Lumi Master - A 2.5D Monster Catching RPG With Great Graphics And Simple Controls - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Lumi Master, from Bilibili Game, on my iPhone 17e. This was recorded using the phone's screen recorder function with my audio recorded onto my computer.

When i checked out this game's App Store page, the screenshots looked nice but didn't really get across how the game was played. So i was curious to play Lumi Master and see if it had a different take on the Monster Catching genre.

Initially, we're greeted with a download screen which is a bad first impression. there was no heads up, no warning, and even when it was downloading there was nothing on screen to say how much was being downloaded. thankfully it was over very quickly so it's not that much data, but it was still rude.

Next we're taken straight to choosing our Lumi. i went with the grass "starter" #Zorrat. the catch mechanic involves throwing cards at the Lumi. the better the through, the more your odds of catching the Lumi increases. as i played, i would obtain cards that increased the odds of catching them.

Moving from place to place was a little strange. there is no map or world we can move through. instead, there's only forward and it's done from the first person perspective. It's something i've noticed some mobile games doing this year, but Lumi Master is the first one of these that i've played.

In this video i play through the first couple of areas. the goal is simply catch all the "basic" Lumi to unlock the ability to catch "rare" Lumi from that area. once all are caught, you can move onto the next area. so in Lumi Master, the focus is more on the catching and getting them all rather than any indepth story line.

The game does have a character creator, but it's strange that i wasn't able to access it from the start. the game never pointed me to it either. i was exploring some options that the game hadn't introduced and found it. it's basic but does show signs that they're going to be adding customisations that you earn from progress or that you can pay for.

Lumi Master's tutorial was also surprising lite. Initially, it seemed useful. it focuses on the how to do something rather than any in-game "why" reason to do something. but at times it was too quick. i'd try to read the on screen messages and it was gone far too quick, so it's possible i missed an explanation or two. thankfully, we're told the basics and can play fine but when we get to the housing and battles, we may need to fail a couple of times to learn.

Lumi Master feels like a game designed for mobile use. i played it with just one hand. other than the battles, i didn't demand too much of our attention either. But if you have time, there are lots of little touches that help make it feel more "alive". for example, in the home area it's not a static picture. there's lots of little animations of the Lumi working and walking around. There's also extra information about the Lumi if you want to read it, but it doesn't feel something you have to do.

I enjoyed Lumi Master and feel it's a great 2D Monster Catching RPG. there's something for newer players, something for more experienced players, and there's still plenty left to unlock. On it's App Store page it talked about trading Lumi and that's something i didn't get to in this video.

Version 1.5.4 Played

Aniimo - A Bad First Impression, But Has Some Interesting Gameplay Mechanics - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Aniimo, from Pawprint Studio, on my iPhone 17e. This was recorded using the phone's screen recorder function with my audio recorded onto my computer.

Aniimo describes itself as an "Open-World Creature Collector" and in this video i do get to see that side of the game. But it's not without faults. 

Aniimo makes a bad first impression. it immediately starts an additional data download. there's no warning, no message about doing it over wi-fi instead of a mobile network, it just starts it. The amount of data being downloaded is also large, coming in at over 11B. But even when that's finished, we still can't play the game as it has to prepare the shaders. in all, it took nearly an hour before i could even start the game. Then we're forced to sign up to the game, there is no guest option. i always prefer to sign up as a guest and then if i like the game i'll sign in with Apple. 

The character creation screen is next but i had a couple of tech issues here. there is a lot of fine detail to play around with and we could spend a lot of time here. but i had trouble with the costume aspect and then when i went to start playing the game it took me back to the start of the creator with an error message. I don't know why this wasn't dealt with when i initially tried to move on from this part, rather than at the end when i want to start the game.

With how long it took to download the additional data and install it, my phone was quite warn and the game decided to set the graphics to low. i didn't realise this until near the end of the video. there are moments when the low setting really does look quite poor. often some graphics would look out of focus or too soft. But this isn't the reason for when i got stuck against a plant quite early on. the game describes itself as open-world, but there are invisible walls to watch out. i got stuck on one and the game didn't notice. i didn't know how to unstick myself and it took a little time before i opened the options and found a way to manually unstick myself.

The last thing that gave the game a bad first impression was how, at times, the game was poor at telling it's own story. right at the start there's an example where it's clear that our character can't catch anything because we don't have the equipment. But the game then makes us catch something. We do have a camera and we use it a couple of times. but then when i want to use it, for no provided reason i'm unable to. There are moments like this throughout this video and you can hear me constantly questioning what's happening.

