Hi everyone, and welcome back to My Week Unwrapped, where I discuss all the games I’ve been playing over the last seven days. This was another busy week with a whole bunch of new games to cover, as well as a few older ones. I found a pleasant surprise in Worm Jazz, was disappointed by Hue, completed Great Escapes, and a whole lot more. There’s so much to discuss that we should just get right to it.
Worm Jazz
Somehow, Inconspicuous’ Snake-like puzzler, Worm Jazz, slipped under my radar until it was already out. But since then, I’ve been either playing it or thinking about playing it at all times. I thought Snakebird had exhausted these kinds of puzzles where you eat stuff to grow, but it turns out there’s still plenty to explore. In Worm Jazz, you play as a worm that gets longer when he eats food, making it harder to fit through mazes to get to the golden apple at the end. But he has a trick up his sleeve! If he eats a green apple and then touches a mine, he’ll explode up to the point where he ate the green apple and then grow back his head. Without that green apple, the mine just kills him. But by consuming different kinds of food in the right order, he can adjust his length at just the right time to get every last piece of food, along with the coveted golden apple. There are over 50 levels and I’m only about a third of the way through it, but just about each and every puzzle has been satisfying to solve. They appear impossible at first glance, then as you work things out, it all comes together. I also just encountered new mechanics that really shake things up, such as portals and rolling boulders. This is by far one of the best puzzle games I’ve played in a while, and I wish I could just drop everything and play it until I complete it. If you’re a puzzle fan, please don’t pass this up. It’s also free and supported by ads with a one-time IAP to remove ads and unlock hats. And if you need help with any of the puzzles, I’m working on a walkthrough here.
Hue – A Color Adventure
I’d been looking forward to Fiddlesticks’ Hue ever since it appeared in the pre-order section of the App Store a few months back. While I don’t particular love platformers, I’m a fan of puzzle-platformers like INSIDE, that are less about pulling off fancy tricks and more about working out the problem ahead. Hue has a lot of that, with a clever mechanic at the forefront. You collect colors for your color wheel, which you can then use to change the background color of the room. Any obstacles of that color will then blend in with the background and essentially disappear until you change the background color again. It allows for some really interesting puzzles. But unfortunately, the touch controls aren’t up to the task for the more demanding platforming sections and there’s no controller support. So as of now, I can’t recommend it, especially on an iPad. You can also read my full review here.
The Greater Good
I’ve already been playing Sam Enright’s turn-based RPG, The Greater Good, for the last few weeks and played some for you. But now the game is out for everyone! Though it got off to a bit of a rocky start due to the static joystick stuck all the way in the corner, the developer quickly added a floating joystick that made it infinitely more playable. I’ve since spent another couple of hours with the game and have been getting quite engrossed in it. The boss battles have been long and grueling, but satisfying to beat. I’m also enjoying the cheesy humor and want to see where the story is heading. And while the art style is no GRIS, there is a certain charm to it. I don’t want to spoil things, but the adventure has really started to pick up since I got my second companion. I could have done without the awkward platforming section through moving fans and would like to be able to save more frequently, but overall, I’m enjoying the game quite a bit and plan to stick with it. I don’t have a review yet since I’m still playing, but you can see all my gameplay videos here to help you decide whether the game is for you.
Mr Pumpkin 2: Walls of Kowloon
COTTONGAME is on a roll this year, as they just released their third game in just a few short months. This time, it’s Mr Pumpkin 2: Walls of Kowloon, the sequel to Mr. Pumpkin Adventure. It starts off with a very bizarre cutscene that takes place in the real world, and then it zooms in to Mr. Pumpkin going on an adventure on the walls of the famed city of Kowloon in Hong Kong. I’ve only played for about a half hour so far and it seems like the usual point-and-click fare we’re used to from them. I do find the inventory system a little odd, as instead of tapping on the item in your bag and then trying it on something, you have to be next to the object you want to use it with. I’m also not a fan of the way characters have a ton to say, but you have to keep tapping on them to know this. The very first person you meet actually wants to make an exchange, and you need the item from him to progress, but you wouldn’t know unless you thought to talk to him over and over, even when he seemed to be done talking. Once you get used to that, it’s not so bad, but sometimes I even have to walk up to a person again in between each conversation. The drawing controls for clues are also semi-broken, as it draws either above my finger or below, instead of exactly where my finger is. That makes it hard to copy clues down. So the game needs some work, I think. That said, I am looking forward to playing more and seeing where it goes. I can’t say yet whether I would recommend it, but you can watch some of my gameplay video below to see what it’s like and decide for yourself. I also started working on a walkthrough guide here.
Hyperspace Delivery Service
Zotnip ported their strategic space management game, Hyperspace Delivery Service, to iOS this week and I spent a little time with it. I love the soundtrack and the retro pixel art, and the overall idea is intriguing. You manage a spaceship making a delivery to planet Miridian V. You have 380 days to get there and it won’t be easy. In that time, you’ll have to travel to other planets on the way in order to replenish fuel, oxygen, food and other resources. But each trip requires a certain amount of resources, and every decision you make costs time or money or even your crew’s health. You can buy some things from the shop, but they have limited stock and you have limited currency. So you’ll have to rely on the planets you visit, as well as taking on some odd jobs from people. My main issue with the game right now is the controls for the space battles. If you get attacked by an enemy ship on your way to a new planet, you take over the flying and need to shoot them down. It seems simple enough, except for the fact that the joystick doesn’t move the ship the way you would expect. The controls are inverted, so moving the joystick to the right actually moves the ship to the left. There’s a setting to invert the controls, but turning that on actually makes it worse, since it only inverts one axis. That means it’s even harder to keep track of which way to drag the joystick to get to where you want. It’s so mind-bogglingly bad, I don’t know how it got into the game. Thankfully, I turned off permadeath, so when my ship got destroyed i was able to pick back up before the battle. But it still makes the game unplayable for me. Even if I survive, I take so much damage in the battle. Perhaps I’ll revisit it if the controls ever get fixed, but at the moment I can’t recommend it. You can also watch some of my gameplay video below to see whether it would bother you or not.
