kami 2 are straightforward and intuitive. At the bottom of the screen will be a color picker that features all of the colors that are in the current stage. Just tap on a color to select it. Since the goal is to fill the screen with one color, just tap on the other colored sections to fill them in with that chosen color, and watch the paper fold and flood the pattern with it. There is a limited number of moves that are allotted to you for every stage, which is shown in the bottom corner, along with the restart and hint buttons. You will start out with a limited number of hints, but once they’re used up, you have the option to get more through in-app purchases. However, each puzzle can be solved through trial-and-error, so if you’re stuck, just be persistent.

While you are able to browse player created levels from the get-go and save your favorites by tapping on the heart, you do have to clear the first 12 stages of the Journey (regular levels) to unlock the level builder. This gives players a reason to go through the main game, even if it’s just for the first 12 levels. If you aren’t the creative type and just want to check out what others have made, the gallery is well organized and easy to peruse through. You can see what’s popular (determined by number of favorites) or the latest submissions, and then check out your bookmarked favorites for easy access. The Daily Challenge showcases several puzzles at once, and you can see how many global attempts at each stage there are so far, as well as the number of people who perfected the puzzle solution.

KAMI 2 is definitely a game that lives up to its predecessor. The game packs in amazing, realistic graphics that make you feel like you are truly unfolding paper on the screen, and the music puts you in a state of zen. The puzzles are challenging enough for everyone, and never too frustrating. There are a lot of puzzles to go through in the game, so you do get your money's worth, and the new level editor lets players run wild with their own imaginative creations.

While some sequels end up being disappointments, KAMI 2 definitely does not fall into that category. If anything, the only negative about KAMI 2 is the fact that it is just more of the same, so if you don't care for relaxing puzzle games, then you won't enjoy this one either.

I’m still in the early stages of Kami 2 myself (some of the levels can be tricky), but so far I’m loving the experience. The game is a fantastic follow-up to the original, which I adored. The visuals make the game look and feel like genuine origami, the sound is amazing, the puzzles are challenging enough without being too overwhelming, and the wide variety of included levels as well as daily challenges and user-made stages keeps everything fresh and interesting, even if you beat the main game. This is another fantastic puzzle game from State of Play Games that I will be keeping on my device for some time.

I recommend checking out Kami 2 if you are a fan of the original, or just enjoy zen-like puzzles. You can find Kami 2 on the App Store as a free universal download for your iPhone and iPad with in-app purchases for hints and special color palettes.

9.2

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Replayability 9

Game Controls 9

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 9

KAMI 2

State of Play Games

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Take a Breather and Relax With the Puzzling Windin

June 26, 2017 by RSS Feed

Windin (Free) By no-pact is a casual match-three puzzle game that is a bit reminiscent of Tetris. If you liked games such as Match Land, Topsoil, and Hero Emblems, then Windin is right up your alley.

When times get tough, I like to escape reality for a little bit and chill out with some video games. Usually I am game for almost any genre, but some of my favorites for relaxing involve puzzle games and high score chasers, because I like to try to best myself. However, over the years, I’ve gone through a ton of puzzle games and while there’s plenty to choose from in the oversaturated market, there’s one problem: originality and uniqueness. Most puzzle games are just variants of each other, and there’s nothing truly special about it. That’s why when I saw Windin on the App Store, I was intrigued by the game’s distinctive game mechanic: wind. A lot of match-three puzzles are the same thing, where you swap adjacent pieces together or position tiles so that like-colored pieces can get grouped together, but they’re always static, with no dynamic changes happening. Windin sets out to be different, and it does so in a beautiful way.

App Feels Like

Match Land

Race Cat

Topsoil

Nico Prins

$3.99

Hero Emblems

HeatPot Games Ltd.

