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 week brought a few surprises and one of them has been eating up all my time. I also reviewed a game from last week and finished another one. Besides that, I checked out a couple of older games that went free temporarily, and I revisited a few games that got updates. Overall, it’s been a busy one, so there’s a lot to discuss!

Baba Is You

I sort of knew Baba Is You was coming to iOS, but since it was told to me on April 1st, I had my doubts. But it wasn’t a prank, as this week it got a surprise release on iOS and Android. I think it goes without saying that it’s my game of the week and most likely the year. I just couldn’t be happier about this. It also feels great on a touchscreen and I just love being able to pull the game out anywhere I am and take a stab at a puzzle. The only down side is that there’s no iCloud sync, so I’m forced to play on my iPhone at all times instead of on my bigger iPad at home. There’s also no mid-level saves, so if you take a break in middle of working on a difficult puzzle, you’ll likely have to start from scratch when you go back to it. Hopefully both these things can be added in future updates. Even without, this is a must-have game and having it in your pocket makes it the best version of it. Those other features would just be icing on the cake. You can read m my full review of the PC version here and I wrote more about the controls here if you want to know what they’re like before diving in.

Railroad Ink Challenge

I wrote about Railroad Ink Challenge last week, but I didn’t have time then to review it. I’ve since spent more time with it and had a chance to sit down and write a proper review. I also made some gameplay video that shows my scores improving. I still need to hone my skills, but it should give you a good idea of what the game is like. I would recommend it to anyone who likes solo board games with a small learning curve. It’s very easy to get into and the runs are short, too, making it a great fit for mobile. You can read my full review here to learn more.

Unmaze

I had been looking forward to Unmaze, both because of the unique art style and the fact that it’s published by ARTE Experience, who have released some really special games. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy the short time I spent with Unmaze and can’t see continuing. First off, it uses a camera gimmick where you need to move your device into light to talk to one character and into dark to talk to another. It’s based on the story of Theseus and the Minotaur, and you play as Ariadne who found a crystal that lets you see both her brother Asterion and her partner Theseus to guide them through a maze they’re stuck in. The catch is that if you stay with one for too long, the other will start changing into a monster. You need to split your time evenly between them to try and save them both. It’s an interesting idea, but the gimmick doesn’t really make for a good experience. There are points where you need to get from light to dark or vice versa in a split second, and it was always hard for me to tell where exactly in my apartment the camera would decide the light ends and the darkness starts. Still, I would probably have stuck with it if I actually liked the writing and the characters. They’re all extremely whiny and insufferable. Theseus and Asterion both complain constantly because Ariadne dares to care about them both. It’s exhausting. It took me only 30 minutes to get through the first chapter but that was more than enough time to spend with them. Neither of them make me want to put in any effort to rescue them, so let them stay in the maze forever. Thankfully, the first chapter is free, so you can try it for yourself before dropping $3.99 for the rest of the game. If you’re curious, give it a go, but keep your expectations in check.

Niche – Breed and Evolve

Another surprise release this week was Niche – Breed and Evolve from Stray Fawn Studio. I had been following news about their PC game Niche – a genetics survival game, hoping it might one day come to iOS. Unfortunately, the mobile version that released this week is not the same one. It’s more simplified, with 2D graphics instead of 3D and one kind of mini game that you can play in order to collect resources and find new Nichelings — the name of the creatures in the game. There are some things to like here, such as the breeding and looking through each creature’s generic makeup to find the ideal features you want. But there isn’t a whole lot of room for new creatures, making it feel a bit of a slog as you keep replaying the mini game in order to level up each biome so you can expand. I would like to experiment more with breeding, but there just isn’t the room to do so. And the mini game is not interesting enough for me to want to keep playing it over and over. It ends up feeling like too much of a slog. It’s not necessarily a bad game, but it’s not quite what I was hoping for. I recommend watching some of my videos below — especially the second and third ones — to get a better idea of what it’s like.

