Welcome to spring, everyone! It’s April already, and that means flowers, rain, and PAX!
While you’re waiting to catch a glimpse of your favourite upcoming game, here are some fresh ones on the App Store to help you pass the time …
Light the Flower
The epitome of a simple concept refined into a smart puzzler, Light the Flower is a self-descriptive game in which your goal is to direct sunlight from a window onto a flower to restore its vitality.
In fact, the game is a bit more involved than that as there are several different types of plant, each of which will require its own colour of light to revitalize it. The game offers many different tools beyond basic mirrors, including coloured lenses and torches, that will help you get the right beam to its destination.
The floating stars throughout the levels are there to earn you extra points — try to shine light on as many of them as possible as you solve the puzzle for some extra high scores. Portrayed via a bright and attractive presentation, Light the Flower is a triumph of the puzzle genre.
Price: $0.99
Developer: TribeFlame
Download: App Store
Tiny Monsters
Following in the footsteps of other Pokemon-inspired monster games like MinoMonsters, Tiny Monsters is a shining example of bringing a powerfully addictive gaming experience to your phone without sacrificing quality along the way.
The game contains many monsters, with new ones being added all the time, and besides the usual task of collecting and raising them until they evolve, you’re also able to breed them to make interesting hybrids, which is an extremely cool idea that’s implemented well. Then it’s time to go questing, which is generally fun though the missions are by design intended to be fairly brief affairs that you can digest in small bouts of play time. The game is not necessarily adventure oriented though, as you’ll essentially be developing a sort of zoo to house your monsters and attract visitors, which includes the need to build habitats and make sure everyone gets fed.
The game is developing at a very fast pace, and its high degree of addictiveness makes it easy to recommend — especially since you can get in on the fun for free!
Price: Free
Developer: TinyCo, Inc.
Download: App Store
Rinth Island
Finally a new puzzle game where you can craft and share your own levels! They don’t come by too often, and Rinth Island also happens to be one of the best we’ve played, which makes its appearance on the App Store an incredibly exciting prospect.
Set on an island, you’ll be playing through the story of Gimble and Libby, a dynamic duo who have become stranded on their island home after a terrible storm. One of the coolest things about this game is that each of the game’s 60 levels (for now) can be played through in one of four modes, each one favouring a particular objective; will you be gathering crystals, or trying to complete it in the minimum number of steps? This not only adds replay value, but serves to highlight the excellent design of the levels and the flexible ways in which they allow you to play through.
If you tire of the interesting circular platforming puzzles, you can hop into creative mode and build your own levels. This is a tremendously rewarding experience and the ability to share levels with friends means that you can cultivate a friendly collaborative challenge with your companions and improve your skills as you go along. This is mobile gaming at its finest, and we can’t recommend it enough!
Price: $0.99
Developer: Buzz Monkey
Download: App Store
Final Freeway 2R
When the first Final Freeway was released, it was recognized as a worthy homage to the beloved SEGA arcade racer, OutRun. Its sequel, Final Freeway 2R, offers the incredible appeal of the first with a generous host of refinements and new functionality that establish it as one of the most notable racing games to hit the App Store this season.
Not only have the much-requested road splits been added, but the racing experience itself has been tightened up, including some visual tweaks that not only make the game look better, but also enhance the sense of blistering speed. The environments are attractive, in a retro sort of way, and the game’s three drivers offer some further choice in how you play. Crashing is fun, and an unexpected new element is a rival that you can earn more points by beating.
While the game isn’t vastly deep, it’s incredibly well put together and offers a racing experience that captures the magic of retro arcade style games, which makes it perfect for some pick-up-and-play action.
Price: $0.99
Developer: NEWTYPE K.K.
Download: App Store
Cordy Sky
SilverTree Media’s familiar character, Cordy, stars in a brand new game where you’ll reach for the sky along with a stranded robot companion named Volt.
The setup is familiar, but Cordy Sky features an entertaining assortment of environmental elements like hover beams and springs that help or hinder you along the way, not to mention the cool power-ups that you can purchase using the “gears” you earn by playing (or via IAP if you want). Game Center integration means you can earn achievements and compare scores with friends too, which is useful once you finish the story and get hooked on the endless mode.
Cordy Sky is compact and charming — just like a freebie should be!
Price: Free
Developer: SilverTree Media
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
We hope you have a great weekend, and if you happen to be at PAX East then come say hello, or just leave us a comment. See you next week!