Tender: Creature Comforts By: Kenny Sun Tender: Creature Comforts is a narrative-driven game from Kenny Sun and friends, in which you play as an earthling dating aliens through a Tinder-like app. I'm a big fan of text messaging games and games that try to mimic the social media experience. So I was eager to check this out, not least because of the quirky art style and premise. Unfortunately, the game plays out…
Machinika Museum By: Plug In Digital / Littlefield Studio Fireproof Games' The Room series was so revolutionary, especially for mobile, that it's no surprise that it became its own genre. While it's hard to match the innovation of the original, a number of developers have thrown their hats into the ring, and the better ones do something unique to stand out. Littlefield Studio's Machinika Museum does so by putting you in the…
Cards! - MonkeyBox 2 By: TheCodingMonkeys iOS developer TheCodingMonkeys started a series early last year called Monkey Box, focusing on innovative ideas. Their goal is to release small experimental games on mobile that offer unique experiences. The first one was called Polarized! and had you scanning objects in your environment with your device's camera. I liked the idea of it, but it didn't fire on all cylinders for me. I was still…
Say No! More By: Thunderful Publishing / Studio Fizbin Say No! More is an empowering game about learning when to say "NO." I don't think you can fail at any point, but if you get stuck, this walkthrough should help you. Feel free to ask for extra help in the comments section. Note: I recommend listening to more of the dialogue than I did in my first video. I went a bit…
Say No! More By: Thunderful Publishing / Studio Fizbin As a game concept, Studio Fizbin's Say No! More is a strange one. Billed as the first NPG (NO!-Playing Game), it's a response to the ever-increasing issue of social and workplace expectations that put pressure on people to always be accommodating. You might be afraid to lose your job if you refuse to stay late or risk a friendship by declining to lend…
Mitoza By: Second Maze / Gal Mamalya As much as I like my challenging puzzle games and action RPGs, sometimes it's nice to just play something on my iPad that's more toy than game. I'm a big fan of playful experiences like CHUCHEL and Bring You Home that focus more on experimentation than clever puzzle solutions. Mitoza is similar and, though it released about a decade ago as a flash game, publisher…
Inked By: Somnium Games / Pixmain / Nuverse Limited It's hard not to take notice when you see some screenshots from puzzle adventure, Inked, by Somnium Games. The entire game is made up of ballpoint pen drawings and it's a striking visual effect. I initially thought the art style was mostly a gimmick to stand out -- though a powerful one -- but the game surprised me in many ways. The story…
Five Dates By: Wales Interactive / Good Gate Media I'm a big fan of Wales Interactive's work, as they publish a lot of full-motion video (FMV) games and even port some of them to iOS. Still, I somehow missed the news about their dating simulator, Five Dates, until it was announced for iOS a few months after its PC release. I personally despise dating, but the idea of a game that tries…
