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Burly Men at Sea ($4.99) by Brain&Brain is an adventure game that puts you in the shoes of a storyteller as well as a wayfinder. If you love titles that play more like experiences and stories rather than just another game, such as Monument Valley, then you will enjoy Burly Men at Sea.

I’ve been fairly busy these days, balancing a life of work and school and personal things, but I’ve been managing so far. Whenever I have some downtime, I like to sit down and play a game to ease my mind and even enjoy a good story. I know that some people like to unwind by reading a book, but I prefer to relax with a story that also lets me interact with it, perhaps affecting the outcome in some way (or not). When I first heard of Burly Men at Sea, I was intrigued because of the art and the story seemed interesting. Needless to say, I’m not disappointed now that the game is available to the masses.

Visually, Burly Men at Sea features a minimalist aesthetic that will definitely appeal to anyone who likes simple but elegant graphics. I feel like the game runs on vector graphics, and the colors are a nice mix of soft pastels and more rich and vibrant hues. Since the game involves a bit of reading in order to reveal the story and dialogue, it makes use of an easy to read serif typeface that is legible against the colored backgrounds. Animations in Burly Men at Sea are smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 7. The atmospheric soundtrack is rather ambient and soothing, which sets the perfect mood for telling a folklore tale that is set in early 20th-century Scandinavia. Overall, I would say that Brain&Brain knocked it out of the park with Burly Men at Sea in terms of the visual and audio department, which is amazing considering that Brain&Brain is a studio consisting of just a husband and wife. They also have another title, Doggins, that is worth checking out as well.

Since Burly Men at Sea is a point-and-click adventure game, there are no levels and you’ll go through the story from start-to-finish. The game does bring you back to where you last left off if you need to take a break, so you can safely leave the game without worrying. Even though you can just sit down and go through the entire game in one sitting, there are multiple paths that you can take at certain points, which mean brand new adventures that will certainly be worth your time. As I mentioned, there is a lot of reading involved with this game, so get ready for that — at least you can tap on the screen to skip the animation of text showing up on the screen.

The controls in Burly Men at Sea are simple and intuitive, though it will take a bit of time to get used to since it’s a bit different from the norm. The game uses a unique, interactive vignette that you drag around in order to pan the camera and reveal settings and other characters around you. As you move the vignette around, the three bearded fisherman brothers will walk in that direction, and you can tap on other NPCs in order to talk to them. When a dialogue begins, the rest of the environment drops off and you get solid colored backgrounds with just the characters (and key objects) on them, which is a nice focal point. Text will show up, you read it, and you’ll uncover more of the story and get a general direction of what you need to do next, or even who to speak to.

I’ve just started Burly Men at Sea, but so far I’m loving it a lot. The visuals are gorgeous and emit a distinctive style among the world of minimalistic games, and the original soundtrack is just perfect. While there may not have many gameplay elements to it, I don’t care too much, because I feel like this is an immersive, interactive storybook and I’m hooked on the folklore tale. Each of the brothers has their own distinguishing appearance and personality, and there are definitely some interesting characters that you’re going to meet along the journey. To me, the game is like one of those gripping novels where you just can’t stop turning the pages, and you keep telling yourself “just one more chapter” before you’ve realized that you just finished the book.

I highly recommend giving Burly Men at Sea a try if you’re into engaging stories and folklore. Burly Men at Sea is available on the App Store as a universal download on your iPhone and iPad for just $4.99.

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Dog Sled Saga ($3.99) by Dan FitzGerald is a dogsledding simulation game that will appeal to all dog lovers out there. If you liked games like Punch Club but wish you had something a bit colder and filled with more dogs, then Dog Sled Saga will be right up your alley.

As a person who lives in Southern California, I honestly don’t know what having a real winter is like, though I wish I did, because I can’t stand being in the heat. I yearn for rain and snow, or at least some overcast, but my only salvation these days has been places with precious air conditioning. I did manage to experience snow in the mountains as a kid, though, thanks to my brother taking me out on skiing trips when I was younger. Even though I have no experience with the dogsledding sport, that isn’t going to stop me from trying Dog Sled Saga, as it at least gives me some peace of mind with the cold setting — one can dream, right?