Visually, Windin has some gorgeous minimalist graphics for a casual puzzle. While it looks like it’s 2-D at first, because of the depth that the two layers of game pieces provides, it’s more 3-D than what you may originally think. Plus, the shadowing on each piece makes everything pop out more, and the angled perspective for everything (including the backdrop) makes it easy to see it all in a single glance. The color palette in Windin features a nice mix of soft pastels and bolder hues, and it’s easy to tell everything apart from each other. The gem tiles are shiny and appealing to the eyes, kind of like mesmerizing pieces of (eye) candy. The game has an upbeat and quirky soundtrack in the background that is rather soothing, and helps you focus on making precise moves. The sound effects are fairly realistic as well, which is a nice touch. Overall, as the developer’s first release so far, they’ve done an excellent job with Windin’s cutesy visual style and sound design.

There’s only one game mode in Windin, but honestly it’s all you need since the game is more of a high score chaser, and it’s similar to Tetris. Plus, this game is perfect for bite-sized breaks throughout the day. At the moment, Windin’s game mode is basically just see how high of a score you can get before you run out of space on the game board. The objective is to match up like-colored gems, either horizontally or vertically, in groups of at least three or more. The larger the match, the more points you get for each piece. You can also match top pieces with adjacent pieces that are on the bottom level. You also rack up more points for multiple matches in one turn, such as cascades (when you match both the top and bottom layers in a single turn) and combos.

However, since each piece is a stack of two, you’ll need to plan ahead, especially since the direction of the wind changes each turn and will blow the top piece into an empty space after you place them on the board. It sounds easy enough at first, but the wind is rather unpredictable and is definitely a challenging obstacle, though it can also work to your advantage at times.

Controls in Windin are a simple affair. For each turn, you have two varying game pieces at the bottom. You must drag them onto the game board with your finger, and once you release your finger, the game piece will stay in the empty space that you place it on top of, if available. If you make a mistake, you can use the “Undo” button that appears where the second game piece was, but you are limited to three undos per round. Once you place both pieces onto the game board, the wind will blow and the top piece of the gems that you placed will blow over, as long as there’s an empty space. You can tell what direction the wind will blow by observing the arrow in the campfire on top of the board.

While the controls work out well enough, I did find it a little annoying that the game automatically moves the game piece to the bottom of the board the moment your finger touches it, and has a target crosshair that tells you where the piece is going to go. I can see why this is done, because then your finger is not going to cover up the piece and you can see where it’s going, but it has led me to accidentally place a piece in a wrong spot because I was thinking it would be going where my thumb is instead.

There are also power-ups that you can get in the game, but you’ll have to reach a certain point threshold to unlock them before they’re available to use. There are four available at the moment, and you will need to reach 2500, 5000, 10000, and 25000 points to get them, respectively. They do things like change the wind direction, turn a stack of gems upside down, break gems, and can turn selected gems into Rainbow Gems, which match with any color. If you are impatient and want to unlock these boosts now, then they will cost $0.99 a pop, except for the Rainbow one, which is $2.99.

Windin is definitely an enjoyable title for anyone who likes puzzle games that are designed to be played in quick sessions throughout the day. The game packs in some lovely visuals and sound effects, and the wind gameplay mechanic makes it more challenging than what you may originally think. It reminds me of Tetris in a way, since you can see the game pieces that you’re working with, but you can’t see the direction the wind will blow in on the next turn, which just adds to the surprise and challenge of the game, which I like.

Since Windin is a free game, it does have ads. Fortunately, the ads only show up between rounds, so you’ll never be interrupted during the game itself. I do feel that the point threshold for the power-ups is set a little high, though, and should be lowered just a tad, as I have yet to even reach the first unlock. In some ways, it feels like the developers are pushing for you to purchase the power-ups with the bar set so high, which I am not a fan of. At least the game can still be enjoyed without the boosts, though, so there’s that.

I’ve only discovered Windin over the weekend, but so far I’m having a hard time putting it down. I’m a total sucker for puzzle games, and this one is a match-three with a unique twist, which is the added wind element. It means more strategic planning of where you lay your game pieces down, and not knowing what direction the wind changes to keeps things exciting. The only thing I don’t particularly care for is the fact that the boost items are locked behind point thresholds that seem a bit high to reach, thus pushing you towards unlocking via in-app purchase.