Thankfully, Aniimo has some really interesting ideas that made me want to keep going and seeing what it has to offer. for me, i kind of stopped caring about the story by the end as it was the game mechanics that i wanted to try out. a fun one is the #Twine mechanic. this is poorly introduced earlier when we're first up against boss enemies. But by the end it's revealed that the game will automatically turn it on when appropriate. so i was able to just run into water, Twine would then activate, and now we're one of our caught monsters, one who can swim. we can Twine with them to attack, to fly, or even to help capture other monsters.

This first look wasn't able to show off the House mechanic, that was revealed by the App Store. nor was i really able to do more with research. i also had a couple of eggs that i didn't know what to do with. What's important is that i wanted to keep on going, i wanted to see these things, i wanted to explore the world and find hidden chests. I also wanted to learn more about the monsters in this world as a couple of rare and powerful ones are teased to us throughout this video.

So Aniimo makes a bad first impression. it has story telling issues, it has tech issues, and it doesn't always give the player enough information. thankfully the game mechanics are good enough to earn a thumbs up. But this mobile version needs work and i would understand if people held off and waited for a few updates to come out for it.

Version 1.0.3 Played

Random Dice 2 - A Dice Themed Tower Defense Game With Some Interesting Ideas - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Random Dice 2, from 111%, on my iPhone 17e. This was recorded using the phone's screen recorder function with my audio recorded onto my computer.

THIS GAME IS NOT OUT IN THE USA (at the time of uploading)

I quite enjoy tower defense style games. with this game having it be dice themed, i was quite interested to see how it would work. i don't think the screenshots in the app store quite got across what sort of game this would be. 

It starts with the tutorial. i thought it was very good. everything was clearly explained and we were shown the basic loop of the game right from the beginning. But the first stage i played without it had weird crystals on it and the tutorial didn't come back to explain this new game mechanic. this was true for the rest of this video. i unlocked a supporter towards the end of the video, and again the tutorial didn't start to explain this new gameplay mechanic. 

Random Dice 2 does try to be helpful and tell us what's happening when things are activated during a run, but they appear at the top of the screen soo briefly that i don't think i ever fully read any of them. the game really needs to pause when these appear so we can learn how things work. there were some modifiers activated throughout this video where i didn't fully understand how they worked.

Thankfully, the core gameplay loop in Random Dice 2 so well taught in the opening tutorial, that i was able to just keep on playing. it seems like you're not meant to win. you're meant to make progress forward, earn gold, and use it to level up so next time you can make progress. Thankfully, we're not on our own. in all modes i was joined by, what was probably, Ai team mates and, i'm fairly sure, real world team mates. This was a fun addition to the game. it's clearly shown which of the two is doing the most work. sometimes it was my team, sometimes it was the co-op partner. i don't know if there was a way to interact with them, but it was needed as our goal was the same, last as long as possible.

Random Dice 2 is a recent release but it's been supported a lot with updates. there were features of the game i wasn't able to check out in this video but it's clear from the skill tree that they are expecting players to play it for a long time. i don't recommend games for their potential, but with how the game currently is i would be happy to recommend this to gamers. i know i'm not going to delete it after playing it for this video.

Version 1.1.2 Played 

Ascent Spire - Roguelike RPG - Great Black And White Graphics With A CYOA Story - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Ascent Spire - Roguelike RPG, from Terrier Games, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

It was the game's App icon that initially grabbed my attention when i was browsing the store. When i checked out the game's store page i knew i wanted to try this. the art for the Spire, mixed with the game's black and white aesthetic, looked great. thankfully there was art of the gameplay too and whilst i wasn't too familiar with this style of RPG, i still wanted to check it out.

The store page also gives some nice details regarding the game's story and initially i was concerned that the game itself wouldn't be able to tell this story, that it was relying on the user to have read it's store page. thankfully the game starts with the story, going into more depth than the store page, whilst also not revealing everything.

Our character seems to be nameless with no story, but it's possible this is revealed in greater detail the further up the spire we make. there's no story as to why we're able to be reived either. but if we consider that no one seems to know anything about the spire, it's not too hard to imagine that we're coming back because it's a feature of the spire.

Each run is different. Even when the art and the scenario are exactly the same, you can pick the same outcome as before and get a different result. On one hand, this makes smart use of limited art assets but on the other it does become noticeable when we're getting the same background and text combo. It's the same with the music. it's nice, but it's very noticeable when it repeats as there's a pause. The art and music here is great, but for long play sessions, or repeated play sessions, it starts to become noticeable when it keeps repeating.

