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Stranger Things: The Game (Free) by BonusXP is an old-school action adventure game that takes place in the Stranger Things universe. If you enjoyed titles like Thimbleweed Park and Death Road to Canada, then you'll get a kick out of the Stranger Things game, especially if you're a fan of the hit Netflix series.

It's October, so it's time for spooky and eerie things. Stranger Things debuted on Netflix about a year ago, and it received much love from fans. It took me a while before I hopped on the Stranger Things hype train, but after I finished it, I was hooked and needed more. I'm eager for the second season of Stranger Things later this month, but it's still some time before we all get it. Fortunately, there's now Stranger Things: The Game to keep us occupied until then.

$9.99

Thimbleweed Park

Terrible Toybox, Inc.

$10.99

Death Road to Canada

Rocketcat LLC

Visually, Stranger Things: The Game is full of beautiful retro graphics, just as you'd expect it would. After all, the first season takes place in the 1980s, the golden age of gaming. Even the icon resembles an old NES cartridge, which I adore. And while the pixel art style of the Stranger Things game feels classic, there's still a lot of details and textures packed in this digital rendition of Hawkins, Indiana.

The color palette ranges from dark and dim to muted earthy tones to bold and vibrant hues, depending on where you are and what the situation is. All animations are smooth and fluid on my iPhone 8 Plus with no lag, and it feels like the game runs at 60FPS. Even the text is easy to read, thanks to the large size. The chiptune soundtrack is haunting and reminiscent of the show, and the sound effects are well done. Overall, the developers did a great job making fans feel right at home in this game.

Since Stranger Things: The Game is an adventure game, there's a story behind everything. Players must also start in the beginning and work their way through to unravel the mystery and secrets that await in Hawkins, because this town is never normal. The game world is quite vast, and the developers have promised several hours of gameplay for players.

There's two game modes available: Normal (good for beginners) and Classic (hard mode). There are six areas to explore and 30 missions to complete. Seven characters are available to unlock as you progress through the story, with Hopper being ready from the start. Each character has a unique talent or skill as well, such as Lucas' Wrist Rocket or Nancy's collection of baseball bats.

The best part? There are no ads in the game, nor are there any in-app purchases. In this day and age, this kind of game would usually not be free, or push you to unlock the full game through an in-app purchase, so it's kind of shocking.

Controls in Stranger Things: The Game are simple and intuitive. To move, you just have to tap where you want your current character to go to, or just tap-and-hold to move continuously. To attack enemies or hit objects, just tap on them. When money, hearts, gnomes, Eggos, or key items drop, just run over to it to collect it. To activate switches and other interactive objects, tap on it like you would an enemy.

Even though it's an action adventure game, there are plenty of puzzles to solve. For example, in the beginning you have to disarm a laser security system by hitting the appropriate switches. But you'll have to find those switches first, and also eliminate all foes who are in the way. Some thugs are immune to normal attacks, so you'll have to outsmart them somehow and use the environment against them.

As mentioned earlier, each character has a special trait that you'll need to get past the puzzles. Lucas' Wrist Rocket is a ranged attack, so it can hit those switches that are beyond gaps in the floor. And sometimes you need the brute force of Nancy's bat swings to get past fallen logs.

Only one character is shown on the screen at once, so if you want to switch, just use the character swap buttons in the bottom right corner. This is also where you see what key items you're holding, your money, and your health points.

The game that only gets stranger

The Good

Stranger Things: The Game is a welcome surprise this week. With season two only weeks away, this is a great addition for any Stranger Things fan. The game's vintage pixel art style is nostalgic and soothing, and the chiptune soundtrack and sound effects stay true to the show. I love the fact that all of our favorite characters from the show make an appearance in this game, and they all play their part in the group. Controls are easy and responsive, making this a great game for anyone.

This is the kind of game that I would pay a few bucks for, so it's a bit surprising that it's free with no additional IAPs or ads. Of course, the whole game itself is a giant ad, technically, but it's one that I honestly don't mind.

The Bad

Stranger Things: The Game is a pretty solid promotional release, but it's not without some flaws. The controls work out nicely, but for larger devices like my iPhone 8 Plus, it can be tiring holding the phone in one hand and using my other hand to move around through taps and drags. I wish that there was a kind of virtual joystick option, or at least support for MFi controllers.

The verdict

Even though this is one big promotional release, it's Stranger Things, and it's a top-notch free game that has no strings attached, which is rare these days. The graphics are amazing and smooth. The eerie chiptune soundtrack is fun to listen to, and the sound effects make you feel like you're watching the show.

The game lasts for about 10 hours, and each character has their part to play when it comes to solving the puzzles. For the true dedicated fans, a secret trailer for Stranger Things 2 awaits you if you complete enough puzzles.

I've only just started playing so I'm still in the beginning. However, this is proving to be a worthy addition to my iOS game collection and one that'll keep me busy until Stranger Things 2 gets released.

Stranger Things: The Game is on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free. There are no ads or in-app purchases.

8.8

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 9

Replayability 8

Game Controls 8

FREE

Stranger Things: The Game

BonusXP, Inc.