Windin is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free. There are in-app purchases.

8.2

OVERALL

Graphics 9

Gameplay 9

Replayability 8

Sound/Music 8

Game Controls 7

Windin

no-pact

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Tetris Just met its Match in Neon Poly, a Great New Puzzle Game

June 23, 2017 by RSS Feed

Puzzle games are a serious rage on the App Store, but how do you find one that's fresh and unique? You could try out every single one and see which is best, and that might be fun. Then again, you could let me tell you about a new Tetris-like game that's tons of fun and has a unique spin. Let's take a look at Neon Poly.

$1.99

TETRIS®

Electronic Arts Inc.

Bejeweled Classic

PopCap

Tetris® Blitz

Electronic Arts Inc.

Neon Poly is a Tetris-like game with an incredible twist. You don't have to race against the clock, for one thing, but the game also includes different types of game boards to choose from. You can play on a square, hexagon, or triangle board.

You start out with just the square boards, but there are various sizes of them to pick from. If you're really burning to try out a hexagon or triangle board, you can unlock it early with an in-app purchase. Otherwise, your high scores will unlock them in time.

You can also check your high scores for each type of board, buy XP to use for power-ups, and tweak the music and sound effects just to your liking.

Neon Poly is a terrifically fun game to play. It offers you various types of boards to solve, with unique and special shapes for each. Play through the square boards enough, and you can get the experience points you need to unlock the hexagon, and then the triangle board.

The music is very soothing, well suited to a game of this niche. You can place pieces wherever you want, so a good strategy is to place them so you can wipe out several lines at a time.

You can fill lines both horizontally and vertically, which really increases your chances at a high score. When you start running low of things to do, take advantage of the power-ups to get you going again. There are bombs, lightning strikes, and atomic blasts. You can also drop a hint, remove a piece, or add a piece.

There isn't a lot not to like about this game. It's very fun and enjoyable, with plenty of replay capability. The only thing I wasn't happy with was the frequency of the ads.

After you complete a game, you have to view an add, either a video or a game trailer. Luckily, a game could take you long enough that the ads won't get so annoying. However, if you really want to get rid of the ads altogether, Neon Poly does offer an in-app purchase for that.

All in all, this game is very close to being perfect. Almost all free games have ads these days, so my one nitpick isn't really much of one.

Neon Poly is very fun to play, and the fun only grows as you go. Unlocking new types of boards is a terrific feature, and the power-ups make things even more enjoyable. If you're looking for a great puzzle game, Neon Poly is a sure bet.

9.0

OVERALL

Game Controls 10

Graphics 9.5

Gameplay 9

Replayability 8

Sound/Music 8.5

Neon Poly - Shape Puzzle Game

Lobster Claw Software LLC

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Accept No Surrender or Defeat in the Art of Conquest

June 22, 2017 by RSS Feed

In the genre of real-time strategy, there's a lot of games that mimic each other. To really stand out, a title needs to give you true control over real battles, scaling to provide you with a feeling of being in power over a massive army. In Art of Conquest, you'll wage battles in a war between seven kingdoms, striving to expand your territory and conquer the world.

DomiNations

NEXON M Inc.

Age of Heroes: Conquest

5th Planet Games Inc

Art of Conquest puts you in command of an army of hundreds of units in battle. You'll recruit archers, infantry, cavalry, and more to wage war against your opponents. This real-time strategy is played with an overview style.

You can also summon mythical heroes with magical abilities to tilt the balance within a battle. Build the toughest, deadliest army and learn the Art of Conquest to defeat all of the foes standing between you and domination of the lands.

Art of Conquest scales well, allowing you the freedom to truly tackle the job of controlling a massive army. Whether you have just a few troops at your command or many, the game offers you appropriate challenges that you'll love to take on.