Manic Merge
Manic Merge is a high score chaser from Stu Lloyd, one of the the developers behind FRAMED. It’s a simple concept that can be surprisingly addictive. The idea is that cars appear on the screen, driving down a particular path. You can tap on a car to make it speed up, then tap on it again to slow it down. The goal is to get as many cars as possible passing off the screen without crashing into another. A single crash ends the game, and it can get pretty stressful as more and more cars enter the screen at the same time. There’s also a Turbo mode, which doubles the speed of the cars and gives you double the points. I actually find that mode more fun, but it takes a while to unlock it, unfortunately. I also wish the game had GameCenter leaderboards instead of Facebook. Otherwise, it’s a solid high score chaser that’s free with just a one-time purchase of $0.99 to unlock gold cars, which I believe give you extra points. Anyway, it’s a pretty fun game, even if it doesn’t look like much at first glance. So definitely give it a try.
Adventure Escape: The Scottish Castle
Many of you follow my blog for my Adventure Escape walkthroughs, and I decided it was finally time to make one for the first one ever, The Scottish Castle. So far, it’s pretty comparable to the others as far as puzzles go, though the controls certainly leave a lot to be desired. The labyrinth mini games are especially frustrating, due to the wonky ball physics. I’ll try to stick with it, but probably do a chapter at a time when I can squeeze it in. For now, I have a walkthrough for Act 1, with Act 2 following shortly.
Levelhead – Platformer Maker
Levelhead is an upcoming platforming game from Butterscotch Shenanigans, releasing on multiple platforms on April 30th. I spent some time with it and was blown away by the quality and humor of the cutscenes, to the point that I was hoping for more cutscenes than actual game. That said, the game itself is also quite compelling, as you control a little delivery robot through fiendish platforming levels. The goal is to find the package and get it safely to the exit. You also use the package as a weapon and a makeshift platform if you can’t jump high enough. There’s a lot of great ideas here, and the game is focused on its level creator so the community can craft an infinite amount of content. That said, I’m not a huge fan of platformers or level creators, so I’m not sure how much I’ll stick with it. But for platformer fans, I think you’re gonna really enjoy it. The controls are also customizable, though I’m still working on finding a layout that allows me to take my eyes off the controls. Anyway, you can watch some of my gameplay video below to see what it’s like and pre-order the game if you don’t want to wait until the 30th.
Meteorfall: Journeys
Slothwerks’ Meteorfall remains one of very few games I still play daily, and for good reason. The developer just released yet another content update that adds a new skin for Muldorf, called Poh Rey Cardoso. He’s an unwilling stamina vampire who focuses on stealing his enemies’ stamina. His build is a lot of fun to play, though I’ve noticed a few bugs that made it into the update. Still, I highly recommend picking up the game and playing with all these characters that each feel so different. This update also brought some new modifiers for the daily challenges to shake things up. The daily challenges are what keep me coming back every day and I think is the best mode the game offers. Anyway, just go play it!
Great Escapes
I had already played through most of Glitch Games’ Great Escapes, but the final level proved to be much more difficult than the others and I got a bit stumped. But this week, I worked through it and completed my walkthrough. It was a fun game, even if it’s shorter than their others, and I look forward to the future content updates. For now, you can play the first three rooms for free and pay just $0.99 to unlock the next three. So if you haven’t tried it yet, do so!
Sky: Children of the Light
This week brings some pretty big news from the world of Sky! The Season of Enchantment has arrived, and with it an entire new area called the Forgotten Ark. There are two new winged lights there and all the seasonal spirits. But what I really love about it is how each week we find a colored light and make permanent changes to the crashed ark. So far, we’ve seen a mural painted onto the ruins. The new season also brings with it new cosmetics, and this time they all have a Middle Eastern theme. There’s also a special Days of Nature cape for Earth Day that costs $4.99, with some of the proceeds going towards planting a tree in the real world. Tomorrow is the last day to get it, so grab it if you don’t want to miss out! Tomorrow also brings another Ark quest, so make sure to log on and complete it to see the next Ark transformation! And if you need help finding any of the seasonal spirits, you can use my guide. I also have a complete seasonal candle guide here.
Archaica: The Path of Light
And last, Two Mammoths ported their light-reflecting puzzler, Archaica, to Nintendo Switch this week. I was hoping for an iOS port, but since I’m a sucker for light-reflecting puzzles, I figured the Switch is the next best thing. Since it’s been such a crazy week, I only had a chance to play a little bit. But the game is gorgeous and pretty easy to pick up and play. I’m not sure how I feel about the hidden object aspect, as it seems a bit like filler. But the puzzles themselves are pretty meaty, even early on. I definitely want to spend more time with it, though I do wish I could play on my iPad. Anyway, if you’re a puzzle fan, this seems like a no-brainer.
And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week! I mean to play more of the Apple Arcade game, Beyond Blue, but I was just overwhelmed but the sheer number of releases. So that’ll have to wait until next week. Anyway, there’s plenty of games to play, no matter what your genre preference. So let me know in the comments section what you’re playing and I’ll see you back here next time with more of My Week Unwrapped!