Zero/Sum By: Sean Kearney ╬ô├¬ΓîÉ╬ô├▓├╣╬ô├╢├ë The pitch for Sean Kearney's game, Zero/Sum, is that it's a math puzzle game combined with the cheesy storyline of an 80's B-movie, complete with live acting and absurdity. I confess, I wasn't all that excited about the math, but I love a good cheesy movie, and it was hard to pass up on the opportunity to cure cancer with puzzles. It turns out, the game delivers…
BOMBARIKA By: Street Lamp Games ╬ô├¬ΓîÉ╬ô├▓├╣╬ô├╢├ë BOMBARIKA is the first iOS game from Street Lamp Games, and it's listed as having in-app purchases (IAPs) despite being a paid app, but I liked the diorama look of it and I was curious, so I took a gamble for $0.99. Unfortunately, an interesting idea is drowned out by poor design choices and rage-inducing bugs. On top of that, it seems like a free-to-play game…
Tiny BubblesΓò¼├┤Γö£├▒Γö£Γöé By: Pine Street Codeworks LLC I'll be honest with you here. It's been hard to get excited about new iOS games lately, especially my favorite genre -- puzzles. After such a strong 2017, the truly great games have only been trickling in for 2018. It's why I keep finding myself going back to Six Match after I complete my Dissembler dailies. So when I saw Pine Street Codeworks' Tiny Bubbles,…
supertype By: Philipp Stollenmayer (Kamibox) ╬ô├¬ΓîÉ╬ô├▓├╣╬ô├╢├ë I had been looking forward to Philipp Stollenmayer's supertype ever since I saw the first gameplay trailer for it. However, I was a bit worried it would make me angry, like so many of his games do. I loved the idea of using letters as physical objects with shape and weight to them, but was worried my brain wouldn't be able to come up with the…
Oddmar By: Mobge Ltd If you've been frequenting this site for a while, you probably know by now that I'm usually not a big fan of platformers. Even back when I still played games with a controller, I tossed Mario aside in favor of Zelda. So when it comes to using a touchscreen, it's very rare that I feel in control enough to master jumping platforms and dodging and killing baddies. Usually,…
Golem Rage By: Zuki Games Zuki Games' Golem Rage is one of those rare unicorns, a runner that's a paid game without any ads or in-app purchases (IAP). It's also level-based instead of endless, so those who are tired of infinite runners have something to look forward to. I've played a bit and the game is it really a good fit for me, but I still wanted to show off some…
Vandals By: ARTE Experience (Cosmografik) ╬ô├¬ΓîÉ╬ô├▓├╣╬ô├╢├ë Cosmografik's Vandals is the latest turn-based puzzle game in the style of Square Enix's GO series, like Hitman GO (HMG), Lara Croft GO (LCG) and Deus Ex GO (DEG). While I never really got into HMG, I thoroughly enjoyed LCG and all its expansions. It had personality, atmosphere, tricky puzzles, and it felt great on a touchscreen. It raised the bar for what a mobile puzzle…
Candleman By: Spotlightor & CMGE You'd be hard-pressed to find a game that embraces its theme so completely as Spotlightor's Candleman. You play as the titular character, a candle on two legs. He's on a search for meaning and discovers a lighthouse, then decides he wants to shine as bright as that lighthouse. He travels there through places like a dusty old library piled with books, a rocking ship with deadly…