Developer: iFun4all Ltd.
Publisher: iFun4all Ltd.
Platforms: iPhone, PC
Tested on: PC
Red Game Without A Great Name – Review
The time of using homing pigeons has passed a long time ago. When we think back to it, they were quite convenient although they had to endure loads of weather conditions or other obstacles. What if there were barbed wires everywhere or what if birds had the ability to teleport themselves? This is something you will figure out in the Red Game Without A Great Name. The slogan ‘Fly. Die. Retry’ really fits this game.
Story
In a darker time, birds are used to deliver mail from one point to another. You can see that someone with quite some standing wants to contact some friends, using her trusty bird. The bird, which is an old piece of scrap, has been brought back to life and this great pet can do a lot of things, like teleporting for instance. The question is if your bird will actually get to its destination.
This is the only story-related content you will get, which is quite a shame. The developers could’ve added some extra elements to spice things up a bit, but this might be something for a DLC?
Graphics
The game is shrouded in a rather mysterious energy and this is also seen in the graphics. You’ll see a rather atypical style of drawing, but this isn’t a bad thing. Since this is a 2D puzzle platformer, you might expect to see a rather flat world but this is more the contrary. There are a lot of elements in the background that give it that extra dimension.
Overall, you will venture a rather dark, destroyed environment, coated with a steampunk essence. The color schemes are really tuned in into each other and you won’t notice really bright elements. Even more, the main hue is black as everything is painted in this dark shade.
Sound
The musical experience of this game proves to be something quite different. For instance, the intro song is something refreshing as it is quite special. Forget classical tones, you’ll get a more up-tempo variant. The same goes for the music you can hear during the levels. There are a few songs that are altered, giving you the same feeling as in the main menu.
Sound effect wise, there are quite some subtle effects you’ll notice when manoeuvring your bird through all the traps. You’ll notice some swooshing moments when teleporting or an ominous sound when you approach deadly windmills.
Gameplay
Red Game Without A Great Name is a 2D puzzle platformer where you need to deliver mail in a rather shady town. There are traps, spikes and deadly elements all over the place, making it really hard to get to your destination. Thank goodness that you have certain elements that will help you on the way. The goal is to get to your trusty bird cage at the end of the level, without getting hit by anything.
For starters, you have a rather useful ability, namely you can teleport through the deadly items that are here to kill you. Getting hit by one of them is instant death, so you’ll need to take advantage of this gift. In certain levels, you can collect an invincibility orb, giving you a few seconds time to be smashed by everything.
There are some other elements you can gather during a level. For instance, you can fly into a cracked orb, giving you the ability to crack certain walls. This is really necessary to obtain this item, otherwise it will mean that your road will be a lot harder or even lead to a certain death. Another tool are the clouds that give you a speed boost, making things a bit spicier as you cannot go beyond the perimeter of the screen. If you fall back, you die although the same goes for when you fly too fast as well. It is a good idea to get this speed boost though, because it means that you’ll face a part where you’ll need some speed.
With all these assets, things should get easy right? Well, think again. This game was originally made for mobile devices, where you had to swipe our little birdie to safety. In the PC port, you need to click and drag, which doesn’t always trigger like you want it to. This might lead to some frustration, which add up with the amount of deaths you’ll encounter.
Something that might make things trickier is that there are vents that will change your direction. Normally you always fly to the right, but it is necessary to alter this flight path. The negative part is that it might be that you crash into some barbed wire if you’re not fast enough. If this isn’t enough, the level can turn multiple times, making it really hard to navigate. Something that might be your way out is the usage of buttons. Some levels have these little gems here and there, making your life a bit easier.
The levels would be quite boring if there wouldn’t be any collectibles. Each level has three orbs for you to find, though this is the only extra value they have. Nothing to unlock, just collecting these gems, which might be a poor reward.
Overall, the gameplay is really nice as you need to think of several strategies of how to get to your trusty cage. It might be that you die a lot, making a rage quit not that far away. It seems that small rage breaks really work though!
Conclusion
If you’re looking for some puzzle fun with a lot of deaths, Red Game Without A Great Name will be something for you. The setting of the game is really special, especially with the graphics and music. The PC port might not respond that well a few times, but this doesn’t take down the fun. Ready to get barbed?
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