RpgN
I was looking forward to giving this a try but it’s unplayable due to the sound quality, graphics and performance. The sound is very low quality in terms of recording and background noise. The graphics are missing details, kind of like the infamous door from Final Fantasy VII remake on the PS4. Expect this the entire game. I can’t even work out the mini-map. There is stuttering every once in a while.
I don’t know if all I’ve described is normal when playing on an iPad Pro 2020. Either way, I’d rather avoid the game and perhaps give it a try on PC someday instead of whatever this version is.
I don’t know if all I’ve described is normal when playing on an iPad Pro 2020. Either way, I’d rather avoid the game and perhaps give it a try on PC someday instead of whatever this version is.
2021
I expected more from this. I feel very disappointed for expecting more from a Platinum game.
Positives: good enough battle system, interesting progression system, good Japanese style and everything works as it should.
Negatives: repetitive, repetitive, repetitive in every single way. The stages are basically move, small text cutscene, fight with multiple waves, more fights with multiple waves and repeat the same steps again. There is no platforming, no puzzles (except for maybe using your Yokai to get some items) and absolutely no variety with the levels. I’ve done 2 missions and the second one looks like the reverse of mission 1. You get about 10 fights at least with multiple yokai in them and multiple waves. I’d say you’re fighting around 30-50 yokai in each mission and you’re doing nothing else. Not only that, the monsters are health sponges. If the fights were quick, then things would have been different. And lastly, you’re not allowed to save your progress during a mission and continue later. You have to finish a mission which is too long and repetitive. If I could save and progress through the mission in smaller chunks, then I might have been able to slowly get through it and not burn myself out.
There is some serious problem to feel this way with the first mission. There is no creativity or fun at all when you have nothing but endless fights that are being forced on you (you can’t skip any of them). There are better ways to spend your time.
Positives: good enough battle system, interesting progression system, good Japanese style and everything works as it should.
Negatives: repetitive, repetitive, repetitive in every single way. The stages are basically move, small text cutscene, fight with multiple waves, more fights with multiple waves and repeat the same steps again. There is no platforming, no puzzles (except for maybe using your Yokai to get some items) and absolutely no variety with the levels. I’ve done 2 missions and the second one looks like the reverse of mission 1. You get about 10 fights at least with multiple yokai in them and multiple waves. I’d say you’re fighting around 30-50 yokai in each mission and you’re doing nothing else. Not only that, the monsters are health sponges. If the fights were quick, then things would have been different. And lastly, you’re not allowed to save your progress during a mission and continue later. You have to finish a mission which is too long and repetitive. If I could save and progress through the mission in smaller chunks, then I might have been able to slowly get through it and not burn myself out.
There is some serious problem to feel this way with the first mission. There is no creativity or fun at all when you have nothing but endless fights that are being forced on you (you can’t skip any of them). There are better ways to spend your time.
2021
I’m not the target audience for these type of management/sim games at all. I’m also not interested in the educational aspect or the setting of this game. The reason I tried this out is because it’s part of Apple Arcade and it has a positive reputation.
The game is clearly polished, the graphics are charming, it offers a lot of replay value and is a good game in its own right. My issues with it have more to do with the genre than anything wrong with the game, probably. It’s a lot of reading and supply management. Not so much the rest. I also don’t like it when things are perfectly fine and all of a sudden 2 of my party members become sick, one decides to leave us or something randomly bad happens outside of your control. They’re well fed, morale is high, have stamina and are clean and yet these things still happen. I’ve reached 2 towns and have seen 17% according to the in-game tracker. The game already started feeling repetitive and I didn’t see myself playing more.
Again, it doesn’t make it a bad game. It’s just niche and it probably won’t change your mind if you’re not into those games.
The game is clearly polished, the graphics are charming, it offers a lot of replay value and is a good game in its own right. My issues with it have more to do with the genre than anything wrong with the game, probably. It’s a lot of reading and supply management. Not so much the rest. I also don’t like it when things are perfectly fine and all of a sudden 2 of my party members become sick, one decides to leave us or something randomly bad happens outside of your control. They’re well fed, morale is high, have stamina and are clean and yet these things still happen. I’ve reached 2 towns and have seen 17% according to the in-game tracker. The game already started feeling repetitive and I didn’t see myself playing more.
Again, it doesn’t make it a bad game. It’s just niche and it probably won’t change your mind if you’re not into those games.
2019
I have been mostly enjoying Monomals and I was really planning on finishing it but it wasn’t meant to be. The second half of the game became too buggy, coupled with the increased challenge, it became too much. But let’s start from the beginning and explain things a bit more.
