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Cityglitch ($2.99) by Peter Rockwell is a tricky turn-based puzzle game with a bit of a spooky theme going on. If you enjoyed titles like Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat or Slayaway Camp, then you will enjoy what Cityglitch has to offer.

Life gets pretty stressful for me, especially recently, so I always like to kick back and unwind with video games of some kind. While I like all kinds of game genres, the one that always helps me relax (even a little) are puzzles. There's something about using my brain to critically solve problems that I find incredibly satisfying. And while it feels like I've gone through all of the puzzles on the App Store, I'm always keeping an eye out for new ones. When I saw Cityglitch on the App Store this week, I became intrigued by the concept and, of course, the pixel art. Needless to say, it's one that doesn't disappoint.

App Feels Like

App Feels Like

Free

Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat

Layton Hawkes

$2.99

Slayaway Camp

Blue Wizard Digital Inc

The visuals in Cityglitch are unique and distinctive, as the game carries a retro, pixelated art style that is rather nostalgic. The pixels are rather large compared to other pixel art titles, so it reminds me of my old CRT monitors with MS-DOS. While the graphics feel more like 8-bit than anything else, I still found the various characters and objects to be pretty identifiable once you get start playing. Cityglitch is full of bright and vibrant neon colors, so it's definitely eye candy. Animations are smooth and fluid, with no lag on my iPhone 7. Cityglitch also features an eerie chiptune soundtrack that is delightful to listen to and adds to the overall mood of the game.

Like many other puzzle games, Cityglitch is level-based. Players must go through each puzzle one-by-one in a linear fashion. However, once a puzzle's solved, then several stages get unlocked at a time. So you can play them slightly out of order since they branch off, but you still need to clear the present ones to gain access to more. It's an endless cycle, and the game has 95 levels spread out across seven cities. There's also three boss puzzles you'll need to face, which only add to the challenge.

So what is Cityglitch? There's a bit of a basic plot going on, in which virtual cities appear to be glitching out. You take control of the city witch, who must save the cities from these weird glitches. The goal in each puzzle is to light up the runes in order to complete a ritual, and then the glitch gets released. While it sounds easy enough, things get tricky as you'll encounter cats, dangerous arrows, creepy city critters, and other obstacles that get in your way.

Controls in Cityglitch are simple and intuitive. Just tap on any tile to move to it, as long as the path is not blocked. The city witch can move horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. You can choose to move one space at a time, or just go a few tiles at once. However, once you make your move, then other hazards, such as arrows or ghosts, can also move. You should time your moves correctly so that you avoid getting killed, because one touch of such dangers will kill you, and then you have to start over. If you make a mistake, you can tap on the Undo button to go back one move at a time, or tap Restart to start the level from the beginning.

Cityglitch is a spooky puzzle game that's full of charm.

The Good

Cityglitch is a challenging turn-based puzzle that will appeal to fans of the genre. The game features an awesome aesthetic design with matching music and sound effects. The puzzles start off simple, but progressively become more difficult as you go on. Controls are easy and unrestrictive, but timing is everything, so planning ahead is required. Plus, there's plenty of content for the price, so it's a good value. Cityglitch also doesn't have ads, in-app purchases, or requires an internet connection.

The Bad

While Cityglitch is a pretty good game, it isn't without flaws. The biggest downside is the fact that the game doesn't explain anything to you. It took me a few taps in the beginning to understand how to play the game, and after that I caught on pretty quickly. But if you prefer being told or shown what to do, then this game doesn't offer that. There's no hand-holding — you're just thrown into the glitchy cities without much explanation of what's happening. Otherwise, it's a pretty solid release.

The verdict

I've only just started Cityglitch today, but I'm finding it to be an excellent way to pass the time. I'm a huge puzzle fan and these levels make me use my head, which I love. Plus, the old-school graphics take me back to my childhood days, and the haunting tunes are great. I was a bit confused at first, but once you understand the basics, the rest is straightforward, though a bit tricky. If you're a fan of spooky but fun puzzles, then Cityglitch is a must.

Cityglitch can be found on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99.

9.1

OVERALL

Game Controls 10

Sound/Music 10

Graphics 9

Replayability 8

Gameplay 8.5

$2.99

cityglitch

Peter Rockwell

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Cat Quest ($4.99) by The Genlebros is an action-packed, real-time dungeon crawling RPG adventure that’s full of dragons, danger, and cats. If you love Diablo-like games such as the Dungeon Hunter series, but want something a bit more lighthearted and full of furry felines, then Cat Quest is the game for you.

As I was going through high school and hung out with my group of friends, I discovered Japanese RPGs and more video game genres than my typical puzzle or platformer titles. Through these friends I found out about Diablo 2, and then my love for dungeon crawling RPGs grew. There was nothing quite as satisfying as slaying hordes of enemies with powerful attacks. After Diablo 2, I loved dungeon crawlers and tried out whatever I could that fell under the category. I’ve even picked up Diablo 3 and have poured hundreds of hours into it. While there are many clones of Diablo, none have really captured my heart like the original. That is, until Cat Quest came along.

I had managed to try out an early demo of Cat Quest during GDC this year, and I fell in love immediately. I mean, you’re combining three of my favorite things into one: RPGs, dungeon crawling, and cats. How can I say no to such an awesome mix? After seeing the demo in action, I could not wait for this game and was eager for it to hit the App Store. Now that it’s finally here, I must say that it does not disappoint.

