Good to see you again! We hope you’ve had a good week and are happy to bring you some more gaming goodness to help you unwind.
Click through for the opportunity to run a mall, toy with Greek gods, rescue flowers and cheese, or escape from a trendy loft!
Mega Mall Story
It’s probably safe to say that more hours have been sunken into Kairosoft’s games than all but the most hugely popular of iOS titles. Beginning with Game Dev Story and continuing with Hot Springs Story, Pocket Academy and now Mega Mall Story, the incredibly addictive gameplay and endearing pixel art continues to enthral.
The latest game obviously keeps the core experience the same, but this time you’re managing a shopping mall. And if you’re thinking that this doesn’t sound terribly exciting, then you should do yourself a favour and give it a try because it’s the most accessible, fun and perplexingly exciting game of theirs since Game Dev Story. Gameplay consists of designing and maintaining your mall as well as working to attract more customers, make smart investments and rake in the cash.
Only Kairosoft could make this kind of micromanagement seem like oodles of fun, and we sure are glad that they continue to do so! It’s also worth admiring them for designing their games as all-in products where you don’t need to purchase more things in-app in order to get the full experience.
Price: $3.99
Developer: Kairosoft Co., Ltd
Download: App Store
NyxQuest
Bringing their popular desktop title to the mobile platform, Over The Top Games’s NyxQuest gives you everything you loved from its big cousin in a handy, portable format.
Nyx tells the story of a winged creature searching for her friend Icarus in a colourful ancient Greece. It’s a puzzle platformer at heart, with vicious enemies and clever physics puzzles standing in your way as you progress through the varied levels. Gameplay feels tight and polished, and the visuals are arrestingly beautiful to look at, with a classy cel-shaded look.
NyxQuest offers a great balance of challenge and fun, making it easy to recommend — and if you loved it on the desktop then you’ll find it’s made the transition very much intact.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Over The Top Games
Download: App Store
Tero
It can be hard to make use of the iPhone’s features without seeming gimmicky, so it’s encouraging to see Tero emerge as one of relatively few tilt-controlled action platformers.
Tero is an incredibly artistic game. Fans of Zelda: Wind Waker will find the art style comfortingly familiar and utterly gorgeous. The game is remarkably polished for having been designed, essentially, by two people. It plays well, is nicely balanced and sports a good spread of actions, weapons and techniques that you’ll employ to make your way through the 24 levels.
There are even challenging boss battles to worry about as you make your way toward the nefarious Baron Boggs. It will be interesting to see where they take the game with updates; hopefully far because they’ve created a very attractive world in Tero.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Studio Yomi
Download: App Store
Bouncy Mouse
Newest in the realm of flinging games is Bouncy Mouse, a bright platformer that brings together the best of the creature launching and platforming crazes and wraps them in a cute story and vibrant presentation.
Playing as Bouncy Mouse, you’re on a quest to retrieve stolen cheese from Captain Cat. You’ll be controlling your valiant rodent by tugging his tail and releasing to launch him in the direction you intend. You’ll have to be precise since there are all manner of baddies and environmental hazards in your way — some of which, like a certain type of rubbery bird, you can use to your advantage!
Sometimes the best way to spend some time is with an uncomplicated, friendly, and addictive game, and that’s exactly what’s on offer with Bouncy Mouse. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for more levels promised this fall!
Price: $0.99
Developer: Munkadoo Games LLC
Download: App Store
Ruby Loft Escape
For something a little different, we turn to Ruby Loft Escape. For some reason, one of the most popular kinds of browser games, for a time, was the escape game. These devious and often extremely difficult games put you in an environment with little to no information about how you got there, and asked you to escape.
The genre seems to work very well on the iPhone, playing like a thinking man’s hidden object game. Ruby Loft is a classy apartment stuffed with rubies and all sorts of items that you need to use to uncover the truth and make your way out. It will keep you challenged for a while and is a breath of fresh air in a landscape of platformers and animal flinging.
The price is right too, so it’s well worth having a go. It will be interesting to see if this genre takes off more enthusiastically on iOS devices.
Price: Free
Developer: TeraLumina Games
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
You’re probably happily playing already, but in case you get a spare moment, leave us your thoughts in the comments. We’re always interested in what you’ve been playing and what games you think we may have missed!