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Vikings: an Archer's Journey ($2.99) by Pinpin Team is an endless runner that brings archery into the mix. If you enjoyed other minimalistic infinite runner games like Alto’s Adventure and the like, but want to feel like an awesome archer at the same time, then Vikings: an Archer’s Journey is the game for you. It’s pretty much what Temple Run: Brave should have been.

When the App Store first came out in 2008, I remember endless runner games being all the rage back then, but they’ve slowly dissipated over the years. And even though we’ve had a saturation of these games over time, there have only been a few standout ones, such as Canabalt, Temple Run, Ski Safari, and Alto’s Adventure, to name a few. But most of these still just had one core game mechanic in it, which was to just jump and avoid obstacles, and let’s face it — that can still get a bit boring after a while. But what about when an endless runner combines the precise art of archery? Well, that’s what Vikings is, and I was instantly drawn to it. Over the past few years, I’ve developed a liking for archery (thanks to certain movies and games), though I never tried it in real life yet, so naturally, I had to try Vikings myself. Needless to say, if you’re into runners, vikings, Norse mythology, and archery, then you’re in for a treat with this game.

Visually speaking, Vikings is a stunningly gorgeous game. It has a minimalistic aesthetic that reminds me strongly of Alto’s Adventure, except this game is filled with snow, vikings, and evil demons from Norse mythology. The game retains a flat look and feel for the most part, but the dynamic lighting, backdrops, and even the glowing effects give the game a layer of depth that works. Despite the minimalism, I felt that everything was fairly detailed for the art style, and the colors are beautiful as they range from soft pastels to bolder, more vibrant hues as time passes. Animations are buttery smooth in the game, and I experienced no lag on my iPhone 7. The game also has a rather whimsical and ambient soundtrack that is delightful to listen to, and it definitely immerses you into the Nordic setting of Helheim. Overall, I am in love with the visual and audio style that the developers have come up with here.

Even though the game is an infinite runner at heart, the developers have implemented a story to go along with the action. Players will take control of Nott, a Valkyrie that has incurred the wrath of Nordic gods, and her punishment is having her loyal wolf, Oder, sent to the Underworld in a dwelling of the deceased, also known as Helheim. So Nott gathers up her crew and sets out on a journey to recover her faithful companion. As an endless runner, there is only one game mode to play, but since it’s also combined with a “shoot ‘em up” game mechanic, things get interesting and challenging pretty quickly. Plus, each run is procedurally generated, so it’s never the same thing twice.

Controls in Vikings are easy to learn because it’s rather intuitive, but hard to master. Like all infinite runners, your character will be running forward automatically, so you don’t have to worry about that. What you do have to worry about, though, is avoiding obstacles like spikes and gaps in front of you, and to do that, just tap on the right half of the screen to jump. For the archery part, just touch-and-drag on the left half of the screen to aim your bow and arrow, and then release to shoot. It’s similar to the Angry Birds-style slingshot aiming, but can get a bit more complicated since you’re also moving at the same time. As I mentioned, the controls are easy when you look at them separately, but when you have to use both while you’re in motion, it can be a bit hectic as you get further along in the game.

While Nott starts out with a standard, single arrow shot, the game does provide various power-up runes that are easily noticeable — they’re brightly colored stones with glowing symbols on them. To collect these, just have your character run into it, and the power-up is yours to use, though it’s only for a brief amount of time, so use it wisely. The power-ups include formidable boosts like Bullet Time, Multi Arrows, Explosive Arrows, and more.

You can get a score multiplier if you manage to rack up a combo of successive kills, and if you can max it out, you’ll go into the almighty Fury mode, unleashing your rage upon your foes. The game also has objectives (shown at the start of each run) that you’ll want to complete, because the more goals you accomplish, the closer you are to unlocking another member of Nott’s crew to use in battle. Since there is no other way to unlock these characters to call upon their aid in battle, players will feel more motivated to meet objectives and make their lives easier when playing the game.

While I’m enjoying the game a lot so far, I did think that the game difficulty was a bit unforgiving, even in the beginning. However, the developers have told me that the next update (coming this week) should fix the difficulty with enemies and levels, while also bringing plenty of other welcome improvements, so I’m looking forward to that. I also felt that sometimes it seemed like Nott’s movement, especially while jumping over some spikes, can feel a bit slower than usual, so maybe that can be optimized in the future as well.