I thought Ascent Spire - Roguelike RPG was quite accessible even though it doesn't have a tutorial. all the commands needed in a moment are on screen. when you fight, the controls are on screen. instead of pressing arrows to move around, we have to read the options given to us. this is usually a single button but there are time when we're given the choice to, for example, follow or head towards something or to go in the opposite direction. the first time a QTE event happened caught me a little off guard. there wasn't too much extra time to read what my choices were before they were nearly gone. But it was fun in this game that i came across a point where the best choice to make was to not make a choice.

The Roguelike aspect of the game seems lite, and i mentioned above that the why isn't explained. with each run we get a reward and when we have enough of it we can spend it on permanent upgrades for our character. my concern is that some of these upgrades are very expensive and that it may take a long time to fully level up our character. i wonder if the game is built that this isn't needed and, whether by luck or design, we're able to beat the boss/complete the game many different ways. 

The art, music, approach to story, and simple combat make Ascent Spire - Roguelike RPG something i'd recommend to gamers of all experiences. it's something i'd recommend trying at least one because it's something i so very rarely see on the app store. 

Version 1.0.4 Played 

Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG - Odd Initial Load. Unique Board Gameplay Works Great - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG, from PocketHaven Games, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

The App store page for Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG initially looks like any other idle RPG kind of game. but when i browsed the screenshots, the board game aspect of the gameplay really grabbed my attention. all to often these games have a scrolling background and our main character running into enemies or enemies running into us. But the addition of a board really means each run could be different, which is useful in a roguelike game.

Unfortunately, there was an odd 5 minute initial load to start the game. this clearly has to be a bug of some sort as this is something i've only experienced with games downloading data and Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG never mentioned it was doing this. I'll try to send the developers an email about this bug.

The tutorial for Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG is lite. there is a tutorial finger which shows us where to go and then stops. Or it'll point out a new feature and then stop. It could be done a little better. thankfully Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG doesn't overload it's home screen with buttons from the start so newcomers or those unfamiliar with these sorts of games probably won't feel overwhelmed. 

The game's art does look simple, but when you look closer you'll see our character has a lot of animations, more so when we're on the board and fighting. once you notice this you'll see there are other nice animations on enemies and board pieces. This is so nice that it's just as obvious when the wider world map doesn't move. for more powerful phones it'd be nice if this also animated.

The board gameplay was great. each time we got around the board, it'd refresh itself and the enemies got harder. the only 4 pieces that didn't change were the corners. the steps between each corner could change from a monster tile to a buff tile, a debuff tile to a digging tile, a enemy tile to a double enemy tile, etc. There is another element, our character has to survive 30 rolls of the dice. on the first board, there was a mini boss after 15 rolls. on the second board there were two mini bosses. 

To help, one of the corner tiles is a shop that we can purchase abilities from. there are other tiles that can grant up a power up, level up a power, heal us, or let us gamble for a chance of a power up. My first and second runs on the first board were very different, not just on the tiles i landed on but also what power ups were available for purchase.

Much like how lite the tutorial was, the game does lack little finishing touches. for example, the Battle Pass screen has a Collect All button, but no other screen does. the equipment screen doesn't have a Equip All button. The idle aspect of the game doesn't say how long it'll collect coins and stuff. thankfully the main game is very well done and i really enjoyed myself.

As Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG is a Roguelike, we get money after each run whether we succeed or fail. The Roguelike mechanic in this game is that we spend the money on improving our stats via a level up screen. Money also comes in from the idle aspect of the game. there are also chests where we can win equipment or items that'll upgrade equipment. there seems to be some free stuff daily. So Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG doesn't demand your attention all the time, it needs to be put down in order to get more gold to help with the levelling up.

I really enjoyed playing Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG. the Roguelike loop is solid, the board gameplay was refreshing and interesting, and the game doesn't feel too complicated with too many systems. it's great for those curious about the genre and something new for those who have played a lot. I would go so far as to say that Rogue Legend: Roguelike RPG might even make it on to my download and go top 5 of the year! 

Version 0.573 Played

Banecraft: Idle RPG - Good Basics, But No Story. Some Bugs And Lack Of Information - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Banecraft: Idle RPG, from Game Duo, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

The App store page for this game caught my attention. the pixel art looked great but it was the story, where you were the top demon only to wake up the following day as a lowly human, that interested me the most. I thought that this game might lean more towards the RPG elements of it's name with a deep story, rather than the idle elements, but after my time with Banecraft: Idle RPG it feels like the App Store page has more story than the game itself.