Faerie Alchemy – Puzzle Game

Faerie Alchemy is a match-three game that was first available on PC but made its way over to mobile this week. It’s fine for passing some time, but I wouldn’t really recommend spending $10 on it when there are so many other match-three games on mobile — especially premium — that are more satisfying to play. It just feels very basic. You don’t earn any power-ups or even more points for making bigger matches. The main strategy is to try to get chains going. I played a few games and already had my fill. I suggest trying it for free on PC before shelling out money for the mobile version.

My Diggy Dog 2

My Diggy Dog 2 is a premium sequel to a free-to-play puzzle game, which I had never played before. But it dropped in price this week from $4.99 to free, so I finally gave it a try. I do like the general idea of it, though I’m not a big fan of the onscreen buttons. I wish it had gesture controls instead. Overall, it’s well-made, with an intriguing story and pleasant visuals. I especially like how Christopher texts his dog, Marty, while he’s digging through the mines, to offer some helpful tips. I’m not sure when I’ll play more, since it’s hard to compete with a game like Baba Is You, but definitely grab it if it’s still free.

Tales of the Black Death – 1

Tales of a Black Death is another game that went free this week. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I was intrigued by the idea of interactive fiction centered around the Black Death. You play as Baldasar, a young Italian boy, as he journeys through Italy in the Middle Ages. He comes home from visiting his aunt to find his parents ill with some mysterious disease. I didn’t get a whole lot farther than that because every choice I made eventually led to death from the plague. I would stick with it, but the rewind feature kept sending me too far back and I got tired of replaying the same section over and over. It’s still an interesting idea and I definitely recommend grabbing it for free. I might also revisit it after I’ve had a break from it.

Detective Mimo

I already played most of the puzzle adventure, Detective Mimo, last week, but I completed this this week — or at least I think I did. It ends on a bit of a question mark, where it seems like there might be more. But I haven’t been able to find any further content, at least not yet. I still very much enjoyed it. Detective Mimo is one of those games that you can never predict where it will go. It breaks the fourth wall many times and even has you looking through the main menu for clues. I especially liked the puzzles near the end, where your inventory spaces become pieces you place in a puzzle. Overall, it was a great experience, even if some things weren’t very intuitive, like how to make the toy mouse move. If you’re a fan of the genre, I’d highly recommend Detective Mimo. It’s full of surprises and never gets stale. I also have a full walkthrough here if you get stuck.

Great Escapes

I’ve been a fan of Glitch Games for a while now and was thrilled to see that they recently added a new pack to their escape games series, Great Escapes. The new areas to explore are the Hotel, Pirate Ship, and Train Station. I played through all three and enjoyed solving all the puzzles. So far, I only made videos for the first two, though, because the third is more complex. You can see all my other walkthrough videos here. While these games are all pretty short, they’re worth buying and playing if you’re a fan of Glitch’s other games.

Titan Quest: Legendary Edition

I hadn’t played Titan Quest in a few weeks, so the new update seemed like a good opportunity. I didn’t really notice any of the changes, but I did notice that I’m woefully underprepared for the area I’m in. I nearly died a few times, mostly from a specific enemy — the Dragonians. The only way I seem to beat them is by running to the edge of their range so I don’t get ganged up on. I invested a few skill points into dexterity and intelligence but didn’t notice much difference. I may need to invest more and try to put on stronger equipment before I face the third Telkine. Not gonna lie, I’m scared. I haven’t died yet and I really don’t want to start! Anyway, it’s a great game and I highly recommend it if you’re interested in a hack-n-slash RPG.

Genshin Impact

And last, a new event started in Genshin Impact. It’s called Legend of the Vagabond Sword and once again involves trying to get a higher score in a special domain by making it harder. I’m not a big fan of these kinds of events, so I’ll probably get friends to help me earn all the rewards. Even if you don’t go for everything, at least play each challenge once for the free primigems.

And that’s everything I’ve been up to this week! I also saw In the Heights in theaters, which was ok. It was a lot of pretty people dancing and singing and could have been an hour shorter. I also caught up on Home Before Dark and finally finished Calls. It’s a weird show and I’m not sure I buy all the science fiction stuff. But it captivated me and held my attention to the end. I would love to see Apple take more chances with out-of-the-box shows like this. Anyway, I’m going to get back to playing Baba Is You on my phone. 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!