This week’s roundup includes an all-star set of new titles from some of our favourite developers.
Rejoin Dr. Cavor for a new Cavorite sequel, meditate on the challenges colour arrangements in a new puzzle game, go for a run with your Random Heroes characters, or learn about the history of typography. Come on in and have a look…
Type:Rider
This one’s for the geeks out there: a game about the history of typography. What’s remarkable about this title is that it turns something admittedly nerdy into a very compelling journey that anyone will enjoy taking.
Each of the game’s levels is lovingly crafted around the theme of a particular typeface, and you play as the dots of a colon, driving along like a strange font car. The landscape is alternatively creepy and beautiful, with stunning designs built from letter forms and challenging spatial puzzles to navigate. You’ll uncover historical snippets as you go, and these are kept to a balanced minimum so that you never feel like you’re in school.
Type:Rider is a little unstable at the moment, suffering from the odd crash or jerkiness, but the game autosaves very frequently so these issues are little more than an annoyance, and one that is sure to be fixed swiftly in an update. With no IAP, and no social distractions, Type:Rider is a rare and brave game with more style than most.
Duet Game
After capturing the hearts of millions with the effortlessly charming Bean’s Quest, and following it up with the adventurous and twitchy Time Surfer, Kumobius has diversified their game selection a bit with Duet Game.
It’s probably best to think of Duet Game as a sort of mashup between a reflex test and arcade game. Dead-simple controls invite you to control the spin of two vessel locked in orbit around each other as they travel through space. Obstacles appear and must be expertly avoided, and Duet expertly presents itself in a way that rewards your skilled play.
It is difficult, aesthetically sparse, and surprisingly moving with the hints of injury depicted by the splash marks left when you crash. For fans of simple but thrilling mobile gameplay, Duet Game should be at the top of your list this week.
Har•mo•ny
If that’s too tense for you, perhaps you’ll prefer to take a look at Har•mo•ny.
In a game about colour schemes, you won’t be surprised to hear that the pace is gentle. Presented with an array of coloured blocks, you’ll have to keep an eye on the indicators to see how many times each can be moved as you shuffle things around to produce the final colour swatch. Think of those papers you get at the hardware store when you buy paints.
Minimalism is the name of the game in Har•mo•ny, which works perfectly with its calming audio treatment to let you relax as you play. Technically, there are IAP here — you get 5 undos to start with and must pay for more, or for the ability to skip a level — but honestly you probably shouldn’t feel too pressured to pick up either. The tutorial is a little on the vague side (remember to use the eye icon to see what the pattern needs to look like) but once you get the hang of things, you won’t want to put Har•mo•ny down.
Price: $0.99
Developer: BorderLeap, LLC
Download: App Store
Cavorite 3
The Cavorite series is one of the quirkier series to hit the App Store. You play as Dr. Cavor, who is stuck on the moon and has thus far had a difficult time escaping: in the first game, he confronted the Selenite aliens for the first time, but found himself lacking the fuel to power his ship as of the second. Now, the third time around, the good doctor hears cries for help coming from the moon as he’s about to leave…
Needless to say that means you’re back to the underground lair of the Selenites. Only this time, you’re going to wipe them out once and for all. 63 levels traverse 3 different environments, and each one features the same blend of puzzle platforming that made the first two games such a success. You won’t find any meaningful enhancements to the formula, but it’s a case of not fixing what isn’t broken.
Instead, the focus is clearly on providing more creative levels and continuing to showcase the magnificent 16-bit graphics. Cavorite 3 does have more replay value than its predecessors though, with a whopping 100 Game Center achievements on offer. It’s universal and features just one IAP that unlocks all the levels, so there’s no reason not to see what Dr. Cavor is up to this time!
Price: $1.99
Developer: Cascadia Games, LLC
Download: App Store
Random Runners
After expanding beyond the League of Evil series by introducing Random Heroes, Ravenous Games have created a cool spin-off of that series that combines the wacky characters with the always-fun runner gameplay.
Ultimately, it’s those characters that make Random Runners worthwhile. Each of the 26 characters have their own unique stats and range from soldiers to clowns. They’re funny, strange, and cool to play as, which is just what the game needs. The 45 levels are spread across 3 worlds, but there’s nothing particularly special about the setup. You run, you shoot, and sometimes you even slide. Bad guys abound, and you’ll be able to get your hands on about ten weapons for your choice of face blasting tactics.
The problem arises when you look at the strange departure Ravenous Games have made from being a respectable developer to one that’s fallen in step with the wrong side of the IAP phenomenon. While coins can be earned in-game, gems must be purchased, making for an unkind and unnecessary bit of sleaze in an otherwise well executed spin-off idea.
Price: $0.99
Developer: Ravenous Games
Download: App Store
What Have You Been Playing?
If you had fun with these titles, drop us a comment and let us know! See you next week.
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