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Journey Below ($2.99) by Ravenous Games Inc. is an auto-running platformer with a dash of roguelike RPG elements to it. It also features a knight who is set on saving the kingdom from an evil monster. Yes, it’s an overdone gaming trope but the real meat of the game is the challenge of an auto-running platformer. Plus, it’s from the same guys who brought you Tiny Rogue, the League of Evil franchise, Random Heroes, and Devious Dungeons, so they know a thing or two about platformers in general.

Since I was born in the late ‘80s and grew up in the ‘90s, I played a lot of platformer games back in the day. From classics like Super Mario Bros. to Sonic the Hedgehog to things like Altered Beast and X-Men, I loved them all. I didn’t have too many games back then since it was what my parents happened to buy, but ever since then, I grew an appreciation for the platformer genre in general. Even though it’s a tried-and-true formula nowadays, I can’t help but check out new platformers that hit the App Store, especially when they have a unique twist that sets them apart. Naturally, when I saw Journey Below on the App Store, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I mean, it’s from Ravenous Games and it’s a platformer with a twist — what’s not to love?

The graphics in Journey Below follow the awesome retro pixel art style that Ravenous Games is known for. If you grew up in the age of 16-bit games, then you will feel right at home with Journey Below. While all of the maps are procedurally generated, the four environments are full of fine details and textures. The character sprites, including the enemies and your own knight character, are rather cute and everything has their own unique movement patterns. Colors in the game range from bright vivids to darker, gloomier tones, but everything is rich in color. Animations are smooth and fluid in Journey Below, and the levels flow seamlessly into each other. The techno chiptune soundtrack is rather catchy and immerses you in the game. Sound effects are fun too. The only thing I noticed in terms of graphics is the fact that a white line pops up consistently in the middle of the screen as I play. Not sure what is causing this, but it does get annoying.

There are three game modes in Journey Below: Normal, Hard, and Endless. However, you’ll have to beat Normal first in order to unlock both Hard and Endless mode. In Normal, you’ll have to go through 12 randomly generated levels and then fight the boss at the end in order to beat the game. Hard Mode has faster gameplay, doesn’t have health potions in the stages so you can’t heal up, and you only start with three health points. Endless is a test to see how deep in the dungeon you can get before the monsters finally get to you. Killing enemies in Journey Below nets you points, and if you can get a combo streak going, the more points you’ll get due to the multiplier bonus. Once you reach the end of a level, you’ll have the option of choosing one of three randomly generated character upgrades before you move on to the next area. You can collect the gold coins for more points, and make sure to watch for health potions to restore hearts, which are shown in the upper left corner. Getting hit or running into an enemy deduct a heart from your gauge, and it’s game over if you’re out (unless you got lucky with the resurrection upgrade). When the run ends, you’ll have to start over from the beginning, though the maps and upgrades will be randomized so it’s never the same thing twice.

Since Journey Below is an auto-runner, that means your knight is constantly moving, turning only once he hits the wall. You jump by tapping on the left side of the screen, and you can perform a dash attack by tapping on the right half of the screen. Some character upgrades let you do a double jump, attack in midair, or even giving your dash attack a longer range, so it’s important to use those to your advantage if you have them. While the controls sound easy enough, sometimes your knight’s movement is a bit trickier due to the layout of obstacles and incoming enemies. Timing is important, so make sure to jump and dash attack at the right moments for maximum efficiency.

I’ve been playing Journey Below all morning and have been finding it to be a delight to play. The game is designed for short to medium gaming sessions, so it’s great when you have a few minutes to spare. As a fan of roguelikes, I like the challenge that each new run brings, and the controls are simple to learn but difficult to master, as they should be. I love Ravenous Games’ pixel art style, so this is another charming game in terms of visuals and music, though I still have the white line constantly appearing in the middle (hope that’s fixed). The game is high in replay value due to the randomly generated maps and levels, tons of achievements, and the fact that it’s a roguelike high score chaser means you’ll always be coming back.

I recommend giving Journey Below a try if you like auto-runner platformers with a splash of roguelike RPG elements thrown into the mix. You can get Journey Below on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.

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Castro — Play and Share Podcasts ($4.99) by Supertop is the brand new version of Castro that emphasizes a new perspective on podcasts for enthusiasts: triage. If you enjoy listening to podcasts on a daily basis, but aren’t satisfied with other top-notch podcast players out there, such as Overcast, then you should definitely give the new Castro 2 a try.

Though I’ve fallen quite behind on my podcasts as of late, I still enjoy listening to podcasts whenever I have the time to, whether it’s a long road trip or a commute through the city. I enjoy podcasts because of the interesting discussion that the hosts always bring up, and it’s great to just find shows that discuss topics that you’re interested in, rather than listening to whatever may be on the radio or something. I’ve gone from Pocket Casts to Overcast ever since Marco Arment released his feature-rich podcast player (love that Smart Speed), but that doesn’t stop me from checking out the competition. And now that Castro 2 has launched, I had to check it out for myself to see if it can work as my daily driver for podcasts.

