My Week Unwrapped: November 20, 2018 – Slydris 2, Cosmic Top Secret Game, ReversiQuest2, Hexanome, Storm Boy and More

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Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. I’ve been pretty busy and there are a lot of games to cover, so we’re back on the Tuesday schedule. November is turning out to be quite a crazy month, so if you can’t find something to play, you’re not looking hard enough! As usual, I’ll start with my favorite game this week, what you might even call my Game of the Week. The rest are in no particular order.

Slydris 2

Believe it or not, I deleted Slydris 2 after a few minutes of playing, as I completely misunderstood how it works. After reinstalling and understanding it better, I’ve barely been able to put it down. It’s got that “one more game” hook and I just can’t stop playing. In fact, I almost didn’t get this post done tonight because I was playing Slydris 2 instead of writing! I already wrote a full review here, so I’ll just point you to that so I can get back to playing sooner. But really, you shouldn’t need to read my review because the game is free and supported by ads. You can try it yourself and then if you like it, just pay $2.99 to remove the ads and never be bothered by them again. Win/win!

Cosmic Top Secret Game

I don’t even know where to begin with Cosmic Top Secret. It’s a truly bizarre and unique game crossed with a documentary. It’s the true story of Trine’s parents and her journey to find out more about their roles as spies for the Danish Intelligence. The art style stands out, as everything is made of pictures pasted onto cardboard. Even your character is cardboard, and when you move her around, she rolls up into a crumpled paper ball. Much of the game is rolling around and looking for scattered items that unlock clues and parts of the documentary footage. There are also some light puzzles to solve once you find the main items in each level. Unfortunately, I can’t continue playing the game because it gives me a bad case of motion sickness. It’s unfortunate, because I did want to see where it goes. But after about two hours with it, I can’t put myself through any more. If you don’t get motion sickness easily, though, check out my videos to see what it’s like and decide if it’s something you’d enjoy. I also started a walkthrough if anyone is stuck on one of the puzzles.

ReversiQuest2

I don’t know if there was a ReversiQuest 1; but ReversiQuest2 is is a fresh take on the RPG genre and I’m enjoying it quite a bit. Basically, you roam around dungeons until you come to an enemy, at which point you start a battle. And that’s where things get interesting. The rules are according to Reversi, or Othello. You damage enemies by flanking their black pawns with your white pawns and turning them white. You can also heal if you choose to use your healer instead of your soldier. I’ve spent about 45 minutes with the game already and I’m still in the free prologue. So there’s a lot of content to get through completely for free before you have to decide if you want to spend money to unlock the rest of the game. It also has iCloud saves, which I appreciate because the game is better on an iPad, but something I want to play on the go. Definitely give this one a try.

Hexanome

Hexanome is the sequel to Hexa Turn, where you had to block the AI’s piece from making it to the goals. You had to predict where it would move and block it accordingly. This time, the roles are swapped and the AI has to try and block you. It’s an interesting twist, and I was enjoying it for a while. But it started to feel a bit clumsy when multiple pieces were added and I had to control each of them separately. I still like the game, but I kind of wish it could have increased the difficulty while maintaining the simplicity of the controls. It was nice when I just had to swipe to move instead of of selecting a piece first. Still, it appears to be a solid puzzler if you don’t mind that, so check out my gameplay video before deciding whether to pick it up.

SHINE – Journey of Light

SHINE – Journey of Light is an absolutely gorgeous game with a soothing soundtrack to match it. The only problem is that it’s hard to tell what the developers were trying to achieve here. It seems like it wants to be a chill, relaxing game similar to Gemini, and it does achieve that with its atmosphere. But the controls make it stressful. It works similar to Flappy Bird in that that your orb of light called a Moonie moves in one direction automatically. So you just tap anywhere on the screen to make it fly upwards. If you let go, it drops again. The problem is that it moves so slowly and at the same time, you need to get to the next orb of light within a certain amount of time or you’ll die. It’s not a difficult game, per se, but the floaty controls make it far less relaxing than it should be. I’ve died a number of times because I simply couldn’t get to the next light in time. There’s no way to speed up, so it often feels futile. I also don’t like how you can’t really see very far around you. It seems like the game would benefit more from free exploration instead of constructing the player into going one direction. It’s such a gorgeous game and I’d love to be able to wander around instead of rushing (or at least trying to rush) to the exit. Still, the game is free to try, so download it and see how it feels to you before deciding whether to pay to unlock the rest of the game.

