Completely happy Friday, everybody 🙂 And welcome to episode 150 (YAY! :D) of my weekly cellular recreation advice roundup primarily based on probably the most attention-grabbing video games I performed and that have been lined on MiniReview this week. Hope you will take pleasure in it 🙂
Assist these posts (and YouTube content material + improvement of MiniReview) on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NimbleThor <3
This episode features a actually neat puzzle recreation about trains, a short-but-sweet motion platformer, a really distinctive CCG technique recreation with some tower-defense inspiration, a well-liked card technique recreation, and a basic taxi-themed racing recreation.
Disagree with my opinion? Let’s have a pleasant dialogue beneath.
New to those posts? Try the primary one from 149 weeks in the past right here.
Let’s get to the video games:
Railbound [Game Size: 168 MB] ($4.99)
Style: Puzzle / Informal – Offline
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Some
tl;dr overview by AlexSem:
Railbound is an exquisite puzzle recreation from the creators of Golf Peaks and inbento, by which we assemble railway tracks that enable our numbered practice vehicles to connect with a locomotive within the appropriate order.
Every degree is made up of a grid with practice vehicles and a few pre-defined tracks. We have to lay down any lacking tracks after which sit again and watch because the vehicles hopefully attain the locomotive ready for them within the distance.
The out there monitor items allow us to proceed in a straight line, make a flip, and intersect or merge with different tracks. The principle problem comes from the restricted variety of monitor items, and the truth that the vehicles transfer concurrently, which suggests they simply crash into one another if the tracks are laid incorrectly.
As we progress by the 150 ranges, we unlock attention-grabbing new mechanics, akin to railway obstacles activated by distant buttons, tunnels performing as teleporters, tug vehicles that should be faraway from the highway, and stations with passengers ready to be picked up.
Essentially the most difficult ranges even characteristic tracks that get rearranged when a practice passes by, which suggests we’ve got to create an answer the place our vehicles go to the identical monitor a number of occasions, taking a distinct route every time they go by.
The sport options charming vibrant graphics, an intuitive user-interface, and exquisite stress-free music to accompany us on our journey. There may be even a easy story in regards to the adventures of two practice operators that will get revealed as a collection of humorous but heartwarming postcards.
Railbound is a $4.99 premium recreation with out adverts or iAPs. For those who like stress-free however difficult puzzle video games, you possibly can’t go unsuitable with this one.
App Retailer: Right here
Chefy-chef [Total Game Size: 30 MB] ($1.99)
Style: Platform / Motion – Offline
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Full
tl;dr overview by MisterGrinch:
Chefy-Chef is an enthralling 2D platformer the place we play as a chef looking for onion, milk, and pineapple –elements that he must make his scrumptious dishes.
Sadly, all of the shops are closed, so Chefy-Chef does the one logical factor by getting into a dimensional rift to completely different worlds so he can search out the elements – and possibly a burger too, as a result of why not?
Chefy-Chef consists of precisely 60 ranges the place we leap and dodge our method round obstacles and enemies till we discover the three elements and make our approach to the exit.
Initially, we will solely leap and double leap, however identical to any cook dinner price his apron, we rapidly be taught to benefit from the three utensils that we discover all through the degrees.
The kitchen knife acts as a weapon and climbing software, the meat tenderizer can bash enemies and the bottom to make Chefy soar excessive into the air, and the frying pan may be tossed after which teleported to, making it perfect for masking unimaginable jumps.
Every degree is rigorously crafted in order that it requires using some or all three utensils, which makes for a really thrilling gameplay expertise.
The controls are spot on, and I used to be truly shocked by how simple it was to regulate Chefy and exactly land jumps – even utilizing the contact controls. Bluetooth controllers are additionally supported.
Chefy-Chef is a $1.99 premium recreation with no adverts or iAPs.
Whereas it’s a brief recreation, I couldn’t put it down as soon as I acquired into it. It’s merely an lovely and enjoyable platformer excellent for followers of the style.
App Retailer: Right here
Hassle With Robots [Game Size: 54 MB] (Free)
Style: CCG / Technique – Offline
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Full
tl;dr overview by NimbleThor:
Hassle With Robots is a singular and enjoyable tactical CCG with good humor, playing cards that symbolize models and spells, and real-time tower defense-like fight unfold throughout 32 single-player ranges.
Fight is cut up into waves, firstly of which we draw 3 random playing cards from a small deck we put collectively earlier than every degree. The battles themselves are real-time, nevertheless, and we will use our playing cards at any time to activate their results, akin to firing a spell, therapeutic, or spawning models that mechanically assault the opponents. The target is to defeat all of the opponents earlier than they take out our models.
