Touch Arcade

I’m not used to a mobile game, even a free-to-play one, that feels so limited in terms of play time (the one egg every 20 minutes thing). The collectibles trickle in, and it will take weeks to get them all – a good thing for F2P titles, keeping players coming back. I expect NomNoms is either the type of game to grab you, or something someone would pick up and delete almost immediately.

On the whole, Magnibox is pretty great. It sets out to deliver a charming platform puzzler experience, and it more than accomplishes that goal. It has a premium feeling, a relaxed pace, smooth controls, and so very, very many unique levels. While it could do a better job with its difficulty curve and introducing new mechanics, and while I have a special dislike of the swipe controls on iPads, the gameplay and unique feel more than make up for such minor issues. At its price point, Magnibox is well worth picking up.

The end of the game may be the end of being neighbors, but it doesn’t mean the end of being friends. Arina and Frendt evolve over time together, from kiddie pools to exploring drains. My friends and I preferred to explore the local cemetery, which seems bleak in retrospect. Anyway, they will keep evolving as they are apart, and in my mind they remain friends through the trials of tribulations of growing up and into adulthood.

There’s a wealth of content, always a faster route or something that could be done slightly better, wonderful graphics and a charming soundtrack, and it just got partial MFi support! While it isn’t perfect, and while I would not recommend it to casual players or folks who do not handle frustration well, those looking for a more hardcore experience will certainly find it in Daggerhood.

I feel the need to personally thank the developer, Nyamyam, for creating Astrologaster. I learned a lot from it, and now want to talk about it with everyone I know because I’ll seem so smart, knowing all about this obscure British man from the 16th century. Not only that, but the game is an experience in its own right, with the madrigals and artwork creating something wonderfully unique. I cannot rave about it enough.

This is exactly the kind of porting we need more of on iOS. Instead of just taking a console or PC game and assuming a virtual cursor can be replaced with touch, Feral did a fantastic job with the interface and retained everything that made Tropico a fun experience in the first place. Just be ready to pay proper attention to the tutorial as it helps a ton for someone who hasn’t played a Tropico game before.

In the end, Forget Me Not: My Organic Garden is a delightfully active addition to the tapping genre, bringing it into the premium game world instead of setting it adrift amongst throngs of free-to-play titles. The artwork is the superstar, absolutely darling and always intriguing. The story is a bit light, but there’s nothing wrong with that when the purpose is to work in a garden.

It’s an exciting prospect that will mean a whole lot more to someone who’s already invested in the franchise. As you’d expect from any similar idol game, the continued allure of this particular time sink is going to ride on how it satisfies each player’s burning desire to be closer to their chosen “waifu".

While I enjoyed playing the game as a whole, I found the best experience was in choosing a random race and playing on expert, although that resulted in quite a few losses. While it does have flaws, they are few and easily overlooked. Solar Settlers is an easy recommendation, and one I make whole-heartedly.

OCO isn’t going to give Animal Crossing a run for its temper-quelling money or replace that book of slightly damp sudoku puzzles by the john, but leaving it on your phone’s multitasking list for a quick poke while waiting for the kettle to boil isn’t such a stretch. Each level is presented as a bite-sized chunk that’s easy to swallow, and the only thing that might get in the way of the VCR-style Play button moving you to the next stage is a 30-second ad for a clicker game that is a much bigger waste of time than any of OCO’s gloriously addictive and intelligent puzzles.