Storm Boy

I admit I’d never heard of Storm Boy before, but I was intrigued by the trailer and screenshots I saw. I’m also an animal lover, so a story about a boy befriending a pelican sounds right up my alley. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by this interactive adaptation of the beloved book by Colin Thiele. The graphics are nice enough, and the presentation is impressive. But the whole game can be completed in about twenty minutes. Even that would be fine if there was a bit more substance to it. But the mini games mostly felt like filler. One has you tapping on spots in the sand to collect shells. Another is just sand sledding where you can go right through obstacles. Playing fetch with my pelican friend, Percival, was entertaining for a bit but even that got old. And the relationship between Storm Boy and Percival never got fully developed. It felt rushed, when this kind of medium would be perfect for allowing the player to feel what it’s like to be in Storm Boy’s shoes and have a pelican as a best friend. Instead, it left me wanting to seek out the book and maybe the movie, but with no interest of picking the game up again. You can watch my video below to see what it’s like, but beware that it’s the full game, so don’t watch it all if you plan to play yourself.

SquaresΓö¼Γûô

On any other week, Squares╬ô├╢┬╝╬ô├╗├┤ would have likely been my new endless high score chasing addiction. But it had the misfortune of releasing at the same time as Slydris 2. They’re very different games and both offer perfect one-handed play, but Slydris 2 just has a better hook for me. Still, if you have room in your life for two endless puzzle games, give it a try. It’s free, supported by ads with an IAP to remove the ads. There’s also a level mode where you have specific goals to achieve, if you prefer that over chasing scores. In either case, give it download. Who knows — maybe it’ll be your new addiction!

Tsuki Adventure

I had the adorable Tsuki Adventure a few weeks early, so I’ve mentioned it here before. I’ve still been checking in on it once in a while, but I tend to forget about it since there’s not much to do. But if you don’t mind games where you just open them Avery few hours for a few minutes at a time, you can certainly do worse than a cute little country bunny. Make sure to actually use your items! Don’t forget about them like I did. You can make Tsuki fish or fly a kite. I’ve got like three old boots now and no one will buy them off me. 🙁 Anyway, the game is free, so at least give it a try.

A Mortician’s Tale

A Mortician’s Tale doesn’t release for another day or two, but I finished it the other day and was really impressed. If you’re looking for deep gameplay, this isn’t for you, but it offered an insightful and informative look at the life of a mortician. You need to embalm or cremate bodies and then attend the funerals, where you can listen in on some of the guests. It’s a narrative game, with the story told mostly through emails, and it’s very well-written. I’m glad I got to play it, as death is an uncomfortable topic and this game makes it more accessible. I’m not sure yet if I’ll have a chance to write a full review for its release, but this is definitely a game I would recommend to anyone who prefers strong writing and doesn’t mind lack of challenge or depth of gameplay.

And that’s everything I’ve been playing this week! As far as TV shows go, I forgot that I hadn’t finished Orphan Black, so I went ahead and watched the final season. All I can say is wow. That’s the right way to end a show. I almost abandoned it after the confusing third season, but I’m so glad I didn’t. And now I’ve moved on to 24, which for some reason I never watched when it aired originally and now I’m traumatized by the fact that it’s almost eighteen years old! How is that possible?! Anyway, I’m gonna go watch some more if I can pull myself away from Slydris 2 long enough. So let me know what you’re playing (or watching!) in the comments section and I’ll see you back here next week for more of My Week Unwrapped! Oh and have a happy Thanksgiving! Eat some pumpkin pie for me, since my family never makes it. 🙁

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. ValentiaLyra

    Happy Thanksgiving, AppUnwrapper! I’m thankful for your reviews (they are how I find many of my games!), so I will eat a piece of pumpkin pie in your honor. 🥧 🦃😁

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