ELOH By: Broken Rules As a puzzle fan, there are some that I gravitate to over others, those that have the ability to hold my attention very easily. Reflective puzzles are one of my favorites, and if combined with solid presentation, it's likely I won't be able to put the game down until I complete it. Playmous' God of Light is one example, a game that combined clever mechanics with gorgeous graphics…
Chroniric XIX By: Plug In Digital Ever since the narrative choice-based game, Lifeline, became a huge hit, a lot of developers have tried to do their own spin on the formula. The idea is that someone contacts you from another smartphone or smartphone-like device and asks for your help. For some reason, you're the only person who can aid them. So, from the comfort and safety of your couch, you make life-and-death…
Where Shadows Slumber By: Game Revenant I confess that I hadn't previously played through the demo of Where Shadows Slumber that was available for the last year or two. Had I done so, I might have been prepared for the brutally violent story present in the release version of the game. On its surface, Where Shadows Slumber can be described as Monument Valley (MV) with shadows, but just a little bit into…
Returner Zhero By: Fantastic, yes Less than a year ago, Fantastic, yes' Returner 77 graced our touchscreen devices with some of the most impressive graphics I've seen on iOS. The easiest way to describe it was as The Room in space. It took place on an alien spacecraft where everything is made out of crystal. That means light glints off the myriad surfaces, creating an almost magical effect. And that's besides the…
The Company Game By: gary gogis (Chain Reaction Games) I've already written about cryptic puzzler, The Company Game, a couple of times before, as I've had it for several weeks ahead of release. In fact, I'm not sure I can top my quote from this My Week Unwrapped blurb: "ItΓò¼├┤Γö£├ºΓö£├╗s like if Blackbox, The Guides, and Device 6 had a baby. And the baby was delivered by a 14-year-old doctor." As you…
Valleys Between By: Little Lost Fox Without knowing anything at all about the gameplay, I'd been looking forward to Little Lost Fox's Valleys Between for quite some time. I mean, grab a peek at any of their screenshots and it's not hard to see why. The art style and coloring are reminiscent of Alto's Odyssey, though it's an endless grid-based puzzler instead of a runner. My first few games with it were…
Donut County By: Annapurna Interactive (Ben Esposito) I didn't really know what to expect from Donut County when I first heard it announced, but being published by Annapurna Interactive was already a good sign for me. They've published such games as the masterpiece, Gorogoa, the iOS port of Flower, and short but sweet Florence. I knew anything from them would at the very least be unique. Combine that with the odd premise…
Powerless By: Narratio My first experience with the narrative choose-your-own-adventure type game, Powerless, by Narratio, was a positive one. After spending about thirty minutes with it, I wrote here how impressed I was with it, that it seemed very polished. I didn't encounter many spelling or grammar mistakes, the writing was strong, and the stories were interesting to me. I liked how you choose different characters -- or personas -- and then…
