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Umiro ($2.99) by Dice Roll and published by Devolver Digital is a gorgeous and soothing puzzle experience filled with mystery and awe. If you enjoyed other games like Ruya and Lynk, then you'll get a kick out of Umiro.

Spring has officially begun, and things are going into high gear in my life. With wedding plans that still need to be done, taxes to pay, and health thins I get paranoid about, there's hardly a moment when I'm not stressing out lately. So when I have some time to relax, I'm definitely relishing in those precious moments, especially when my fiancé is around. One of my tried-and-true solutions to de-stressing is games, especially calming puzzles that take my mind off of reality for a bit. When I saw previews of Umiro a few months ago, I knew that this game would be a fine addition to my repertoire. And now that it's finally available, I was right.

$0.99

Ruya

MIRACLE TEA STUDIOS LTD

$0.99

Lynk.

Michael Le

Umiro has an aesthetic that appears to be inspired by games like Monument Valley, but it's still distinctive enough to stand on its own. So you get the angled, top-down perspective, but the game doesn't feature optical illusions as you'd expect. However, due to the point-of-view, the stages appear unique and are highly detailed. Umiro makes use of a nice range of colors, from bold and vibrant hues to soft pastels that contrast nicely with each other. The character design in gameplay is a bit more on the minimalist side, but you can still tell them apart easily due to their exclusive looks. Animations in Umiro are smooth and fluid, and I experienced no issues with lag or choppy frame rates on my iPhone 8 Plus. The atmospheric soundtrack is pretty tranquil and relaxing, and the sound effects are a nice touch.

On top of it all, there are some cutscenes between some stages that reveal more about the story. These are beautifully handcrafted drawings that evoke emotion and set the overall tone for the game itself. It's clear that Umiro was made with love and care.

In Umiro, you'll discover the two schoolmates, Huey and Satura, who are in Umiro with no memory of their past or how they got there. Their memories are somehow locked away in crystals, so their only hope of understanding their situation is to reach the crystals that correspond to them, as they're color coded. Huey needs the blue crystals, and Satura's are pink. The yellow crystals are optional, but they reveal more secrets behind the mysterious world of Umiro, so they are worth the effort to collect if you can. The crystals not only help Huey and Satura recover their forgotten memories, but they restore life back into Umiro itself.

There are four chapters in Umiro at the moment, and each one has a handful of puzzles to get through. To get access to chapters two through four, you need to complete all of the stages in the previous chapter first, and there's no way around that. The goal in each stage is to guide Huey and Satura to their respective crystals while avoiding dangerous obstacles and hazards along the way. Again, the yellow crystals are optional, but they do reveal more about the game's world to you. However, they are more dangerous to reach, so you'll need to devise alternative ways to reach it, as well as have impeccable timing.

The controls in Umiro are simple and intuitive. To get Huey and Satura to move, you'll just need to draw a path from them to their corresponding crystals. Once the paths are drawn, just tap on the "Play" button and they will move along the drawn path. Sometimes there will be more than one crystal for a character, so you will need to repeat the process. The Play button does not become active until all characters have a path drawn out for them.

If one of them touches a hazard, such as the black balls that roam around, then you've failed and have to try it again. Fortunately, there are no time limits, move restrictions, or stars to worry about, so you can play the game at your own pace.

Work together to bring color back.

The Good

Umiro is a beautiful and relaxing puzzle experience for everyone. The visuals are simply stunning and exquisite, with clear inspirations from other popular games, but a distinctive enough aesthetic to stand on its own two feet. The sound design is incredible as well, with the zen-like soundtrack that's designed to help you tune everything out and focus.

Path-drawing puzzle games are always challenging, but Umiro is even more so due to the fact that you must have two characters go at the same time. The game starts off easy enough, but the difficulty increases gradually, and is never overwhelming. It's a great puzzle game for everyone.

The Bad

There's a lot of good going for Umiro, but it's not perfect. I can see the game being frustrating at times because your path may be off by just a tiny bit, and you end up dying multiple times because of it. There's also no hints in the game either, which makes it even more challenging if you're just trying to rush through it (don't do that).

The verdict

Umiro is a gorgeous game with an amazing soundtrack, and it was all crafted with care by the developers. The puzzles are challenging, but once you solve one you've been stuck on, then it just becomes even more satisfying. The base goal is easy enough, but adding in the optional yellow crystals mean completionists have something more to strive for, and it reveals even more about the colorless world. It's a nice bonus to look forward to. I'm enjoying the game a lot so far, and it's definitely going to keep me busy when I need it.

Umiro is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.

9.2

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Sound/Music 10

Gameplay 9

Replayability 8.5

Game Controls 8.5

$2.99

Umiro

Devolver

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews

Hyperforma ($4.99) by Fedor Danilov is a unique and modern spin on the old-school arcade game of Brick Breaker. If you enjoyed the timeless classic, or other creative spins like Breakforcist, then you'll get a kick out of Hyperforma, especially if you like cybernetic and futuristic themes.

