It is lastly Friday – and which means one other spherical of weekly cell sport suggestions based mostly on probably the most fascinating video games I performed and that had been lined on MiniReview this week. Hope you will get pleasure from it 🙂
Assist these posts (and YouTube content material + improvement of MiniReview) on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NimbleThor <3
This episode features a traditional journey RPG, a enjoyable reverse bullet-hell sport, a neat motion platformer, a cute and stress-free informal puzzle sport, and a comparatively new Soul Knight different.
Disagree with my opinion? Let’s have a pleasant dialogue under.
New to those posts? Try the primary one from 152 weeks in the past right here.
Let’s get to the video games:
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced [Game Size: 2.8 GB] ($9.99)
Style: RPG / Journey – On-line + Offline
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Full
tl;dr evaluation by AlexSem:
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced is the port of a critically acclaimed PC RPG that’s set within the Forgotten Realms fantasy world and based mostly on a well-liked Dungeons & Dragons role-playing system.
We get to expertise a wealthy world with deep lore, plenty of colourful characters, a fascinating non-linear storyline, tons of dialogues and aspect missions, plenty of lethal enemies to combat, and fascinating duties to finish.
Fight in Neverwinter Nights takes place in real-time, with an choice to pause at any second to evaluate the scenario and challenge orders that make sure the enemies are disposed of in probably the most environment friendly means. Our character will also be closely personalized, with dozens of distinct courses and a number of play kinds enabling us to expertise the sport in all kinds of how.
Whereas it is wonderful how such a posh sport, together with all its expansions, has been masterfully ported to cell, not the whole lot is ideal. The largest downside is that the abundance of management components hardly match on small cellphone screens, making the textual content too tiny and buttons too simple to overlook.
As well as, the digital camera typically blocks our view, making it laborious to navigate the 3D world. Massive areas additionally sometimes introduce frame-rate drops, and though the extremely detailed graphics nonetheless efficiently create an immersive environment, it’s laborious to disregard that they’re greater than a decade previous.
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced is a $9.99 premium sport with iAPs for added campaigns and story packs that additional enrich the gameplay. In my view, the numerous hours it takes to completely expertise what the sport has to supply totally justifies the worth. And regardless of the management points, it is a true RPG traditional that may be loved by any fan of wealthy and sophisticated fantasy video games.
App Retailer: Right here
Grimnight Heroes: Survivors [Total Game Size: 146 MB] (Free)
Style: Arcade / Reverse Bullet-Hell / Indie – Offline
Orientation: Portrait
Required Consideration: Full
tl;dr evaluation by NimbleThor:
Grimnight Heroes: Survivors is a enjoyable reverse bullet-hell sport the place we try and survive for 20 minutes in every of seven more and more troublesome levels whereas enemies storm at us from all sides and we progressively purchase new talents.
In every run, we transfer our character round utilizing a single joystick whereas it routinely swings its sword to assault within the route we’re transferring. Each time we degree up, we get to select one in every of three random talents that routinely set off, resembling a firestorm that periodically rains from the sky.
We will equip 9 of those talents, after which degree them up by choosing them once more. Compared to video games like Magic Survival, the talents really feel a bit underwhelming at first. They do get much more thrilling and highly effective as soon as they’ve been upgraded, however this additionally causes every run to turn out to be simpler the additional we get into it, which is a bit unusual.
In contrast to most video games within the style, the levels aren’t infinitely giant, however mini-bosses present keys used to open chests across the map, and gadgets that set off a one-time highly effective spell after we choose them up additionally sometimes drop. This makes the gameplay expertise slightly dynamic and fascinating.
Gold is spent in-between runs on buying six new heroes with distinct weapons, buying one-time power-ups that make the following run simpler, and upgrading our heroes’ well being, injury, and pace. I particularly loved that this development system lets us choose which stat to improve first.
The pixel art-style and music all through the sport are actually well-made, giving the sport a novel retro really feel.
Grimnight Heroes: Survivors monetizes via incentivized advertisements for further gold, a $0.99 iAP to take away the advertisements, and some others to amass extra gold. Fortunately, there’s no vitality system, no login rewards and many others. It sticks to the fundamentals, and it does it effectively.
App Retailer: Right here
Daggerhood [Game Size: 108 MB] ($2.99)
Style: Platform / Motion – Offline
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Full
tl;dr evaluation by AlexSem:
Daggerhood is a fast-paced motion platformer the place it takes each excessive precision and fast reflexes to beat all the degrees in time.
Taking part in as a daring thief thrown right into a deep darkish cave, we should navigate via 100 ranges by leaping on platforms, avoiding spikes and enemies, driving elevators, working switches, and utilizing short-term talents to achieve inaccessible locations.
Whereas our touring pace will increase by wall leaping and double leaping, our biggest asset is a throwing dagger that not solely kills the nasty creatures lurking within the caves but additionally lets us teleport to distant locations. The latter makes the sport excellent for speedrunning, as skillfully using the teleportation mechanic turns platforming into an artwork.
