Mushroom Heroes
Upon first glance, the protagonists in Mushroom Heroes bare some resemblance to the mushrooms in the Super Mario Bros. series. But the game is far more similar to The Lost Vikings, where cooperative gameplay forces you to figure out how to complete each level through teamwork.
The storyline takes place over 1,000 years ago in a “mushroom country” where the king assigns three of his best warriors — Yuppi, Jumpi, and Dombi — to defeat the enemy. The environments are quite different, and you’re tasked with completing different puzzle-like challenges. The catch is figuring out which mushroom warrior is best suited to completing each level. Yuppi comes equipped with a bow — useful when it comes to enemies and detonating bombs — and Jumpi can jump the highest and float. The third mushroom warrior, Dombi, can block enemies with a shield and push objects. Even though this game doesn’t offer realistic graphics, the retro look definitely makes it more fun. The controls mirror old school game controllers, with two left and right arrows along with A/B buttons to execute an action or skill.
The levels become tougher as you further advance into the game. You’ll have to jump over sharp objects, as well as avoid evil frogs, and fire breathers. While it is a game based on teamwork between the characters, you start to slowly realize exactly how dependent the mushrooms are of one another. Sometimes, you’ll often find yourself switching back and forth between each mushroom just to complete one action — like having to stack all three to jump up to another floor.
In the beginning, it was easy to fly through each challenge. As I progressed, I began to slightly question my intelligence and why I couldn’t figure out how break down a wall without killing off any mushrooms. Thankfully, if you’re stuck you’ll receive pop-ups guiding you on steps to take. It’s definitely a game that will help get those brain-juices flowing, and it’s available for both iOS and Android.
B – The Game
Don’t be fooled by the bright graphics that mimic the pages of an innocent children’s storybook. B – The Game is far more difficult than the plot suggests. The point of the game is simple: Don’t die. The beginning starts out with a cute little creature (we’ll call him “lil man”) sitting on a bench, but he’s weirdly connected to a bee on a rope. The bee starts flying — resulting in lil man soaring through the sky looking happy and content to be among the fluffy clouds. While the bee swings lil man around, your only job is to tap on the left or right sides of the screen to make sure he doesn’t hit the random ladders — kind of like a vertical scrolling Flappy Bird. If he does hit a ladder, it’s game over and you start from the beginning.
Initially, I thought this game would be super easy given that there’s barely a plot and zero levels. But once it started, I realized the bee isn’t messing around — getting past the ladders is really hard. As it swings, lil man swings back and forth (go home bee, you’re drunk), and you have to try and predict its movement when choosing whether to tap left or right. This becomes increasingly difficult when you float further up into the sky, because the ladders start to take up the entire screen leaving little room to pass through.
However, what the game lacks in depth it makes up for in intensity. The denial you start to feel from not being able to easily beat the game will keep you playing round after round. It also becomes a little easier to navigate the rope once you get the hang of not spazzing out while tapping on the screen. B – The Game is currently only available on iOS, but it’s free and requires no in-app purchases.
Sheepwith
Even though I was never an avid FarmVille gamer, I couldn’t help be reminded of the game while playing Sheepwith. Maybe it’s because the premise involves taking care of farm animals — you’re a pilot whose main goal is to save animals, like pigs and sheep, from dangers outside their pens.
The game’s set in a sunny town with clouds, gardens, and a barn, and as you fly, you scoop up animals spread throughout the grass. The controller has a joy stick feel to it, but flying around takes some skill as you become accustomed to the different speeds while cutting corners. The first level gives you the opportunity to go for a test run without having to save any animals — it’s where you’ll realize that flying this thing requires a little practice. After you get the hang of it, you move on to saving animals via a pocket claw attached to the plane by a rope.
Don’t assume that losing in this adorably-styled game will result in an upbeat ending if you mess up — the plane will crash and burn if you run into anything as delicate as a flower. Completing the level is heavily dependent on also making a safe and swift landing on the tarmac, even if you managed to pick up all the animals. If you land too quickly or too slowly and bump into anything along the way, you lose a life and the pilot shakes his head at you in disappointment. Thankfully, you don’t have to completely start over until you lose all your lives, so the animals you took time to save are still in their respective pens.
The game features four different aircrafts, depending on the world you find yourself in as you excel throughout the game — one being a spaceship as you fly through a galaxy — and 35 different levels. There’s also various tools you can purchase using the points you earn, like a snail to help you slow down during the landing, or you can opt for more lives. Sheepwith is available on both Android and iOS.
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