By Ric Cowley
If you haven't played a Neutronized game before, you're doing yourself a disservice. The Super Cat Tales games are a masterclass in designing platformers for mobile, and still hold up to this day as some of the best on mobile.
Hell, the first game recently featured in Awesome Games Done Quick 2020, so it's clearly got legs outside of the indie mobile games scene.
But if you're only looking for new experiences, then you're in luck - the tiny developer has just launched a game in the same universe known as Mineblast!!
Blowing up right now
Mineblast!! (and yes, I will be using those exclamation points every time) is, on the face of it, another fairly simple puzzle platformer from a developer which specialises in the genre.
You have a little character running about in a series of caves, jumping on platforms and trying to find their way to the end of the level.
Only your way is usually blocked by giant rocks, and the only way through is to blow them to smithereens with TNT that's handily dotted about the world.
The first few levels are simple enough - just drop some TNT by the rocks, walk away, and wait for the chaos. Rinse and repeat until you win.
But when you start getting further in, a ridiculous physics engine begins to rear its head, and you learn that Mineblast!! is much more fascinating than it first appears.
Almost everything has physics applied to it - rocks, enemies, and even the dynamite you're chucking around.
And with all that in mind, you're invited to cause true chaos, chucking explosives willy-nilly, pushing them around with your own body if you're feeling brave, destroying everything in your path to get at the precious gems which act as collectibles.
Sticky wicket
It's superb fun, and rewards smart thinking and clever throwing with new areas and hard-to-reach collectibles in each of its relatively small stages.
There are some issues - the controls are mostly superb, except when ladders come into play (and they do, a lot), and even though the levels are fairly short, some checkpoints would reduce the pain of dying needlessly from your own stupidity and being sent right back to the start.
But there's still a lot to love in Mineblast!!, and Neutronized has clearly put a lot of love into this small, ridiculous, explosive game.
Comments
Login to to leave a comment Or click here to register
Forgot password?
Password Reset
To reset your pass, please enter your email below and submit. Your new password will then be emailed to you.
You can change this pass at any time on the "edit profile" link when logged in.
Got your password?
i was happy when he help me in my game.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kativiti.fugitivodasenzala
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.inkcadre.chess&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twistersstudio.rise
Yes, it is a polished experience but everything in this game, nearly everything is copy/paste from other games. Well done indeed, but maybe the staff of Pocketgamer didn't play Puzzle&Dragons, Best Fiends, Summoners War, Clash Royale?
I also find the battle end zoom on 'vibrating' troops around the giant not on par with the production value, strange to zoom on a defect probably due to pathfinding/positioning.
This thread is attached to changing games which is a bit weird...
Here's the team behing Titan Brawl:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiPBArp1Aa8
Being able to play this game and maintain a sense of progression from session to session as you complete the checkpoints is somewhat tempting. I'll be keen to see quite how many casual consumers agree with that notion. We're in uncertain territory. I've never seen a game charge the player to have a save file!
The gameplay is a pretty innovative take on card battling.
The energy and monetization has some weird asian influenced stuff going on though. It will be interesting to see if the game can be successful long term.