If you have a browse through the App Store these days you will be spoilt for choice when it comes to just about anything. Puzzle games are no different. As soon as you see Astroslugs on the App Store, it stands out from the crowd. You might not even realize that it is a puzzle game. However, the game itself is very much a puzzle game, just with a refreshing twist. The game is bright, colourful and quirky. It’s miles apart from your usual Sudoku-style puzzle.
Despite there being a short introduction video at the start, there isn’t too much of a story to this game. The Astroslugs are a race who ventured from their home planet in order to collect ‘Slug Energy’, and that is basically it. You are then thrown straight into the game with a few training levels to get you started, which provide a very good introduction to the game mechanics.
At the start of each level you are given a blank canvas with grey meteors positioned in specific places. On the left hand side of the screen you have a list of different shapes with a number next to each. The number relates to how many times you can use this shape in the puzzle. The idea of the game is to fill the board completely (without leaving a single meteor untouched) by using only the shapes given to you at the start of the level. At first this is quite easy, with the shapes being relatively simple and the meteors being spread out rather nicely. However, as you progress further through the game you are introduced to more complex shapes that make the game a whole lot harder.
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If you are really struggling with a puzzle then you are allowed to use up to two hints per level. Cleverly, the hints don’t show up until 1 minute into the puzzle, removing the temptation to use the feature from the start. Each hint gives you two pictures showing shape placements.
The levels are rated on a point’s scheme (with 1 being the easiest, and 5 currently being the highest). Each time you complete a level, you receive the number of points associated with that level. After unlocking a certain amount of points a new world is unlocked, containing harder levels and more difficult shapes. As of release, there are 4 worlds to sink your teeth into. However, with the promise of more worlds in the future, I can see great potential for even more variation.
Astroslugs supports Game Centre achievements, adding an extra sense of personal pride when completing a goal. Some of them are really quirky such as following Bit Barons (the developers) on Twitter, but most are accumulative and you will pick them up as you progress through the game.
Overall I have got to say that Bit Barons have made a great little game in Astroslugs. There isn’t really a plot or storyline, but this puzzle game doesn’t need one. Due to Astroslugs being an iPad exclusive, there were no constraints during development to provide gameplay for the smaller screen of the iPhone. This has increased the overall quality of the app. The game is original, fun and addictive. And if you don’t want to take my word for it, there is a lite version available on the App Store for free.
Final Score – 9/10
Written by Stuart Daulby
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