When you enter battle, you have heroes as well as troops to deploy. You can choose who goes into battle with you, so make wise selections. Your heroes need battle to gain experience points and level up, but you also don't want to lose them in a battle you aren't prepared for. You can always choose not to engage an enemy if it is too powerful for you, so pick your battles wisely.

The graphics and animation are very well done, with plenty of contrast and the ability to easily identify friends and foes. The sound is also realistic, and the heroes' voices are distinctive, if a bit repetitive.

Art of Conquest doesn't provide you with much in the way of a tutorial to learn the game. It's fairly easy to pick up the basics, but you have to do some exploration of the options on the screen to make the most of it. For example, my first hero was ready to level up for several battles before I realized how to do it.

It's also important to note that Art of Conquest makes use of in-app purchases. While you don't absolutely have to buy anything to enjoy the game, certain aspects of its play will be influenced by those members of the Art of Conquest community who love to "buy" their way to victory. Be mindful of that if you opt to take part in Player-versus-player battles.

The music is okay, but it's nothing terribly exciting. On several occasions, the upbeat main sequence of the score played during battles, which seemed a bit awkward and took away some from the excitement of the game.

Art of Conquest features wonderful graphics and animations, and it plays nicely. I actually prefer it over other similar titles, and love amassing hundreds of units that I can deploy in battle. Its only drawback is the "freemium" nature of the game, using in-app purchases to help feed your army and speed up your troop recruitment and training.

8.8

OVERALL

Replayability 10

Graphics 9.5

Game Controls 8

Sound/Music 8

Gameplay 8.5

Art of Conquest (AoC)

Lilith Games

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Dive Into a Grand Metroidvania Experience in forma.8 GO

June 21, 2017 by RSS Feed

Forma.8 GO ($3.99) by Mixedbag Srl is a Metroidvania-style action adventure game with a huge world for players to explore. If you liked games such as Traps n’ Gemstones and even Badland 2, then you will love what forma.8 GO has to offer.

While Metroid and Castlevania have been around since the ‘80s, I honestly did not have them when they first came out, so I never experienced the originals in their prime. However, I discovered both Metroid and Castlevania games later on while I was in high school and had Game Boy Advance and the first Nintendo DS handhelds, and fell in love with the formula. If you aren’t aware, the term “Metroidvania” means that a game has gameplay concepts that are similar to both the Metroid series as well as some Castlevania elements, and they involve plenty of rooms that are all connected to each other and plenty of backtracking is involved to make progress. These games always have a grand sense of adventure, and it’s easy to get lost in these titles for hours on end. I love Castlevania more so than Metroid, to be honest, but Metroidvania games in general are just plenty of fun, though I don’t see them too often ton iOS. So when I saw forma.8 GO was classifying itself as a Metroidvania, I had to get my hands on it. Needless to say, I’m not disappointed.

App Feels Like

$4.99

Traps n' Gemstones

Donut Games

BADLAND

Frogmind Oy

$3.99

BADLAND 2

Frogmind Oy

Visually, forma.8 GO is beautiful with its rather minimalist vector art style. The game sports a flat aesthetic that looks amazing with the wide range of colors that go from soft pastels to vibrant hues to muted earthy tones, and the dark silhouettes provide excellent contrast. The game world is huge and vast, but you can easily spot your own character (a small exploration probe) and enemies because of the light trail you leave behind and creepy red eyes. Power-ups are an essential part of the game, and they are instantly recognizable because of their blue glow. Animations are smooth and fluid in forma.8 GO, so I had no lag on my iPhone 7. There’s also an ambient and rather atmospheric soundtrack that plays in the background, and it pulls you into the game well, so it just makes everything more immersive. The sound effects are delightful and add a bit of extra pizazz to forma.8 GO too. Overall, as the developer’s first App Store release, I’d say they knocked it out of the park with forma.8 GO’s audio and visual design.