The game is special. It has that Nintendo quality about it in terms of originality and creating an inviting world. The gameplay is very unique, it needs getting used to but it works. It’s the controls and momentum created while you’re under or above water. New gameplay ideas keep getting introduced, keeping the game fresh. The game has 4 worlds with 7 stages each. I made it to world 3 stage 7.
The game is a bit challenging in general. That challenge keeps increasing gradually. Failures become more punishing and checkpoints becomes more sparse the further you get. What makes all of this harder to deal with is the game being so buggy that you have to restart a level. Your character often gets stuck, especially when you’re above water. Sometimes I get lucky and bring my character back to the water but it doesn’t always work. This happened rarely in the first 2 worlds but it became more frequent in world 3. The game also crashed on me for the first time in world 3.
Life is too short and there are too many awesome games to deal with those kind of bugs. It’s a shame because the game is very good otherwise. It also has a creator mode that I didn’t touch. The game is strong enough on its own having ignored that mode completely. The game is worth giving a try if you like quirky games but I hope you, the reader, are luckier than me.
The game is special. It has that Nintendo quality about it in terms of originality and creating an inviting world. The gameplay is very unique, it needs getting used to but it works. It’s the controls and momentum created while you’re under or above water. New gameplay ideas keep getting introduced, keeping the game fresh. The game has 4 worlds with 7 stages each. I made it to world 3 stage 7.
The game is a bit challenging in general. That challenge keeps increasing gradually. Failures become more punishing and checkpoints becomes more sparse the further you get. What makes all of this harder to deal with is the game being so buggy that you have to restart a level. Your character often gets stuck, especially when you’re above water. Sometimes I get lucky and bring my character back to the water but it doesn’t always work. This happened rarely in the first 2 worlds but it became more frequent in world 3. The game also crashed on me for the first time in world 3.
Life is too short and there are too many awesome games to deal with those kind of bugs. It’s a shame because the game is very good otherwise. It also has a creator mode that I didn’t touch. The game is strong enough on its own having ignored that mode completely. The game is worth giving a try if you like quirky games but I hope you, the reader, are luckier than me.
2019
Mosaic definitely has some impressive elements. The style is perfectly realised, the camera direction is on point and it’s good at delivering its message. But that’s the thing though, it’s all about making a statement that, while true, has been done many times and the gameplay is not its strong point. This is also by design to make you feel the monotony and the time you’re wasting by doing pointless things. This is also clear with the achievements. The achievements have nothing to do with the actual game. They’re gotten through an in-game app where you have to keep clicking. Apparently you have to do this for 9 hours to get the achievements (I didn’t do it). It’s not difficult, it’s just wasting time which is the point of the game. It’s making fun of achievements and how we put so much importance on things that don’t matter.
The game is about feeding capitalism and how it’s destroying the beauty of life. To make this point, you go to work for about 5 days straight and you’re repeating certain actions like waking up, brushing teeth, check the mail etc. It’s like experiencing this similar routine 5 times and it feels repetitive for it. Of course part of it is changed or there are sections that are completely new but it makes it hard to finish the game in one sitting even though it’s around 2 hours long. I had to play one in-game day each day to keep my interest.
By now it should be clear whether the game is for you or not. Don’t get it for the gameplay, get it for the art and what it’s trying to tell. I’m glad I got to play it even if it’s just for curiosity’s sake. It’s easy to say this when it’s part of Apple Arcade. I’m not sure if I would have bought it for its gameplay, maybe only when it’s dirt cheap.
The game is about feeding capitalism and how it’s destroying the beauty of life. To make this point, you go to work for about 5 days straight and you’re repeating certain actions like waking up, brushing teeth, check the mail etc. It’s like experiencing this similar routine 5 times and it feels repetitive for it. Of course part of it is changed or there are sections that are completely new but it makes it hard to finish the game in one sitting even though it’s around 2 hours long. I had to play one in-game day each day to keep my interest.
By now it should be clear whether the game is for you or not. Don’t get it for the gameplay, get it for the art and what it’s trying to tell. I’m glad I got to play it even if it’s just for curiosity’s sake. It’s easy to say this when it’s part of Apple Arcade. I’m not sure if I would have bought it for its gameplay, maybe only when it’s dirt cheap.
This game is being sold as an adventure maker that also has something to offer for players (instead of makers) in the form of campaign. Campaign mode has 6 adventures excluding the tutorial one. I made it to the third adventure with medium difficulty and I feel like I’ve seen all that I can expect.
