Touch Arcade

Play Hidden Folks. It's just so charming and fun to tap around in this world that feels alive. It's such a simple idea at its core of being a hidden object game, yes. But the artwork, sound design, and the realization of the ambition to create puzzles where you have to find specific folks in the middle of busy, bustling scenes, are all at their peak. Check this game out.

It would have been easy for Slayaway Camp to just be an amusing puzzle game that didn't try to be a fun puzzler underneath. But, the theme is fun, the puzzles are fun, and those two elements are skilfully combined into one complete package. Slayaway Camp is a killer puzzle game.

Causality is absolutely brilliant. But, because it's difficult with its own rules, solutions can feel arcane and tough to come by, too. And thinking when time isn't linear can be tricky, too! Causality is a fantastic game, one I've enjoyed my time with, even if it has left my brain a gooey mush. If you have the patience and the knack for time-bending puzzles, check it out. Even if it doesn't sound like it's up your alley, do consider it, at least!

The issues I have with Missileman preclude it from being an exceptional must-have in my eyes in the way that I'd say Downwell is a game you have to play. But, I love the core idea, and keep coming back to Missileman in order to keep trying to do better at it. The queasiness of the backgrounds is a huge turn-off, and I suggest watching some video of the game in order to see if it might be for you or not. If you can stomach it, give Missileman a shot, as it's a cool indie gem from Japan with a lot going for it.

It's all a shame because I really want to like Red's Kingdom. I still like the concept, as sliding puzzle games are just collections of single-level vignettes, and this game transcends that. When you dig into it, and get going with the flow of the game, there's the spark of something brilliant and fun. And Red's Kingdom is gorgeous to look at it. But the flaws are deep, that it's tough to recommend despite its great looks and creative ideas.

It’s never a good sign when you’re playing a game and wishing the entire time you were playing something else. That’s exactly how I felt when playing Lords of the Fallen. Sure, the Infinity Blade series is fairly old at this point and hasn’t exactly been kept up to date with all the new iOS versions, but it’s still playable and in my view still a better pick than this clone. Maybe if Lords would have implemented at least one big novel change well, I might be inclined to give it a honest recommendation. Unfortunately, at this point, it’s pretty hard to do that.

I find myself incredibly conflicted about OK Golf. There's a lot of cool things about it, but there's just some aspects to the game that other golf games have already gotten right, and there was no reason for OK Golf to go around messing with the golf formula. I'm interested to see what future content and updates bring to improve and diversify the golfing experience here, because there is a great game somewhere in here with some fixes. Until then, I have to say OK Golf is just...okay.

Goodnight Games has made an interesting action game in Malevolent Machines [$1.99]. It's a game with some clever ideas, and a unique art style that looks both a little ugly and yet detailed and stylish in its own way. It's a game with some bugs and issues, but a lot of good ideas at the heart that shine through the experience. It's an experience that may be off-putting to some folks, but its unique charms and quirks wormed its way into my heart as an entertaining and unique action game.

Games like this are worth supporting, and while you might not play much without human opponents, you’ll probably be glad you did. If you like word games or unique card games, this is a must buy. If they ever add online multiplayer, it’s especially a must buy.

This isn't the right game for everyone, but it is undeniably quality stuff, and could just hit the spot for you if you want a no-nonsense endless game.