What exactly is forma.8 GO, in terms of story? The game looks gorgeous, but there’s much more depth to the game than you’d think at first glance. In forma.8 GO, you take control of a small exploration probe, called forma.8, which has been accidentally separated from all companions. Now forma.8 must set out on a life-or-death mission of recovering a lost, powerful energy source before it’s too late and all hope is lost. At first, it looks like you just crash landed on some random planet, but as you delve deeper into the game, forma.8 will discover ancient civilizations, visions of dystopia, perilous worlds, and many more secrets are waiting to be found.

Since forma.8 GO is a Metroidvania-style action adventure, there are no levels for players to complete — it’s all one seamless environment, where you go from room-to-room and solve puzzles, defeat some enemies, and collect power-ups to advance in the game. You start out in the first room and there’s a small tutorial that tells you the basics of the controls, and as you gain new abilities, the game informs you of how to activate them. These newly acquired skills are what you need to get past rooms that you were previously stuck at before, so again, a lot of backtracking is involved here. What I love the most about forma.8 GO’s world is the fact that each room is connected and transitions flawlessly into each other, with barely any wait time aside from screen fades. Since forma.8 GO features a gigantic world, you can always access the map by touching the compass button in the top right corner. It reveals the rooms that you’ve been to, as well as the one you are currently in. Passageways that connect to other rooms are displayed as white squares.

The controls in forma.8 GO are simple, intuitive, and clearly made for touch screens. To move forma.8, just drag your thumb around in the bottom right corner area of the screen. Since forma.8 is a mechanical probe, it’s able to freely move around and even hover when your thumb is off the screen for any reason. Once you acquire your first power-up, you’ll be able to have forma.8 emit a nova around him, which can activate switches and damage foes, and this is activated with a tap on the right half of the screen. Other power-ups include things like bombs that can be dropped behind you by swiping to the left, and they will detonate after a few moments. As you collect the power-ups for forma.8, a brief visual on the screen tells you what direction to swipe in to activate your new toy. The swipe controls for actions does take a bit of getting used to, but once you feel comfortable with it, they just become second nature.

While forma.8 GO is an action-adventure game, there will be a lot of puzzles that need to be solved before you can make progress. Some of these puzzles are pretty easy to figure out, while others may be a bit tougher. Regardless, they add some critical thinking elements into the game, which I love, since it means more depth. And of course, there are enemies and bosses that will stand in your way of reaching the objective, so there’s a nice mix of everything in this minimalistic Metroidvania.

With not many Metroidvania style games on the App Store, forma.8 GO stands out as a must-have on the App Store if you’re a fan of the genre. The hand-drawn vector graphics are downright stunning to look at, and the subtle soundtrack is both soothing and captivating. The map for the game is huge, and it contains plenty of content to keep players interested for hours on end, so it’s a good value, considering the price. Things move at a nice, gradual pace in forma.8 GO, and the mix of puzzles and action is perfectly balanced.

The controls are definitely interesting and require some practice to get used to, which is the only slightly negative thing I can think of. Otherwise, forma.8 GO is a fantastic Metroidvania style game, unless you’re not a fan of lengthy adventures.

I’ve only began to dive into forma.8 GO this morning, but so far I’m in love. The game looks breathtaking, especially if you appreciate minimalistic vector graphics, and the music is a joy to listen to. As a fan of Metroidvania games, I’m sad to see the lack of them in the App Store, so forma.8 GO is a pleasant surprise in recent weeks. I’m a bit surprised at how big the map is, and the controls require a bit of practice to get the hang of things, but it just feels right after you get used to it. I’ve barely scratched the surface of the game, and I look forward to playing it even more when I have the opportunity to do so.

I highly recommend forma.8 GO if you enjoy action adventure games with dashes of puzzle solving, or just crave a Metroidvania game on your iOS device. You can find forma.8 GO on the App Store as a universal download on the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV for $3.99. There is also an iMessage sticker pack included, and no other in-app purchases.

9.2

OVERALL

Replayability 10

Gameplay 10

Graphics 9

Sound/Music 9

Game Controls 8

$3.99

forma.8 GO

Mixedbag Srl

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