I don’t think those adventures are good enough for solo players. They’re kind of a demonstration of what you can make. They’re nothing substantial. The NPC seem to be re-using the same dialogues throughout the adventures, the plots are generic, nothing that you find is kept permanently, the gameplay is basic and similar to Zelda games etc.
I was still planning on continuing despite all that I’ve mentioned. I liked the idea of playing simple adventures in bite sized form to kill some time in between. The game also looks very beautiful and the environments feel lively. One major issue is the camera movement and perspective. You’re playing inside a box kind of like Captain Toad on the Wii U. You have to rotate the camera often because your view is constantly compromised. It became tiring dealing with this. I don’t remember having this problem with Captain Toad, so it must have something to do with the way the levels are designed.
The building part and the community around it looks very impressive from an outsider’s perspective. The game is worth giving a try if you care about those aspects. Don’t bother if you’re only in it for the official campaign made by the developer.
I don’t think those adventures are good enough for solo players. They’re kind of a demonstration of what you can make. They’re nothing substantial. The NPC seem to be re-using the same dialogues throughout the adventures, the plots are generic, nothing that you find is kept permanently, the gameplay is basic and similar to Zelda games etc.
I was still planning on continuing despite all that I’ve mentioned. I liked the idea of playing simple adventures in bite sized form to kill some time in between. The game also looks very beautiful and the environments feel lively. One major issue is the camera movement and perspective. You’re playing inside a box kind of like Captain Toad on the Wii U. You have to rotate the camera often because your view is constantly compromised. It became tiring dealing with this. I don’t remember having this problem with Captain Toad, so it must have something to do with the way the levels are designed.
The building part and the community around it looks very impressive from an outsider’s perspective. The game is worth giving a try if you care about those aspects. Don’t bother if you’re only in it for the official campaign made by the developer.
I love tower defence games and I played quite a few. This is my first time playing a Kingdom Rush game and I’m shocked by how tough Frontiers is. Changing the difficulty from normal to casual doesn’t help much either. It’s not the kind of fun challenge too. It started nicely but quickly ramped things up. I’m bowing out of this for my sanity. It’s a very typical tower defence game. So it’s not like much is missed by not playing Frontiers unless you’re a hardcore fan looking for challenge.
Sooo I’m not sure what happened but I think I lost my save due to a bug. I’ve completed 3 levels, continued the next day and there was no option to continue or select a stage. I could only select new game even though the file icon showed my progress and the last level I played. I was hoping to select the stage I was in after selecting new game but that wiped out my entire progress. The game is not good enough to start from scratch again, especially if there’s a possibility I could lose my save at any point. Here are my impressions based on the 3 levels I completed.
It seemed okay but nothing mind blowing. I’m not familiar with the cartoon or the previous games. The story starts with a plot I’m not familiar with. The game is a hack and slasher similar to Ninja Gaiden but not as good. Still though, I was surprised by the responsive controls. I’m not a fan of the camera because it’s active on top of being able to control it manually. You can’t turn that off. The game does throw a lot of skills, moves and weapons at you early on. It feels lacking in balance and doesn’t have a good build up compared to other games. The stages are mostly simple and there are no real puzzles. There has been a good variety of enemies and different ways to beat them. There is also an upgrade system, a shop and being able to make your weapons stronger with the gold you find.
Samurai Jack looked like a decent time that is aimed at the fans. It doesn’t excel at anything in particular but there aren’t many games like it on Apple Arcade. It’s worth giving a try if you can do so on the cheap. The bug with the save is a serious issue though and I don’t know if you should give the game a try if you will encounter it like I did.
It seemed okay but nothing mind blowing. I’m not familiar with the cartoon or the previous games. The story starts with a plot I’m not familiar with. The game is a hack and slasher similar to Ninja Gaiden but not as good. Still though, I was surprised by the responsive controls. I’m not a fan of the camera because it’s active on top of being able to control it manually. You can’t turn that off. The game does throw a lot of skills, moves and weapons at you early on. It feels lacking in balance and doesn’t have a good build up compared to other games. The stages are mostly simple and there are no real puzzles. There has been a good variety of enemies and different ways to beat them. There is also an upgrade system, a shop and being able to make your weapons stronger with the gold you find.
Samurai Jack looked like a decent time that is aimed at the fans. It doesn’t excel at anything in particular but there aren’t many games like it on Apple Arcade. It’s worth giving a try if you can do so on the cheap. The bug with the save is a serious issue though and I don’t know if you should give the game a try if you will encounter it like I did.
