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 a bit of a quiet week for new games, but out of the few that did release there were some top quality ones. I also spent a lot of time playing Genshin Impact because of the Midsummer Island Adventure event. But I also had to devote a big chunk of time this week to getting an eye exam and shopping for new glasses, so I didn’t get to play quite as many games as I wanted. Still, there’s plenty to cover, so let’s get to it!

Detective Mimo

Detective Mimo has been the highlight of my week and so much better than I expected. It’s a puzzle adventure game in which you play as the titular character hunting down the elusive Cat Rogue before he can rob the bank. It starts off like your typical point-and-click adventure, exploring locations for objects and clues you can use to solve puzzles and make progress. There are other cat people to talk to and the environments are all rich and full of life. But not far into the game, it starts breaking the fourth wall and you and your device become part of it. The main menu itself might even be hiding clues. You really need to think outside the box at times, so I’ve gotten stuck here and there. But for the most part, it’s been enjoyable and satisfying to figure things out. I’ve been posting my gameplay videos here for anyone who needs help and I plan to continue playing tomorrow. If you like puzzle adventure games, I highly recommend this one.

Railroad Ink Challenge

After Horrible Guild’s fantastic digital adaptation of Dragon Castle, I was looking forward to their next game, Railroad Ink Challenge. And one again, they did not disappoint. As expected, it plays beautifully both on iPad in landscape mode and on iPhone in portrait mode. It works perfectly with touch controls, since it’s turn-based with no timers to worry about. But most importantly, it’s a solo board game that plays out through only seven turns, making it a great mobile game to play anywhere. I’m still honing my skills, but I love how easy it is to just pick up and go. The rules are fairly simple but it takes some strategy — and a bit of luck — to get a high score. I meant to have a review written by now but I didn’t have a chance, so look forward to that in the coming days. For now, check out my gameplay video below to see what it’s like.

MAZEMAN

I was optimistic about MAZEMAN at first, since it utilizes gesture controls instead of onscreen buttons. It’s a little weird, since swiping causes your character to move in that direction until he hits a wall or you swipe to move him in another direction. You then tap anywhere on the screen to activate his skill. It works fine early on, but I got frustrated with a level that involves lasers and haven’t been back since. My biggest issue with that level was that you can’t even touch the side of the guns shoot the lasers. So you really have to keep moving, making it hard to stop and plan out your next moves. The swipe controls don’t really feel great when you’re trying to avoid hazards like that. On top of that, the game seems to support landscape mode, but then the menus between levels are in portrait. So you have to keep switching back and forth. It feels like it was released before it was ready. I do like how you unlock lots of different characters, but at the same time I’m not sure why I would ever choose someone who has no weapon over someone who does. Anyway, I recommend watching some of my video below if you want to get a sense of what it’s like.

Majotori

Majotori he already been out for a while, but it went on sale for $0.99 recently so I grabbed it out of curiosity. I’m not usually a fan of trivia games — and it’s not hard to see why, based on my video below — but I love everything else about Majotori. It’s a series of stories in which a person needs help and a witch appears, offering to help them if they win her game of trivia. The way it works is you answer 10 trivia questions. Then the right and wrong answers are compiled into a wheel and it’s spun. If it lands on a correct answer, the witch grants their wish. If it lands on a wrong answer, something bad happens instead. So unless you get all the answers right, there is some luck involved. Technically, you could Google every question to make sure you get it right. But the game makes it entertaining even if you don’t get your wish, so I’m not sure that’s the best way to play. You can also change the settings to include less or more of a certain subject, such as video games or anime. But to be honest, the trivia is just a means of telling these characters’ stories. I absolutely love the writing, humor and soundtrack. The game is also very snappy, with each tap immediately bringing in the next question or scene. It just all feels so good to play, even if the trivia itself doesn’t do much for me. I would highly recommend this one, especially if it’s still on sale for a buck.

Genshin Impact

Last week, the Midsummer Island Adventure started in Genshin Impact and this week you were able to complete it and clean out the shop of all rewards. It was a fun event, and I especially loved exploring the Golden Apple Archipelago for hidden treasures and puzzles. I also made a walkthrough for one of the puzzles here. The last part of the event was a little underwhelming, but the weapon that you get from it makes up for it. I already leveled it up to 90 and gave it to Yanfei because it’s perfect for her. Anyway, I’ll probably take a bit of a break from the game now until the next event. But if you didn’t complete it yet, make sure you do. There’s so much!

Sky: Children of the Light

This week brought the Days of Rainbow to Sky for the second year in a row. Last year there were only rainbow spells, though. This time you can buy a rainbow cape, rainbow tassel and even rainbow trail spells for either candles or hearts. There’s also two items in the IAP shop, so make sure to check that out if you’re willing to buy them. You can also get free spells from the merchant boat to try them before buying. This event also brings back the daily quests to find a rainbow in each realm. If you’re having trouble, I have a guide that shows all five locations here.

Frenzic: Overtime

Apple seems to be slowly releasing new Apple Arcade games again and this week brought us Frenzic: Overtime, a sequel to the original Frenzic, which is no longer available. You might have seen similar gameplay in one of several knockoffs, such as Slices. The idea is that you’re given one colored wedge at a time and you need to place it in one of the circles, trying to complete as many circles before the timer runs out. There are different challenges in each level, and completing them rewards you a star for each one. The overall idea is a solid one, though a bit more frantic than I normally like. But I don’t think it works well as a level-based game, especially with the way it is currently. Instead of being balanced to complete all challenges, you sometimes have no choice but to use power-ups that you buy with the currency you earn. It makes the the game feel very shallow to me. I gave up on level 8 after trying a bunch of times to make 4 green circles and failing because the game just didn’t give me enough green wedges. I probably could have passed by using a power-up, but where’s the satisfaction in that? I just rather not get invested in a game that’s built so heavily around its currency and power-ups. If you don’t mind that, by all means give it a try.

SP!NG

And last, I’m still working my way through the new SP!NG content, but I’m not a huge fan of the new mechanics. The gravity fields still feel unintuitive to me and now I’ve encountered zero gravity, apparently. I still want to complete all the Classic levels, but these new ones aren’t pulling me in like all the others. Again, you can see all my videos here.

And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week! Like I said, I spent some time dealing with my eyeglass situation, so I didn’t get to play as many games as I wanted to. But I’ll make up for it next week and also hopefully get that review for Railroad Ink Challenge done. I also want to get back to Overboard! and tie up loose ends. Anyway, let me know in the comments section which games you’re enjoying and I’ll see you back here next time with more of My Week Unwrapped!