My Week Unwrapped: August 29, 2020 – Krumit’s Tale, Unit 404, My Exercise, Senna’s Journey, Kavel 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 knew this would be a busy week, but I still wasn’t prepared for just how many great games we got. There isn’t a single bad one in the bunch, which is making it hard to decide what to play and cover first. But I’ve spent some time with all of these and can heartily recommend each and every one.

Meteorfall: Krumit’s Tale

I’ve had Slothwerks’ Krumit’s Tale for over a month now and have put quite a few hours into it, but I’m still struggling to beat it on the default difficulty. Thankfully, there’s a number of “mutations” that change the game in various ways, including an Easy mode that gives you a few bonuses to make success more likely. Because of those other modes, I’ve been able to enjoy the game even when it feels like it’s knocking me down over and over. Those who wanted a roguelike card-based dungeon crawler that’s deeper and more difficult than Journeys should be thrilled with Krumit’s Tale. But even if you were happy with the more streamlined binary choices of Journeys, there’s plenty here to enjoy and I would recommend it to just about anyone. You can read my full review here and watch some of my gameplay videos below if you need more convincing.

Unit 404

  • Unit 404 is a new sci-fi puzzler from Maxim Urusov, the developer of [the Sequence] and it’s sequel. I think this one is much more approachable than the previous games, though I can see some similarities. In Unit 404, you need to help a robot get to the exit in each level. The way you do this is by controlling magnetic boxes that push and pull each other. You tap the robot to make him walk, and tap the boxes to activate their magnetic pull, which will draw any other boxes in line with them towards them. As you progress, new mechanics are added at a pace that keep things from getting stale but doesn’t overwhelm. I’ve gotten stumped a few times but have been able to work my way through any puzzles that give me trouble. Usually it turns out that I was overthinking things, and taking a break helps. I’m now around level 50 of 75 and I’ve enjoyed every second of it. I’m eager to get back to playing once I finish this roundup. If you’re a puzzle fan, don’t miss out on this one. It even has iCloud sync so you can play on multiple devices. I’m also working on a walkthrough here if you need any help.
  • My Exercise

    Playables, the folks behind interactive art such as Plug & Play and KIDS, are back with another quirky game called My Exercise. It’s a little hard to explain, but it’s about a young boy doing sit-ups with his dog. The controls are simple — you just tap and hold anywhere on the screen to make him to a sit-up. But after a while, new characters appear and join the fun. You can also hold a sit-up for longer to rub his face in the dog’s fur and some other weird things. It’s really the kind of game you should experience for yourself. There’s also a lot of replay value, as you unlock new characters with each set. The achievements should also keep you coming back for more, as there’s quite a few to find. I’ve only played through it twice now because this week is so busy, but I definitely plan to spend more time with it soon. If you like odd, playful games, you’ll definitely want to check this one out. I’m also working on a guide here.

    Senna’s Journey

    I played the first chapter of Senna’s Journey a year ago, though it was named Senna and the Forest back then. I was really impressed with it and ended up completing the available content, but then the release date got pushed off indefinitely. But I’m happy to share the news that it’s now available on the App Store and it has four chapters this time. Considering the first chapter took me a few hours to solve last year, I imagine there’s quite a bit of content. I only played through the first part of the first chapter in the release version, but I plan to continue and hopefully make my way through the entire game. It’s a logic puzzler in which you need to identify trees by the clues they give you. The controls are a little fiddly at times, but since there’s no time constraints, it’s not a big deal. Overall, it plus very nicely on mobile and I’m looking forward to spending more time with it. You can play the first chapter for free and then unlock the rest through a single IAP if you like it. And once again, I’m working on a walkthrough here.

    Kavel

    I wrote about Jerry Verhoeven’s Kavel in last week’s roundup, but I had missed some of the rules and felt like I hit a wall as far as my score goes. But this past week I learned all the rules and got my high score from around 6 million to over 30 million. It’s now my go-to game to wind down with in bed and I just can’t seem to get enough of it. I’m enjoying it so much that I decided to give it a proper review, which you can read here. If you’re on the market for a new high score puzzle game, Kavel’s what you need. You can also watch my gameplay video below if you need more convincing.

    Fire Ant Solitaire

    Fire Ant Solitaire is a new puzzle game from Derek Seibel, the developer of DEADWORD. It gets its name from the little ants that crawl around the screen as you’re playing. Thankfully, there’s a trick to turning them off (tapping the top of the screen ten times) so you can just focus on the game itself, which is actually quite clever. Each puzzle presents you a board with some cards face-up. You need to get rid of all the red cards to complete the puzzle. To do so, you can attack cards to the left, right, up or down from you, but only if the card matches either the number or the suit. There’s an undo button if you mess up, which I’ve been making vigorous use of. The puzzles can be quite tricky, especially if you choose to play on Medium or Hard. But these aren’t handcrafted levels. Instead, they’re procedurally generated, so you can potentially play forever, I guess? There’s also leaderboards to compete with others, but I find that a bit strange for a game like this, so I’ll probably just ignore them. But if you’re looking for a challenging puzzler with a ton of content, Fire Ant Solitaire should fit the bill. It’s also completely free, with opt-in ads for hints. So if you don’t want hints, you’ll never be bothered and you have a quality puzzle game absolutely free of charge. If you still need convincing before downloading, check out some of my gameplay video below.

    Ord.

    I mentioned Ord. in my roundup last week and noted that I was pleasantly surprised by how clear a picture one-word sentences could form in my mind. It since got an update that added all the missing achievements to GameCenter, but it wiped all my in-game achievements in the process. Still, I’m enjoying it too much to let that deter me from playing, so I went back in and recovered some of my old achievements, as well as earning some new ones. I think there might have also been some bugs in the earlier version, as I got new options this time that allowed me to achieve endings I couldn’t before. That includes finally defeating the warlock! I still have quite a few achievements to find, so we’ll see if I get them all before I tire of the game. Even if you don’t find them all, it’s still an enjoyable diversion and worth it’s super cheap price.

    Sky: Children of the Light

    There’s some news this week for the world of Sky. First off, I completed the Season of Sanctuary, so I made a video to show off all the cosmetics. There was also a beta update to preview and test the upcoming Days of Summer Lights event. It adds a new lantern cosmetic for $19.99 and Message Boat spells that you can place in the water. I was having trouble with the message boats at first, so I made a separate video for that. There were also some changes made to Sanctuary, including a way to ring the six bells with your friends, but I haven’t made a video of that yet. Looks like there’s lots of exciting things to come, though I do think $20 is a bit pricy for the lantern. It is beta, though, so the price could change before it comes to live.

    The Last Campfire

    And last, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the latest Apple Arcade game, The Last Campfire from No Man’s Sky developer, Hello Games. It’s a puzzle adventure in which you need to rescue lost embers to bring them back to life. It’s a vast world that encourages exploration, with puzzles just about everywhere. The deeper I get into it, the more impressed I am, as even finding the hidden letters is becoming more intricate and involved. If you have an Apple Arcade subscription, this is a must-play, and you might even want to consider subscribing to gain access. It’s just such a charming game and I’m loving exploring this world. I’m also working on a walkthrough guide here if you need any help.

    And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week! I also finished watching Teenage Bounty Hunters, which ended up being quite the emotional rollercoaster. Anyway, there’s more notable games coming next week and I still want to continue playing these, so I’ll be busy. Let me know in the comments section what games you’re enjoying and I’ll see you back here next time with more of My Week Unwrapped!

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