Fortunately, the sport options all kinds of problem settings to go well with any talent degree. For instance, we will restrict ourselves to at least one life per degree, or select to have three. The 5 treasures scattered throughout every degree additionally present a further problem, however choosing them up will not be required to progress. And though we’re awarded stars for beating ranges inside a time restrict, they act as nothing greater than achievements.
Mixed, these programs create an amazing stability that makes it doable to complete the sport by taking part in casually whereas getting all of the achievements requires extraordinary platforming expertise and solely fits hardcore gamers.
Daggerhood is a $2.99 premium sport with no advertisements or iAPs. Its nice degree design and fast-paced gameplay give it a broad enchantment, and it’s particularly fascinating for followers of inauspicious retro-style platformers.
App Retailer: Right here
Cosmic Categorical [Game Size: 109 MB] ($4.99)
Style: Puzzle / Informal – Offline
Orientation: Portrait + Panorama
Required Consideration: Some
tl;dr evaluation by Jurij:
Cosmic Categorical is a simplistic puzzle sport the place we transport color-coded aliens to their locations by way of self-made prepare tracks positioned in tiny house stations throughout a number of galaxies.
The target is to put down tracks in a means that permits a prepare with both 1, 2, or 3 seats to select up aliens of sure colours and drop them off of their corresponding packing containers to develop alien crops inside small greenhouse ranges. Orange aliens into orange packing containers, purple aliens into purple packing containers, and so forth. When all aliens have been delivered, the prepare routinely leaves via a gate to the following degree.
The gameplay may be very easy, however the small maps are all extremely well-designed and create a properly difficult expertise. For many of its 128 distinctive ranges, the sport stays at a perfect problem for puzzle sport followers who like laborious trial-and-error exploration puzzles.
If we get caught, we’ve got the flexibleness to easily choose one other degree, with our progress saved for after we return later. This creates a continuing sense of development that made me really feel good the identical means Portal did. And laying prepare tracks with our finger is simple and unusually satisfying in itself. The one factor some gamers would possibly discover lacking is a touch system.
The 3D graphics are easy and charming, though I ponder why the builders didn’t go along with common trains and recognizable human figures. Its degree design high quality and clear colourful graphics are corresponding to Snakebird, however Cosmic Categorical’ benefit is that it has far more ranges to select from, making the sport really feel much less punishing.
Cosmic Categorical is a $4.99 premium sport with no advertisements or iAPs. The thematic weirdness apart, each side of the gameplay is just about top-notch for the style, so I extremely suggest it to any puzzle fan.
App Retailer: Right here
Dungeon VS Gunner (Recreation Measurement: 163 MB] (Free)
Style: Motion / Roguelike – Offline
Orientation: Panorama
Required Consideration: Full
tl;dr evaluation by NimbleThor:
Dungeon VS Gunner is a fast-paced motion roguelike shoot ’em up impressed by video games like Soul Knight.
Every randomly generated dungeon consists of obstacles and many monsters and executives that we defeat utilizing a wide range of enjoyable weapons that we choose up as we go. As soon as cleared, we will proceed to the following a part of the dungeon.
The sport’s most unusual characteristic is that modifiers that drastically change our weapons drop from chests all through every dungeon. These might make our bullets transfer ahead after which 90 levels to both aspect, make them fly round in a circle, and rather more. This provides a little bit of gameplay selection, and studying their professionals and cons is sort of required to defeat the numerous bosses.
We progress by upgrading our character’s stats utilizing gems earned via gameplay, and by crafting one-time-use weapons and potions that make the following run a bit simpler. We will additionally unlock two new characters utilizing gems, and two extra by way of $1.99 iAPs.
Sadly, transferring between dungeon rooms feels a bit unusual. They’re related by way of small corridors with a teleporter within the center, but when we go away on the left aspect of 1 room, we would find yourself in a hall the place we’ve got to stroll up, down, or proper to enter the following room. This breaks the immersion.
The art-style and Enter the Gungeon-inspired particular results look nice. Nonetheless, the UI lacks in a number of areas, resembling not exhibiting us what number of gems we’ve got when attempting to purchase upgrades.
Dungeon VS Gunner monetizes by way of incentivized advertisements for potions, a pressured advert when dying, and iAPs for gems used to revive or improve and unlock new characters. It has a lot of the elements of an amazing motion roguelike, however its lack of polish holds it again from reaching greatness. Hopefully, that can change over time.
App Retailer: Right here
Particular due to the Patreon Producers “marquisdan”, “Misplaced Vault”, “Farm RPG”, and “Mohaimen” who assist make these posts doable via their Patreon assist <3
Google Sheet of all video games I’ve performed to date (searchable and filter-able): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bf0OxtVxrboZqyEh01AxJYUUqHm8tEfh-Lx-SugcrzY/edit?usp=sharing
TL;DR Video Abstract (with gameplay) of final week’s video games: https://youtu.be/F5uJojUMvTo
Episode 140 Episode 141 Episode 142 Episode 143 Episode 144 Episode 145 Episode 146 Episode 147 Episode 148 Episode 149 Episode 150 Episode 151 Episode 152 Episode 153