In terms of visuals, Dog Sled Saga is beautiful, as it features a retro pixelated aesthetic that is incredibly detailed for what it’s worth. If you grew up in the golden age of gaming with all of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit titles on home consoles, then you’ll feel right at home with Dog Sled Saga. The color palette in the game ranges from softer, slightly washed-out hues to simulate the cold wintery setting, but there are some vibrant bits that stand out more thanks to the contrast with the snowy environment. Animations are smooth and fluid, and each dog is filled with their own unique personality and charm that shows through their sprite’s movements. There is also a quirky chiptune soundtrack that goes well with the game, and realistic sound effects, especially for the dogs, that make it feel more real. The text is rather easy-to-read as well, though it feels a bit small at times. Overall, the developers have done a good job in terms of how the game looks and sounds.

Since Dog Sled Saga is a simulation game, there’s only one game mode that’s available, and that’s Career. You begin as a rookie dogsledder who is just starting out, and you can have up to two game saves at a time. As you start, you’ll be asked to pick between one of two different dogsledder character models, and then you can pick your first three dogs. In order to make money, you’ll have to participate in dogsled races and finish in a ranked position to get some cash, which you need to pay your league dues and other expenses in order to make a living. In the beginning of the game, things are pretty basic — race with your dogs, make some money, train and care for your dog team, and pay your dues. But as you advance in the game, you’ll be able to hire employees for multitasking purposes for your team, get sponsorships for your dog’s fame, breed puppies, hire more skilled dogs, and more. While the game looks like it’s just dogsled racing on the surface, there is a surprising amount of depth, strategy, and micromanagement behind Dog Sled Saga, so it should appeal to any simulation fan.

While the micromanaging part of the game is easy to control (just simple taps through menus), the dogsled racing part requires a bit more involvement. As your dogs run, you’ll have to pay attention to when they start panting — this means they’re exhausted and need a biscuit for some energy. To lob a biscuit, just do a long-press on the screen and you’ll see a trajectory line appear from your dogsledder that will move back and forth. Just let go when the line is aligned with the panting dog’s head so that they can catch the treat. Your food supply is limited, but you’ll come across a few refill stations during the race, so make sure to lob those biscuits carefully. You can make your dogs jump and avoid large rocks by tapping anywhere three times in quick succession (not always successful for me). If a dog gets tangled in the harness, just tap repeatedly on them to fix it, and if the dogs are too close to each other, you can swipe on a dog to make them drift further ahead.

The controls work for the most part, though I did have trouble with the jumping part often. It seemed that the game was not as responsive during real races instead of the tutorial, as my team crashed into rocks a few times. I also had some problems with the text in the tutorial, as part of the text got covered up by the dog card when you’re rearranging the positions before a race. The game also doesn’t seem to use confirmation boxes before you make decisions, which can lead to disasters like accidentally losing game save data. I hope that the developers can optimize the controls and menus in a future update, as it would definitely help out with my minor annoyances so far.

I just started my career as a dogsledder, and despite the quirks with the controls at the moment, I’m enjoying the game. I love dogs, so how can I resist a team of cute and fluffy pixelated dogs? The graphics are gorgeous and detailed, the music is fun to listen to, sound effects are delightful and charming, and the simulation aspect can get in-depth. The racing aspect is fun as well, making it feel like an arcade mini-game in the simulation. I just hope to see better optimization in the future for controls and game menus, as well as some minor text fixes.

I recommend giving Dog Sled Saga a try if you enjoy micromanagement simulation games with a bit of arcade racing action. It’s also a fantastic game if you just love dogs in general. Dog Sled Saga is available on the App Store as a universal download on your iPhone and iPad for just $3.99. There are no in-app purchases.

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