In terms of visuals, Supertop has knocked it out of the park. While I love Overcast, the problem with that app is the fact that it looks engineered, so it’s not the prettiest thing to look at when it goes head-to-head against other apps in terms of design. Castro 2, on the other hand, has a gorgeous design that you’ll love to look at while you go through your podcasts. The main screen area for Castro has rounded corners that take me back to the Palm Pre days, the white and light gray day theme looks sharp, and there’s an easy-to-access night mode (various shades of gray) with just a two-finger swipe down (or up to go back to day mode). Whether you’re in day or night theme, the thumbnails of podcast art contrast nicely against the background, and the icons for the queue, inbox, archive, and discover are easily recognizable. The app has subtle but fun and smooth transition animations as you switch views, change themes, or bring up menus, and everything flows together perfectly. The playback screen lets you check show notes without any fuss, and the floating buttons make it easy to perform an action if needed. The playback button bar at the bottom of the screen gives users plenty of space to touch the buttons they need. Not surprisingly, Supertop has done a great job once again with the finer details in regards to the design of Castro 2. If you like functional but beautiful apps, then this is not one to be missed.

When you launch Castro 2 for the first time, there will be a brief introductory tutorial that shows you the ropes. It’s quick and simple, and the app itself is pretty straightforward anyway. Since Castro 2 is a new app, you’ll have to export your existing podcast subscriptions from the original Castro or any other podcasting app (there are instructions in the app) and import them into Castro 2.

Another option is to start over, and you can use the Discover tab to browse popular shows in various categories or just search for the shows you want by name or URL. When you find a show that interests you, just tap on it to view the show details, and see what their latest episode was and what that episode is about. Castro 2 also shows the oldest episode available, but you can also tap on the middle break to view all episodes that are in-between the oldest and latest. While you can subscribe to a show as you normally would, there are also individual options that you can trigger by tapping on individual episodes. These options include Play Now (no need to subscribe), Add to Queue as Next, Add to Queue as Last, or Favorite, which adds favorite show episodes to the inbox automatically.

So what is the inbox feature? When Castro’s servers detect a new episode of your subscribed or favorited shows, it will put the latest episodes in the inbox for you. The shows appear in a small ribbon that you scroll horizontally to view more of your favorites. From here, you can go through them to determine what you want to listen to by adding it to the queue or play now, and then archive the rest. The archive will show all of the podcasts of the shows you subscribe to, so you can browse older episodes, see starred episodes, and view your complete listening history. While the process of triaging podcasts may not appeal to everyone, it does let those who prefer to assign a sense of urgency and priority to their podcasts do just that.

When you are playing a podcast, you’ll see the currently playing episode represented by a small icon of the artwork in the bottom right corner, where the playback bar is. Tapping on the icon lets you view the show notes, and you can use the buttons to pause, rewind, and skip forward (the rewind and forward increments can be changed in the app settings). There is also an arrow button in the playback bar that lets you expand the Now Playing view. In this more detailed Now Playing screen, you’ll be able to set a sleep timer, adjust the playback speed, and have a nice audio wavelength scrubber, in case you want to go back to a certain part of the show. You can also access the Share Sheet from this view to share a Castro link to the episode through a myriad of options.

For those who prefer to fine tune their podcast players, the settings for Castro 2 can be accessed through the cog icon that appears in the four main sections. There are options for toggling day or night mode (though the two finger vertical swipe is easier), opening links in Castro’s browser or Safari (even Chrome if it’s installeD), notifications and badges, toggles for queue downloads (if it’s off you stream only), and playback settings, which include continuous play, streaming on cellular, and the rewind and forward intervals.

I’ve been testing out Castro 2 this morning for this review, and I love what Supertop has done for Castro’s revamp. As someone who has less time for podcasts these days, I like the triage system because it lets me check the description for each new episode and this determines if I’m going to listen to it or not. Plus, the app itself looks great, it’s easy to use, and the Now Playing view focuses on useful features and doesn’t waste space to prominently display podcast art. Still, I’m a bit torn between Castro 2 and Overcast, due to my love of the Smart Speed feature — it’s hard to go back once you’ve saved over 100 hours with it, after all. Despite this, I think Castro 2 is a solid update to an exceptional podcast app and definitely worth checking out if you’re a podcast enthusiast looking for fresh new takes on podcast management. Hopefully an iPad version is in the works for those who prefer their iPad for podcast listening.

I recommend giving Castro 2 a try for yourself if you were a fan of the original Castro, or aren’t satisfied with the other podcast apps on the market. Castro — Play and Share Podcasts is available on the iPhone App Store for $4.99.

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