Home » Articles and Reviews by 'Christian Valentin'
Colorful puzzler Nano Golf is Nitrome's newest release on iOS and Android
Nitrome's bread and butter has always been its quirky interesting puzzlers and arcade games, and their newly published game Nano Golf looks to continue that trend. With each course being a tight mini-puzzle and with only a limited number of strokes, this golf puzzler brings varied physics-based golf challenges to iOS and Android. Nano Golf's vivid pixel art courses start off relatively simply, not much different than commom mini golf stages with hills and windmills. But then speed boosting areas get introduced, with myriad other mechanics to follow, from golf carts chasing behind your ball to portals and switches and ghost copies of your ball and spikes and much more. While you might be a…
AndroidHidden Gem of the Week: Perfect Paths
If you've played the (sadly no longer available) port of SpaceChem or the rail-drawing puzzler Trainyard, Perfect Paths may feel familiar despite its potential confusing UI and mechanics. Much like those, this is a methodical logic-based puzzle game, challenging you to splice together nodes amid limited space. At its most basic level, your goal is actually quite simple. All you have to do is move the colored blocks onto the similar-colored tiles on the grid. This is a game of step-by-step planning, of counting turns and meticulously setting up your commands and paths. It's the kind of game where, once you know how all the elements work together, you could succeed on your first try if you…
Hyperforma is a cyberpunk arcade game headed to iOS next week
Hyperforma puts you in the headspace of a curious explorer traveling through the mysterious cyber-landscape of ancient civilization's network, presented as fast-paced and visually-stylish arcade action coming to the App Store on March 26th. Gameplay-wise, Hyperforma is essentially a brick-breaker, representing hacking as your digital avatar chipping away at the barriers protecting mainframes and other data. But instead of the classic design of your paddle below a block structure, your avatar bounces off the walls and floor while you rotate the central block structure in 3D space, You'll need to hit nodes and avoid richocheting through gaps in the firewalls that make up the side of the scr…
Playerunknown's Battleground Mobile is now available on the US App Store and Google Play
After its release in China, the battle royale genre gets another contender with the arrival of Playerunknown's Battlegrounds Mobile on the US (and Canada) stores for iOS and Android. PUBG Mobile retains the same popular design of its console and PC versions: 100 players parachuting onto a large map, scavenge weapons and armor and gear, and engage in tense combat to be the last remaining player. The limits of the battlefield shrinks as the conflict rages on, bringing remaining players closer and closer, shifting tactics from evasion and hiding to more aggressive close-up combat. Powered by Unreal Engine 4, the mobile game boasts multiple graphical settings for different devices and…
King of Dragon Pass spiritual successor Six Ages receives its first teaser trailer
King of Dragon Pass remains one of the most unique games on mobile, with its blend of 4X elements, text adventure, and complex branching choices. But it's also a port of a nearly twenty year old game. Now developer A Sharp has revealed their long-in-development successor Six Ages, slated to release on iOS later this year. At its core, Six Ages retains the same elements that made Dragon Pass so compelling. Set in the same rustic fantasy world of Glorantha, you'll manage and expand your tribe, confering with your advisors on matters of faith and law and harvest, deciding whether to stick to old traditions or create new ones as you grow your tribe and conquer lands. "Hostile gods, evil spiri…
A Steel Media round-up for the week of March 12th
Here’s another weekly round-up of news, previews, and features from Pocket Gamer, 148Apps, and the rest of our sister sites. On our Youtube page, James Gilmour reviews the cute yet challenging platformer Reed, covering the iOS port after its Android release last year and praising the title for its familiar but well-crafted gameplay. Over on Pocket Gamer, Jon Mundy covers the recently released puzzler Projekt, a collection of minimalist spatial challenges where you construct spaces in 3D space so their shadows match designs when viewed from specific angles. Jon describes it as a calm, cleverly-designed puzzle game hampered by some imprecise controls. Tre Lawrence on…
Oddmar is another challenging charming platformer from the creators of Leo's Fortune
2014's Leo's Fortune was a mobile milestone, both in terms of its graphics and how the controls and platforming of its goofy mustachioed blob was well received. Now the developers of that game has revealed their next project, the Viking platformer Oddmar slated to release this spring. This Nordic adventure follows the titular warrior across vibrant gauntlets, bringing to mind the hectic stages of the Rayman games. The trailer showcases a varied array of level designs and challenges, from reflex-testing dodges through spikes and crushers to spear and axe wielding combat mixed with the fast-paced platforming. Copius saws and enemies to evade bear all the signs of tricky precision platformer…
Tin Man Games brings a wealth of gamebooks to iOS with Fighting Fantasy Classics