This is the better Frogger game compared to the other Apple Arcade exclusive. This is focused more on puzzles, taking your time and planning things out. My main issue is not having a rewind function or being able to go back to previous steps. While you get the time to think things through, this doesn’t apply to the enemies when they notice you. You have to come up with a perfect plan ahead of time and if you mess up, you have to retry the entire level again. The game is not amazing. It doesn’t have something that makes it stand out. The controls are also not the best. While the controller is more precise, it’s slower. It’s better playing with the touch screen but that has its own issues too. Often pressing movable blocks while you’re trying to control the camera or the other way around.
It’s not a bad game at the end of the day. It might be still worth looking into if you’re patient and are good at visualising your plans before executing them.
It’s not a bad game at the end of the day. It might be still worth looking into if you’re patient and are good at visualising your plans before executing them.
I had to try the game based on all the hype it’s been getting and it doesn’t disappoint. The quality of the game is incredibly good. It’s a beautiful mix of Animal Crossing and Zelda Breath of the Wild while focusing on increasing friendship levels. However, I decided to quit after 8 days for one big problem.
The game is grindy in many different ways. The main issue is your progress is halted with the friendship levels. In order to get new and important quests, you have to be at certain levels and you’re only allowed to gift 3 times a day with each character. You need to grind for the gifts every day and they’ll need more gifts with each level increase. The gifts can be anything from the stuff you find, fishing, bug catching etc. I find those activities fun and I like filling up my bestiary but I don’t like being forced to keep doing it too often just to progress.
I started feeling this way fairly quickly and I looked up what others thought online after reaching friendship level 6 with many characters. I found out that the game becomes even more grindy. It also becomes a chore to craft stuff for other things. The devs also nerved the game to make it more grindy and the players were not happy about it.
Nerving the game to make it grindy on purpose is something many devs are doing on Apple Arcade. It makes sense. They want you to keep paying the subscription for as long as possible. This ruins games though. I don’t feel like spending more time with Hello Kitty after experiencing this and knowing it’s only going to get worse.
It’s still a great game though. If you don’t mind and are in no rush, then I recommend giving it a try.
The game is grindy in many different ways. The main issue is your progress is halted with the friendship levels. In order to get new and important quests, you have to be at certain levels and you’re only allowed to gift 3 times a day with each character. You need to grind for the gifts every day and they’ll need more gifts with each level increase. The gifts can be anything from the stuff you find, fishing, bug catching etc. I find those activities fun and I like filling up my bestiary but I don’t like being forced to keep doing it too often just to progress.
I started feeling this way fairly quickly and I looked up what others thought online after reaching friendship level 6 with many characters. I found out that the game becomes even more grindy. It also becomes a chore to craft stuff for other things. The devs also nerved the game to make it more grindy and the players were not happy about it.
Nerving the game to make it grindy on purpose is something many devs are doing on Apple Arcade. It makes sense. They want you to keep paying the subscription for as long as possible. This ruins games though. I don’t feel like spending more time with Hello Kitty after experiencing this and knowing it’s only going to get worse.
It’s still a great game though. If you don’t mind and are in no rush, then I recommend giving it a try.
2019
The stages are empty corridors with no real puzzles or platforming. This all feels like a distraction while it’s mostly about killing enemies that feel like waves and there are too many of them. This could have been salvaged if the fights were good but they don’t feel right. It’s trying to be a mix of souls like/Megaman with a heavy emphasis on parrying and it just feels off. This all adds up to feeling repetitive and questioning why I’m playing this. You’re not going to miss much avoiding this.
This game is decent. The gameplay loop of trying to get as deep as possible in the sea, try to capture as many fish as you can on the way back and then shoot them while they’re floating in the air is genius. It might sound ridiculous but it totally works. I also like all the options around the game like a shop, kind of a tik tok and a fish bestiary.
The negatives were unfortunately enough to stop playing for the time being at least. I have 2 main issues, the progression system and the lack of certain control options. The game is quite a big grind in different ways. I’m fine with having to discover x amount of fish before going to new fishing spots but I’m not a fan of how the upgrades in the shop have been handled. You can’t fish fully deep unless you buy upgrades for every limit and some of all the upgrade types are too expensive. I hate reaching my upper limit and then having to give up because I don’t have an upgrade that lets me go further. As for the controls, you’re not allowed to use the touchscreen for the first 2 steps of the fishing process. You have to move your iPad/iPhone physically left or right. You can only use the touch screen when shooting or using the menu. It’s more annoying on an iPad. I combined my controller with the touch screen to get around this issue but it shouldn’t be like this. It would have been a far better experience if full touch screen was allowed.