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

Kick Ass Commandos ($2.99) by Anarchy Enterprises is a dual-stick action shooter that makes you feel like "Rambo." If you enjoyed games like Soul Knight and The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, then you will love what Kick Ass Commandos has to offer.

When I'm under some stress, I like to get rid of it by blowing stuff up in video games. Trust me — it's a great way to relieve your stress levels. I find shooters to be the best way to unwind, especially dual-stick shooters on iOS, because the touch screen controls usually work out well. So when I saw Kick Ass Commandos on the App Store, I knew that I had to get my hands on it. How can I resist a game that has "kick ass" in the title and also features plenty of awesome explosions?

Free

Soul Knight

Zeyang Li

$14.99

The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth

Nicalis, Inc.

In terms of visual design, Kick Ass Commandos is beautiful with a retro 16-bit pixel art aesthetic. The game is rendered completely in 2D with a top-down perspective, so you can see everything in a single glance. The game is full of bright and vibrant colors that are eye appealing. Character sprites and environments are amazingly detailed and full of realistic textures. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid on my iPhone 8 Plus, so there's no lag or choppiness with all of the on-screen action. There's also a heavy metal soundtrack that's sure to get your blood pumping for some intense shootouts. The sound effects are also rather realistic, which is fitting on top of the cartoonish visuals.

Kick Ass Commandos is a game that you probably don't expect much in terms of story, because all you want to do is shoot and blow stuff up. However, there is a plot behind everything, surprisingly enough. In Kick Ass Commandos, you learn that the enemy's been spreading their addictive Krystal Yayo across the globe, which turns everyone into mindless zombies. You've been chosen to lead the resistance and rescue your comrades while putting an end to their production of Krystal Yayo.

With Kick Ass Commandos, players will find six different mission packs, which are essentially chapters. There's a unique themed area for each pack, such as lush jungles, icy frozen tundras, or desert wastelands. All mission packs contain about nine levels to play through, and there's different objectives to do on each before it's considered complete. These can range from simple things like getting to a helicopter to more difficult rescue missions. You can start any mission pack you want, but the levels are only available in linear order, so you have to finish one in order to unlock the next one.

Controls in Kick Ass Commandos is simple and intuitive. If you've played dual-stick shooters before, then you'll know how this works. In the bottom left is the joystick for your character's movement. In the bottom right is the joystick for aiming and shooting. Both are not fixed, so they'll follow wherever your fingers are on the screen. A crosshair is shown on the screen to indicate where you're aiming, which is helpful.

One of the coolest things about Kick Ass Commandos is the fact that the environments are destructible. This means as you shoot your way through hordes of enemies, your surroundings are also affected, so things will blow up and get destroyed in the crossfire.

As you traverse through the terrain, you'll encounter other commandos who are trapped in cages. You'll want to bust those open and run over to the units to rescue them, and they'll also join your rag tag team. When you rescue other commandos, they'll follow you and attack in unison with you. This extra firepower is greatly needed when you face off against the tough bosses that await you.

When you take hits from the enemy, your health will drop. You can recover health by picking up green health boxes that drop from fallen foes, or by destroying wooden boxes and crates scattered about. There are also red power-up boxes that grant you rocket launchers, grenades, flamethrowers, and other insane weapons for a brief period.

There are 10 playable commandos that you can unlock, and each one has their own unique skills and specialities. They play style for each of them will vary in some ways, so it's recommended to try each one out as they become available to find the one you like the most. As you play each character, they'll earn experience when a mission is successfully completed. The commandos can earn upgrade points as they level up, which are used to increase their skills, such as health, armor, damage output, and more.

Kick Ass Commandos is an intense and insanely fun dual-stick shooter packed with explosions for days.

The Good

Kick Ass Commandos is definitely a fun time killer if you enjoy over-the-top action shooters. The game's vintage pixel art style is a nice throwback to the classic games of yesteryear, and the metal soundtrack gets your adrenaline going. The controls are simple and intuitive, and since the joysticks aren't fixed, you won't have a problem if your thumbs start straying away from the bottom corners. The mission system is straightforward and streamlined, offering plenty of challenge for everyone. There's plenty of variety between the mission packs and commandos so things are kept fresh and interesting, and the explosions just keep on coming.

The Bad

For the most part, Kick Ass Commandos is a great dual-stick shooter. However, the controls do take some time to get used to due to the sensitivity of aiming. There's no customizable options for the controls, so the only thing you can do about it is to practice and get used to it. Hopefully the developers can consider customizable control sensitivity in the future.

The verdict

Overall, Kick Ass Commandos is proving to be an excellent way to pass the time. I love the old-school, modernized graphics, and the soundtrack is downright awesome. While the controls do take some time to get used to, it's fairly straightforward and works well enough for the most part. I just hope to see a bit more customization options added in the future in case some prefer tweaking the sensitivity. The missions themselves are intense and challenging, and there's plenty of replay value here.

I highly recommend giving Kick Ass Commandos a try if you're looking for an over-the-top shooter to check out. You can find Kick Ass Commandos on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99 for a limited time (normal price is $4.99). There are no in-app purchases.

9.1

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Replayability 9

Sound/Music 9

Gameplay 9

Game Controls 8.5

$2.99

Kick Ass Commandos

Anarchy Enterprises

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