The one difficulty is that utilizing every card prices one power, and so does tapping an enemy to throw a lightning bolt. So with a most of solely 5 power that constantly recovers over time, we’ve got to be very strategic about what to make use of and when.
As we progress, we unlock over 40 playing cards that get more and more extra attention-grabbing. Other than particular person unit and spell playing cards, most playing cards closely affect one another, creating loads of room for experimenting with completely different synergies. I personally really beloved this facet of the sport.
The humorous – if considerably foolish – story a few battle between fantasy-themed people and invading robots creates a fantastic backdrop for the gameplay, and the three issue settings for every degree makes the sport simple to get into for each newcomers and CCG technique consultants.
Hassle With Robots is totally free-to-play, with no adverts or iAPs. A variety of care and a spotlight clearly went into placing the sport collectively, and it actually reveals. It’s a simple advice for anybody interested in CCGs or tower defense-inspired tactical video games.
App Retailer: Right here
Cultist Simulator [Game Size: 428 MB] ($6.99)
Style: Card / Technique – Offline
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Some
tl;dr overview by Pete McD:
Cultist Simulator is a enjoyable technique recreation that originally seems to be like a card recreation however is admittedly extra of a cult-themed useful resource administration recreation.
On every playthrough, we management a distinct character attempting to begin and efficiently run an occult motion by balancing our information, cult members, funds, and bodily and psychological well being – all whereas evading detection.
The sport is performed on a desk onto which playing cards are mechanically positioned, a few of which symbolize actions that should be accomplished earlier than a timer runs out. Our aim is to consciously transfer playing cards round to meet these targets and merge playing cards to see which mixtures produce our desired outcomes.
The most effective issues about Cultist Simulator is that there isn’t any tutorial. As a substitute, we’re merely thrown within the deep finish and should tinker with various things to see how they work, which is nice enjoyable to start with. The way in which the sport builds up rigidity by progressively cluttering the board with increasingly more timers to handle can also be thrilling and well-made.
Nevertheless, I in the end discovered the sport considerably irritating. After sinking many, many hours into it, the sport nonetheless felt like a whole lot of grinding for little or no reward. The quick paragraphs of textual content proven all through are additionally barely too obscure to carry my consideration and too quick to create a compelling story – to not point out that we’ve got to learn the identical texts again and again in every playthrough. By attempting a bit too onerous to be mysterious, the sport merely grew to become boring.
Cultist Simulator is a $6.99 premium recreation with 3 $1.99 iAPs including further beginning characters. Some will love the sport, however I think many will discover it onerous to get into, because the enjoyable issue is outweighed by the steep studying curve and repetitive gameplay.
App Retailer: Right here
Loopy Taxi Basic (Recreation Dimension: 343 MB] (Free)
Style: Racing / Arcade – On-line
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Full
tl;dr overview by Latte Machiato:
Loopy Taxi Basic is a enjoyable port of an outdated open-world arcade racing recreation printed by Sega. And, surprisingly, it truly stays very true to the unique whereas including contact controls and Bluetooth controller help.
The sport options three general game-modes. Within the Arcade and Authentic modes, we frenetically drive across the heavy-traffic slender streets of a metropolis whereas looking for, choose up, and efficiently ship passengers to their desired vacation spot earlier than the time is up.
The Loopy Field mode, alternatively, is made up of 16 mini-games the place our goal is to impress an viewers with spectacular stunts so we will get the very best rating potential.
Becoming for cellular, the Arcade and Authentic modes even allow us to choose if we need to play for 3, 5, or 10 minutes at a time.
We will management our taxi with basic left and proper buttons, by tilting our cellphone, or through a Bluetooth controller. All of the choices work easily – however they do require some observe.
Loopy Taxi Basic monetizes by comparatively frequent adverts that present each time we enter a recreation or repeat a recreation mode, and a $1.99 iAP to fully take away the adverts. I counsel eradicating the adverts for probably the most immersive expertise as they change into fairly irritating in the long term.
General, it’s a neat informal arcade recreation that takes many hours to excellent. Sure, it’s pushed largely by nostalgia from those that performed the unique, however it’s additionally probably the greatest Sega ports on cellular, making it a simple advice. The most important draw back is that we should be on-line to play.
App Retailer: Right here
Particular due to the Patreon Producers “marquisdan”, “Misplaced Vault”, and “Mohaimen” who assist make these posts potential by their Patreon help <3
Google Sheet of all video games I’ve performed to this point (searchable and filter-able): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bf0OxtVxrboZqyEh01AxJYUUqHm8tEfh-Lx-SugcrzY/edit?usp=sharing
TL;DR Video Abstract (with gameplay) of final week’s video games: https://youtu.be/F5uJojUMvTo
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