Otherwise, the game is incredibly fun and one I’m keeping around for a while. The graphics are downright beautiful and look great on Retina screens. The music is captivating and soothing, despite the dark theme of the game. The controls are simple, but do take time and practice to master fully, and I’m still working my way there. It’s been a while since I really got into an endless runner game, but this one has rekindled the spark thanks to the mashup of shooter and runner.

I highly recommend checking out Vikings if you’ve been wanting a challenging but fun infinite runner with precise shooting elements, or just love Norse mythology. You can find Vikings: an Archer’s Journey on the App Store as a universal download for just $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.

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Roofbot: Puzzler On The Roof ($2.99) by Double Coconut LLC is a gorgeous puzzle game about a small robot who is just trying to cure the planet and save his family. If you enjoyed titles like A Good Snowman Is Hard To Build, Monument Valley, and even Maestria, then Roofbot is another fine gem to add to the ever-growing collection.

As a gamer, I’ve gone through a rather large variety of games in my lifetime so far, but there is always one genre that I’ll always keep coming back to, and that is the good old classic puzzle game. That’s because even after a long day of work or school or whatever personal things I’m going through, I like to sit down and unwind with a puzzle of some kind to keep my mind stimulated but relaxed at the same time. During my time here at AppAdvice, I have probably gone through most of the puzzle games on the App Store, but I can’t help but get drawn to new ones that come out each week. When I happened to come across Roofbot listed in the “New Games We Love” section (a bit buried under all of the Halloween stuff), I knew it was something I had to get into my hands.

In terms of visuals, Roofbot knocks it out of the park with the gorgeous, isometric perspective graphics. The game starts out with some opening scenes that explain the situation, and these are beautifully drawn and animated. The levels themselves feature zen-like rooftop architectures that are composed of ever-changing tiles, and some elements make me reminisce about Nanuleu, which I don’t think is a bad thing (games inspire other games). The angled perspective makes it easy to see everything that is happening on the screen and also gives it a nice layer of depth. The colors in Roofbot are bright and vivid, and the light particle effects are definitely eye-catching. I also appreciate all of the fine details in the backgrounds of each stage, as you get the sense that each rooftop is different from one another, so it’s always something new to look at. The animations are smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 7, and the soothing, ambient music is rather immersive. The bubbly sound effects are also a delight to hear. Overall, Double Coconut did a fantastic job with the game’s audio and visuals.

Like many other puzzle games, Roofbot is level-based with players clearing previous stages in order to advance to the next one. At the moment, there are five different chapters that have 20 levels each. So for the price of entry, you’re getting a total of 100 challenging puzzles that only get more intricate and complex as you progress.

The goal in each puzzle is to reach the glowing portal tile at the end, but the tile itself can only be lowered by getting the energy objects into their proper slots. While it sounds easy, the truth is that the game is more complicated than that, because the architecture of the roof changes as you move along it, more energy shapes are introduced, and new game mechanics (like portals) are thrown into the mix. This means that each move you make will either take you to the goal or trap you on the roof, so tread carefully and think about each move before you make it.

Controls in Roofbot are simple and intuitive. To move your robot, just swipe your finger in the direction you want to go in. While the tutorial makes it look like you can just do one single swipe to move along until you hit a dead end, the truth is you just move one square at a time. You can also swipe anywhere on the screen to move, not just on top of the robot, so it’s easier for one-handed play. But again, make sure you think about your moves carefully, so don’t just swipe quickly, otherwise you may find yourself trapped as the tiles sink behind you and leave no clear path forward. And since there is no scoring mechanism or time restriction, you can take your time and play the game at your own pace.

If you ever get stuck, the game offers a generous amount of hints from the get-go. Using a hint will reveal the path you should take for one energy ball, but you’ll have to use another one if you are still stuck. The game initially gives you 25 hints and forces you to use one as part of the tutorial, but it’s still much more generous than other games I’ve tried, where you only get like five hints or some single digit number like that.

So far, I have been enjoying Roofbot, even though I’m still in the early stages of the game. I am in love with the graphical style and the audio is delightful. The controls work well, though I did make a mistake every now and then because it seems a bit sensitive to touch, but thankfully there’s an undo button. The game’s difficulty level increases at a gradual pace, so it doesn’t get too difficult too fast, which is always great, making it good enough for the entire family to enjoy. I just wish that there weren’t in-app purchases for hints, but at least you get a good amount to start with (hang on to them — persistence is key to solving levels).

I highly recommend giving Roofbot a try if you are looking for a fun, cute, and challenging puzzler to check out in the upcoming days. You can find Roofbot on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99. There are in-app purchases.

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