App Feels Like

App Feels Like

Free

Dungeon Hunter 5 – Multiplayer RPG on iOS

Gameloft

Visually, Cat Quest is beautiful. The game features 2.5-D rendered graphics, as it has a cartoon-like style but with an angled perspective that gives it plenty of depth. All of your traveling is done on the overworld map, which is gorgeous with lush grass, forests, villages, mountains, caves, and seas. It’s easy to interact with buildings and dungeons, and there’s even more sprawling areas to explore. Cat Quest has a rich color palette with bright and vibrant hues that shift to darker and more muted tones depending on the area. Character sprites are all unique and easily identifiable, from NPCs to enemies. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, so I had no issues with lag on my iPhone 7. Cat Quest also has a mystical, adventurous soundtrack that fits your journey perfectly, and the sound effects are top notch. Needless to say, Cat Quest is worth getting just for the graphics and music alone.

Since Cat Quest is an adventure game at heart, players discover and unravel the story of a cat hero who carries the mark of the “Dragonblood” on his head. Once the premise of the plot is revealed, you’ll embark on a journey of getting strong enough to defeat the dragons. All of your traveling is done on the overworld, as well as combat. Villages and NPCs reveal themselves to you as the story unfolds. Everything is told through quests, whether they’re main quests relating to the story, or side quests that you can do for experience, loot, and rewards.

The biggest draw of Cat Quest is the fact that everything is done in real-time, so there’s no waiting around. As you move around on the overworld, you’ll see enemies scurrying about around you. You can engage in combat with them on the overworld, or just avoid them altogether if they’re too tough. The overworld also has a pointer that tells you where to go for your quests, and you can zoom out and view the overview map by tapping on the button in the bottom right corner. This is great when you’re lost and want to see exactly where you’re going. Everything is also available from the get-go, so you could go into a high level dungeon super early on, but this is not recommended.

Controls in Cat Quest are easy enough, but may take a bit of getting used to. To move, just tap where you want to go, and the cat goes there. Optionally, you could long press to continually move, but it can get uncomfortable after a while, or your fingers may be blocking the screen. To attack enemies, just tap on one to select them, and then your cat auto attacks with melee hits. If you long press on your cat with the white circle around him, you can select a magical spell or skill to use. Magic attacks cost mana, and you refill the mana by doing regular attacks — it’s an endless cycle.

There’s no way to dodge or block enemy attacks, so you just have to get out of the way. Fortunately, the game tells you the enemy’s attack area before the attack happens, so you have a bit of leeway with getting out in time. There’s going to be a bit of running back and forth during combat in Cat Quest — timing is key.

As enemies fall, they’ll drop gold and experience orbs. Collect these by running over them. You’ll also find random experience orbs and gold scattered on the overworld or in dungeons, so make sure to take advantage of the freebies.

When you find loot in chests or get rewarded with them, they go straight to your inventory. You can access your item stash at any time by tapping on the backpack button in the bottom left corner. You can tap on an item to select it and view the stats, as well as compare it to what you have on now. If you want to change gear, just tap on the green button to equip it. Your cat’s appearance changes depending on what gear he’s wearing, which is cool.

Your cat can also learn different magic spells from the mage. As you get to certain parts of the story and meet the level requirements, you can get new spells to add to your arsenal. Your spells can get upgraded to be more potent, as long as you have the gold to do so. There’s also a feline merchant, who has treasure chests you can purchase that contain random loot.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any health potions in the game, so if you’re low on health, you’ll have to retreat. However, the game does provide plenty of “cat nap” spots (look for pillows at villages) that you can use, which replenish your health, mana, and defenses for free. These are also where you go to save your game progress.

A cat themed action RPG with real time combat on a tapestry infused map.

The Good

Cat Quest is a stunning and addictive dungeon crawling RPG adventure. The game’s distinctive overworld and real-time battle system works out incredibly well, and there’s a lot of loot and magic to discover. The game also has a fantastic sense of humor as well, and there are more cat puns than you can shake a stick at. The graphics and music are amazing, and just add more depth to the journey.

If you are an adventure seeker and love a game that has a lengthy story and plenty of things to do, then Cat Quest fits the bill.

The Bad

While Cat Quest is great, I think the controls could be better. They work, but personally, I found it tiring to hold my finger down on the screen in weird positions to continuously move and not block most of my screen. I would have liked to see an alternative control scheme in the options, or even MFi controller support. Until that happens, this game just falls short of perfection, at least for me.

The verdict

I fell in love with Cat Quest when I first got to see a demo, and I still can’t get enough now that it’s officially out. I bought this title the moment I saw it on the App Store, and have not regretted my purchase. The visuals are superb and the music is fun. The controls work well, though could be better optimized, and the gameplay is addicting.

There’s a lot of loot to discover, and it’s just fun to take out foes and grind for better magical spells. The quest system works, allowing you to either go on with the main story or be a completionist with side missions. Regardless of how you approach it, Cat Quest is a fun adventure that will keep you coming back for more. Plus, who doesn’t love cats and puns?

I highly recommend Cat Quest if you’re a fan of dungeon crawling RPG adventures. You can find Cat Quest on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $4.99. There are no in-app purchases.

9.4

OVERALL

Graphics 10

Gameplay 10

Replayability 9.5

Sound/Music 9.5

Game Controls 8

$4.99

Cat Quest

The Gentlebros Pte. Ltd.

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