AppReviewToday- AppReviews

  • GUNCHO review

    Arnold Rauers has been in the business of making clever little mobile games for awhile now, so it's probably no surprise that the release ofGUNCHO garners some attention. This game is a slight departure from the designer's typically card-based approach, though, and–while it can be pretty fun–it lacks some of the elegance and refinement of previous releases.

    Step or shoot

    GUNCHO is a wild west shootout game that takes place in a turn-based fashion. On a hexagonal grid full of cacti, oil barrels, and plenty of sand, you control a six-shooting desperado as they face off against waves of gunmen, trappers, miners, and more. Your goal is to clear all these waves by moving or shooting one turn at a time, though all it takes is one false decision to wind up biting the dust.

    You see, in this game, you are just as fragile as your enemies, meaning any explosion, stray bullet, or brush fire can take you out just as easily as it can your enemies, so you have to be smart with your moves and with your ammo to survive. Another key mechanic to GUNCHO is how its gunplay functions. At the bottom of the screen you can see your revolver cylinder turn whenever you move, which is important because in this game you can only fire bullets if you have ammo in the chamber that points in the direction of what you want to shoot at.

    Revolver roguelike

    Outside of these systems, GUNCHO is a generally straightforward roguelike. When you clear a level, you get the option to choose an ammo or ability upgrade which allows you to pick from three random cards that give you new powers, like the ability to shoot piercing shots, leap over obstacles, etc. If you die, you can try again from the beginning starting with nothing.

    GUNCHO offers three game modes, though all three are very slight variations on the same core game. Normal mode is–presumably–the default mode, which differs from Expert mode by having a more gradual difficulty ramp and the ability to retry levels a limited number of times. Finally, there's a daily challenge that adds three random mutators to the game, all of which are unique to that mode exclusively.

    Randomness reload

    There are times when GUNCHO feels freshly dynamic and like it's the best new tactical battler you can play with one hand. At others, though, the chain reactions of different enemy and environmental mechanics can feel too chaotic and random, ending runs in ways you couldn't have easily predicted. To account for this,GUNCHO does have its retry system (for at least 2 of 3 modes), but this isn't a very satisfying or elegant solution to this problem.

    Of course, you can see if this is how you feel about the game for yourself, as it is free to download and play. If you like it, you can pay $4.99 for the “full unlock” of GUNCHO, which only seems to disable ads.

    The bottom line

    GUNCHO is by no means a bad game, but it does feel like it's missing something. Previous games from Rauers have a few more wrinkles to them that help make them stand out, whereas this game is just another solid roguelike.

    Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/review-270126/

  • Roia review

    Roia is a game about connecting with nature and–quite literally–molding it so that it can flourish. It's also a puzzle game of sorts, but that almost feels beside the point. Playing Roia feels more like a relaxing journey than a “game” in the more traditional sense, and that's good, except for the rare occasions where the experience tries to be a bit more game-like.

    Go with the flow

    In Roia, you can sculpt landscapes to your liking using simple taps and drags that can change direction between going up or down via a switch in the lower corner of the screen. Your goal in manipulating terrain is to guide a flow of water that is somewhat determined by the game environment and further directed by a bird companion that will sit and perch at places you should have water flow to.

    At first, the environments your in are complete blank canvases that you can manipulate as much as you like, though as you guide your river further and further down the mountain you start to encounter fields, wildlife, and other obstacles that you may need to flow around or under to progress. The game is divided into chapters that revolves around these changing environments, though the entire experience flows between them just as smoothly as the water you are manipulating.

    Uncharted waters

    Most of the progression inRoia seems geared toward challenging your land-sculpting abilities in increasingly intricate ways. All of this feels natural, though, as the obstacles or complications in directing your flow of water all feel entirely natural. I'm being intentionally cagey about what the obstacles are, because a lot of my enjoyment in Roia stemmed from coming across these things entirely by surprise.

    I won't say that I enjoyed every minute of the challenges thatRoia put in my way. In fact, the tail end of the game can feel a little onerous just because some of your landscaping can get obscured by environmental features and make it difficult to see or control things behind them. Perhaps some additional layer controls or something could help alleviate this issue. Or, you could just press on through it.

    Rushing waters

    Even with the less pleasant challenges hindering my progress,Roia did not take all that long to work through. After just a few sittings I hit then end, which was both a surprise and a bit of a relief. Roia decides to end right about at the time that its welcome wears out, and does so in a way that is pleasant.

    For anyone who really fancies the landscape manipulation mechanics,Roia also sprinkles little side puzzles and secrets all throughout the game. Just know that if you beat the game, there's no easy way to go back to these challenges without just starting from the beginning.

    The bottom line

    Roia is at its best when you're just chilling out to its wonderful soundtrack and in a flow of land sculpting. There are moments in the game that intentionally disrupt this to provide some challenge, create some surprise, and add some contextual storytelling which feel necessary to make it a full experience as opposed to a toy. Some of these segments could potentially use some refinement, but overall Roia is still enjoyable for what it is as it is.

    Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/review-270144/