Subsolar Review
PROS
- Fantastic music composition by Chris Huelsbeck.
- Deep arcade high-scoring gameplay.
- Variety of challenges increasing in difficulty.
CONS
- Reduced value for fans for Love Battle Princess; essentially a re-skin.
- Abstract graphics not as immediately recognizable; split-second opportunities easy to miss.
VERDICT
Those who missed or skipped out on Love Battle Princess should take the time to check out Subsolar; it may not hold as much value for returning fans, but the gameplay remains just as strong with its unique arcade style.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
You have to admire the tenacity of a developer that doesn't know the phrase 'I give up'. Despite the insanely challenging and original gameplay in Tenshi Noir's first title Love Battle Princess (LBP), it seems that many people were hung-up on the visual style - claiming it to be too raunchy or excessively girly (take your pick). As a result the developer has gone back to the drawing board (quite literally), keeping the gameplay in wholly in-tact while changing its visual theme to create Subsolar.
Those who bought and enjoyed Love Battle Princess can probably hop off here as there's nothing new added to the mix outside of the visual theme and soundtrack. However if you missed it the first time around the premise is fairly simple - collect as many blue orbs as possible while staying alive. Taps on the screen will produce a small area to collect orbs, however the third tap will explode, destroying red orbs and converting them in to more blue orbs. Once you have a grasp on this feature you can explore deeper ideas like generating a vortex to collect orbs for you; multipliers to push your scores higher; and efficiently activating special abilities to dispatch of enemies and score it big.
Additional 'planets' are unlocked by completing a variety of increasingly difficult challenges, however these act as a great training ground before tackling the arcade mode and competing for high-scores on Game Center. Although Subsolar's new theme is just as crisp as LBP's, it lacks the same fun charm of the original and the abstract designs can make it harder to recognize chaining opportunities.
It goes without saying that Subsolar has a severely reduced value for fans of Love Battle Princess as it's ultimately just a re-skin of a game they've already played, however it's still a bold release that shows the developer's confidence in its unique gameplay. If you balked at the original theme, but were still intrigued by the gameplay, you should definitely take the time to check it out.
Screenshots
$1.99