Interactive fiction has been a near constant on mobile, from the larger projects like 80 Days to the message-driven stories such as Lifeline. But before they were digital, gamebooks were the physical embodiment of the genre, combining text with stats and dice rools. We've seen expanded adaptations such as the isometric Warlock of Firetop Mountain, but the newly released Fighting Fantasy Classics offers mobile gamers to experience those original stories in text adventure fashion on iOS. Ranging from fan-favorites such as The Forest of Doom and the aforementioned Firetop Mountain to Bloodbones, Fighting Fantasy Classics lets you enjoy the dice rolls, page-turning decisions, and tons of text…
Hidden Gem of the Week: SPL-T
Simogo's games - from Year Walk to text-twisting Device 6 - are defined by how they use the touch interface to deliver unique narrative experiences. At a glance, the high score-chasing nature of SPL-T doesn't appear to be a Simogo title, but as you learn its rules, the game reveals itself to be as unique as any of their other games. Your first attempt at SPL-T is likely to be confusing; its gameplay seems as simple as its minimal appearance. The core concept to understand as that you earn points by splitting the screen into halved blocks. These halves alternate between horizontal and vertical splits, and by dividing an area into four or more equally-sized blocks, they become marked with a…
Lost In The Dungeon is the newest card game-dungeon crawler hybrid to arrive on iOS and Android
The card game hybrid has been a burgeoning subgenre on mobile, from 2014's Card Dungeon to this year's Meteorfall. Lost In The Dungeon is the latest notable entry, brining deeper RPG elements to the genre with its release on iOS and Android. Choosing between several classes, each with skill trees to customize for your particular build, you progress from battle to battle, gathering loot and new cards for your deck. With each playthrough, new equipment is added to the overall pool, allowing for more varied and powerful loadouts over time. Battles in Lost In The Dungeon are turn-by-turn affairs, pitting your deck and skills against groups of monsters and deadly bosses, all presented through…
Letters become puzzle pieces in minimalist physics puzzler Supertype
Kamibox has been releasing an array of clever minimalist puzzlers over the last few years, between Zip-Zap, Cmplt, and others, and that trend looks to continue with the reveal of Supertype. The letter-based puzzler might also be the developer's most unique concept yet. Visually, Supertype may seem similar to games like Super Sharp and Sugar Sugar - manipulating objects to reach certain collectibles on each stage - but mechanically, its alphabet system looks wholly original. Rather than dragging blocks or slicking shapes and ropes, Supertype asks you to type letters onto the stage, which then physically interact with the environment. As demonstrated by the trailer, narrow Ls fall through g…
Cops and robbers gets a strategic upgrade in upcoming puzzler City Cops
At a glance, City Cops may seem reminiscent of railway puzzlers like Mini Metro and Trainyard, but rather than guiding and creating tracks, this puzzle game tasks you With outmaneuvering and catching bad guys. Each stage of City Cops presents you with a railroad map, intersecting tracks where robbers are attempting to flee, and two officers for you to control. Using the subway tracks, you must carefully position your cops to cut off the escaping criminals; working in sync to block off stations and intercept robbers is your task, and in figuring when and where to make your moves lies the increasingly tricky strategy of City Cops‘ puzzles. As you progress, special power-ups expand yo…
The hundred player battles of Fortnite Battle Royale are headed to iOS and Android
Fortnite has been a phenomenon on PC and consoles, but now the game‘s colorful aesthetic and its massive battles are making their way to mobile, complete with an announcement trailer revealing its gameplay running on touchscreen. 100 players parachute onto an island, only one can survive. Between the former and latter lies the tense and challenging gameplay of Fortnite Battle Royale; your survival and potential success rests on gathering an effective arsenal from weapons and armor scattered across the island’s hills, towns, and buildings, then fighting and sneaking your way around dozens of other players. Avoiding the closing ring of death that gradually constricts the battleg…
A Steel Media round-up for the week of March 5th
Here’s another weekly round-up of news, previews, and features from Pocket Gamer, 148Apps, and the rest of our sister sites. On our Youtube page, James Gilmour provides his impressions of the challenging precision platformer Temple of Spikes, discussing its masochistic level design, various abilities you gain, and controls. Over on Pocket Gamer, Clement Renaudin checks out the cooperative city-builder Pixel Plex (out now on iOS) and it’s uniquely multiplayer-focused designs, including mayor elections every two days. Tre Lawrence on Android Rundown reviews the new fighter Tekken, particularly praising its detailed 3D graphics and controls well suited for touchs…
Baldur’s Gate: Siege of Dragonspear brings a new chapter of classic RPG action to iOS and Android
RPG fans were elated when Beamdog ported the Baldur’s Gate games to mobile, as well as Icewind Dale and Planescape Torment. Those genre classics are now joined by the stand-alone expansion Siege of Dragonspear. Designed 18 years after the original Baldur’s Gate, Siege retains the classic role-playing style with new classes, environments, and stories. Mechanically, this is still the Baldur’s Gate you know and love: the tactical combat and party management, the extensive stats, the choices and dialogue options. Siege of Dragonspear takes place events of Baldur's Gate and the second game‘s expandion Shadows of Amn, following the northern conquests of the Shining…