This is a good game that will most likely appeal to the ones who want to play it in short sessions for a long period of time. It could have been much better though.
The negatives were unfortunately enough to stop playing for the time being at least. I have 2 main issues, the progression system and the lack of certain control options. The game is quite a big grind in different ways. I’m fine with having to discover x amount of fish before going to new fishing spots but I’m not a fan of how the upgrades in the shop have been handled. You can’t fish fully deep unless you buy upgrades for every limit and some of all the upgrade types are too expensive. I hate reaching my upper limit and then having to give up because I don’t have an upgrade that lets me go further. As for the controls, you’re not allowed to use the touchscreen for the first 2 steps of the fishing process. You have to move your iPad/iPhone physically left or right. You can only use the touch screen when shooting or using the menu. It’s more annoying on an iPad. I combined my controller with the touch screen to get around this issue but it shouldn’t be like this. It would have been a far better experience if full touch screen was allowed.
This is a good game that will most likely appeal to the ones who want to play it in short sessions for a long period of time. It could have been much better though.
2021
This wasn’t on my radar but I had to give it a try for leaving Apple Arcade soon. This game is better than I expected. I’ve completed 15 out of 20 levels including the hard versions.
The positives: the graphics are charming, the game is stylish, it’s unique, I like the way you advance the levels and all that you can collect to 100% complete them.
The negatives: the controls don’t feel great even with a controller, there is too much trial and error, the game can feel repetitive and it has a few bugs that are not game breaking but they can be a nuisance.
It’s not a long game but the trial and error and repetitive nature made me tackle one level a day completely. New obstacles are introduced to keep the game fresh but the simple gameplay of moving while the group runs automatically and jumping when needed gets old after a while.
It’s not a bad game to try out of curiosity and it is a good effort but it’s not polished enough and it’s too shallow. It’s not a must play imo.
The positives: the graphics are charming, the game is stylish, it’s unique, I like the way you advance the levels and all that you can collect to 100% complete them.
The negatives: the controls don’t feel great even with a controller, there is too much trial and error, the game can feel repetitive and it has a few bugs that are not game breaking but they can be a nuisance.
It’s not a long game but the trial and error and repetitive nature made me tackle one level a day completely. New obstacles are introduced to keep the game fresh but the simple gameplay of moving while the group runs automatically and jumping when needed gets old after a while.
It’s not a bad game to try out of curiosity and it is a good effort but it’s not polished enough and it’s too shallow. It’s not a must play imo.
2018
I’ve only played Rayman Legends and not Origins (yet). Oddmar reminds me of Rayman Legends a lot, only with a Viking theme and some minor things that are done differently. Oddmar is a very polished and decent platformer that is definitely worth playing.
The animations are gorgeous and done with so much charm, the music sounds lovely, there are cutscenes with a very good narrator, the story is engaging even if it’s not deep and not the best you have seen, the boss fights are great, the collectibles/challenges/secrets are good for OCD players and the doable achievements confirm this since most of them are about doing everything 100%. The jump mechanic is interesting, you will need to get used to it. You can’t control the strength/distance and it’s pretty floaty but you can position yourself after jumping.
I have 2 main flaws with the game. You can buy weapons and shields with the currency you collect but it doesn’t feel like it affects the game. It feels like an afterthought. While the boss fights are good, they take a long time with the different phases. You’re supposed to platform with some of them. It drags when you die and you have to go through all the phases again. I’d have liked a checkpoint system with the boss fights.
The flaws don’t detract from how good the game is. Even though the game is on the short side, I see it as a positive. There is no filler content and all of it is of high quality. It’s what I’d like to see of a mobile game.
The animations are gorgeous and done with so much charm, the music sounds lovely, there are cutscenes with a very good narrator, the story is engaging even if it’s not deep and not the best you have seen, the boss fights are great, the collectibles/challenges/secrets are good for OCD players and the doable achievements confirm this since most of them are about doing everything 100%. The jump mechanic is interesting, you will need to get used to it. You can’t control the strength/distance and it’s pretty floaty but you can position yourself after jumping.
I have 2 main flaws with the game. You can buy weapons and shields with the currency you collect but it doesn’t feel like it affects the game. It feels like an afterthought. While the boss fights are good, they take a long time with the different phases. You’re supposed to platform with some of them. It drags when you die and you have to go through all the phases again. I’d have liked a checkpoint system with the boss fights.
The flaws don’t detract from how good the game is. Even though the game is on the short side, I see it as a positive. There is no filler content and all of it is of high quality. It’s what I’d like to see of a mobile game.
2009
Looks really pretty and special. Not a game for me at all though.