Hi everyone! Welcome back to My Week Unwrapped! I’ve been much busier this past week compared to last. There have been some strong releases and others that were a bit of a letdown for me. Let’s start with some of the good stuff first.
I mentioned last week that I was playing Replica : A Little Temporary Safety by Zero Rock Entertainment a bit ahead of its release. I had some mixed feelings at first, but I stuck with it and ended up falling in love. It was so much deeper than I first thought and every secret I discovered made me want to find more. It’s now out and I wrote an in-depth review you can read if you need convincing and a detailed walkthrough if you get stuck.
I also spent some time with Water Heroes: A Game for Change by Insignio Labs. It’s a paid puzzle game in which you need to match two hydrogen with one oxygen to make a water droplet. New elements are added, such as fire and ice. It seems cute and simple at first glance, but it actually gets quite tricky. There are also no in-app purchases (IAPs) and the game can be played in either portrait or landscape mode. Also, the developers claim that 50% of the revenue of the game is going to the ClearWater project, which “provides clear water filter units to the indigenous people, hospitals and schools of Ecuador.” So you’re not only getting a fun game, but you’re doing a good deed! Unfortunately there’s no iCloud, though, so you’ll have to choose one device to play on. It is a shame, because it feels nicer on my iPad but I want to be able to take it on the go with me. Either way, it’s a solid puzzle game that’s worth checking out.
I played through the gorgeous point-and-click adventure, Little Briar Rose by Mangatar. It’s based on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale and you play as the prince who needs to wake princess Aurora from her slumber using true love’s kiss. It does some really unique stuff that I liked, but isn’t without its frustrations. I’m still working on my review for it, but you can see my walkthrough here. Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit, despite some aspects that could use some work.
I also played through Bento Studio’s unWorded, which I was really excited about playing. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations. You can read my full review here and watch the video below to see if it’s something you might enjoy.
I played through the gorgeous interactive art piece called ISLANDS: Non-Places by CARLBURTON LLC. It’s light on gameplay and isn’t going to be for everyone. It’s similar to Metamorphabet in that it’s more of a toy than a game. You usually look out for blinking lights and tap them to trigger something. You’re taken on a journey through ten strange places (or non-places) and then can revisit any of them whenever you want. It feels great on a touch screen, but I do wish it had been more of a game. It’s still gorgeous, but make sure you know what you’re getting before you buy it. Don’t expect puzzles or action. The closest it gets to having puzzles is later on when it gets a little less obvious where you need to tap to activate things. You can see it in action in the video below and decide if it’s for you.
And last, I keep coming back to Kenny Sun’s YANKAI’S TRIANGLE since it has no end and it’s a great relaxing game. I still highly recommend picking it up if you haven’t yet.
And that’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this installment of My Week Unwrapped and found some new games to pick up. As always, if you’re a developer and want a chance to see your game here, just email me with details about it. And you can see previous weeks here.