With all of the crazy going on in life right now, I'm thoroughly enjoying the moments I have with pretty much any game these days. I grew up on the classics like Tetris and Brick Breaker when I was younger, so I'm always curious about fresh new approaches to these timeless genres. When Breakforcist came out, I was addicted and couldn't stop playing it, since I love cute things and breakfast foods. But at the end of the day, it was still just your traditional brick breaking game, for the most part. However, when Hyperforma appeared on the App Store, I was curious and had to give it a shot for myself. It looked like nothing I tried before.

$2.99

#Breakforcist

Kevin John

Visually, Hyperforma is beautiful and stunning. Everything is rendered in 3D with an angled, top-down perspective like what you'd find in Monument Valley. However, since the theme is cyberspace and hacking, there are a ton of fine, futuristic details about the environment that immerses you into the game's world. I love the various rune-style hieroglyphics and nodes on the surfaces of the architecture, and the light effects are gorgeous. The color palette in Hyperforma is a fantastic mix of dark shades with contrasting vibrant hues, which totally gives off the futuristic vibe. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, and I experienced no lag or choppiness issues on my iPhone 8 Plus. The soundtrack is atmospheric, immersive, and rather amazing to listen to, so headphones are recommended to get the best experience.

Hyperforma is level-based and also has a storyline, so players must go through each stage in chronological order. There's no skipping around either, so while it starts out easy, it gets progressively more difficult and relies on your skills to complete.

In Hyperforma, players enter a world that takes place 256 years later, after the demise of mankind. Only the Ancient Network is left behind, which is nothing more than empty, endless cyberspace. However, you take on the role of an anonymous explorer, who dives into the cold remains of cyberspace and wants to uncover the secrets of the past civilization. You'll have to hack your way through Titanic Interfaces and their secured Forms before you can uncover the past, though.

The controls in Hyperforma are simple and intuitive, though it takes time to master. Essentially, when you "hack" an interface, it's essentially a game of Brick Breaker, except it's in 3D and a lot more intricate. You swipe up to "launch" the hacking beam, and your goal is to destroy the black blocks that surround the core, which has a unique symbol on it. To hack some cores, you'll have to get around their security, which is indestructible white blocks. Some of the black blocks also have symbols on them, and these can do things like detonate and destroy adjacent blocks once they're hit.

As the hacking beam bounces around the screen, you'll want to rotate the interface in the center by dragging your fingers around the screen. So instead of moving a paddle, you're moving the 3D structure to ensure that the beam hits the blocks you want. When there's an opening to the core, you'll want to tap on the "Attack" button near the middle of the screen to hit it, as that's the only way to get inside the core and get the key.

You'll have to watch out for the red lasers that move along the edges of the screen as you rotate the core. If you hit these, then you've failed and have to try again. It starts out with one laser, but then more can show up as you make progress, so keep an eye out for those.

When you successfully hack a core and complete a stage, you'll earn some experience points. As you level up, you'll get stronger and gain access to new hacking skills, like dishing out more damage and getting rid of multiple blocks at a time. To access your skills, just tap the button at the bottom to bring up what's available and then select the one you want to use. There's a cooldown for each one before you can use it again.

Hyperforma is a challenging brick breaker arcade game that's unlike anything you've played before.

The Good

Hyperforma is a bold new take on a classic arcade game. The visuals are absolutely gorgeous and I believe they represent "cyberspace" quite well. The sound design is excellent as well, with a quirky EDM soundtrack to go along with the futuristic theme. The gameplay is great, as it takes a classic and completely turns it into something special and unique. I'm also liking the fact that it starts out easy, but becomes much more challenging as you go on. This is definitely one of those games that will take some time to complete, but you'll enjoy every minute of it as you get better.

The Bad

There's a lot of good going on in Hyperforma, but I can see how this could be a little too hardcore for more casual gamers. The difficulty curve after a few levels is pretty big, so one may end up more frustrated than anything else.

I also wish that there was a way to adjust the sensitivity for the controls, because at the moment, it can feel chaotic at times. Even the slightest little slip of your finger can change the format of the core drastically, and this can lead to some unfortunate deaths. But the game is about players finding the balance on their own, so I'm not sure if having sensitivity adjustment would conflict with this.

The verdict

Despite being a bit unforgiving at times, I'm enjoying Hyperforma a lot. The game's exquisite graphics are a sight to behold, and the music and sound is excellently done too. Gameplay is familiar yet completely new at the same time, and it's challenging. I enjoy the designs for each stage, and how new mechanics are introduced. The difficulty level is pretty gradual, but things can feel a bit unforgiving. However, I only see that as more reason to keep coming back and do better.

Hyperforma is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $4.99. There are no in-app purchases.

9.1

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Replayability 9

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 9

Game Controls 8.5

$4.99

Hyperforma

Fedor Danilov

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