There's a general lack of information given to the player from this game. There's a soul mechanic that's just there, and i never really fully grasped it. sometimes it makes noises, sometimes numbers go up, but the only thing that i understood from it was the merging mechanic, and for some unknown reason the higher the merge level the better our attack.

There's an instance where the game tries to introduce a really interesting team up mechanic where summons can be shared. but i didn't understand it. for something this different, more information or examples were needed. maybe even a "fake" group should've been offered so we'd fully understand how it works. from the sounds of it i thought it worked like sharing in the Dragon's Dogma games.

The other thing that annoyed me about Banecraft: Idle RPG was a bug that happened 3 times. in each time, the majority of the screen dimmed, apart from the top, and none of my touches worked. the game continued playing in the background but wouldn't accept inputs from me. so each time i had to quit and reload the game again. I'm not sure if the light at the bottom of the screen was also a bug or something happening in the background. there was also an instance where the guide pointed to something and then almost immediately pointed elsewhere.

Banecraft: Idle RPG has got a lot of the basics for this sort of game right. there's magic, fiends, and dungeons which work as expected. there's summoning and equipping. So the game works. but it's the extra stuff where it falls short. for example, there's the idle mechanic but i have no idea how long it'll collect money for as most games cap it, forcing the player to interact with the game and restart the collection.

There is more to this game than what we saw in this video as there were more things left to unlock, like alchemy. for what it is, Banecraft: Idle RPG is fine. but the potential is there for something really interesting. The game isn't quite there yet and may never reach it. but if you like the music, the art, and the mechanics, then Banecraft: Idle RPG is still a fine game to play. but it's closer to the middle score than most games which received the top score.

Version 2.18.0 Played 

Metal Slug Rush - No Tutorial, Odd Gameplay Screen Area, And Basic Gameplay Loop - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Metal Slug Rush, from Revive Contents, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I've had Metal Slug Rush on my phone for a little while, but it wasn't until it got a big update this week that i decided to give it ago. ever since i downloaded it, the game has had a low review score but it was surprised that even with this update the score hasn't improved, if anything it might've gotten worse.

I was also surprised that there was an additional data download. at least it gave a heads up about the download but we didn't have much to watch in the background. thankfully it's not big and didn't take very long at all. But this did give a hint as to how strange the gameplay area might be. the video that plays doesn't fill the iPhone screen vertically or horizontally!

Once the download is done we're taken to the home screen. there is no tutorial, nothing to guide us on where to go. all the icons are on, there's nothing locked. i've played enough games to know what each of these mean, but for someone unfamiliar with modern mobile gaming this could easily be overwhelming.

Starting a mission takes us straight into a mission. i initially didn't move my character, assuming there'd be some sort of tutorial or guide as to what to do but there's nothing. the game has started and expects you to know what to do and how these sort of games work. thankfully i do and it quickly became apparent that this is a basic one of these. in the hour of this video, i didn't come across any gameplay mechanic that seemed overly new or interesting. In some respects, Metal Slug Rush feels like a cheap cash grab rather than a game that has had substantial development time behind it. 

It is also in the mission where we can see the bizarre gameplay screen. there's soo much space up top and down at the bottom but what's even weirder is there's space on the sides, too. the analogue controls appear when you touch the screen so you can see where i initially put my thumb on the screen. but my thumb kept moving around and i often got into the situation where my thumb was covering my character, an enemy, or both.

I did enjoy the look of the characters and enemies. i've never played a Metal Slug game so i'm not familiar with any of it and the game doesn't have any sort of encyclopedia to help introduce them to us. but the maps these missions took place on were often really quite bland. i don't know if this is true to the games, but playing it they stood out as boring in comparison to the characters, weapons, and enemies on screen.

I didn't really enjoy my time playing Metal Slug Rush. even when i thought i knew what to do, i missed things like Auto Equip, i thought the loot boxes were dull, even simple things like item fusion didn't seem to work right. when you level up things, there's nothing showing what the improvement was. having everything unlocked on the home screen meant i was woefully unprepared for any of the dungeons i tried. But what i really found strange and annoying is the inability to play past missions. from playing it, i don't know how i'm meant to level up and beat levels if i get stuck. it feels like my only option is going to be trying the same level i can't beat over and over again until i get enough of what ever it is i need to improve something.

In the end, there are better games of this style. there are specific franchises like My Hero Academia and Medabots who have their own versions of these sort of games. i think i can only recommend this game to fans of Metal Slug, but even they may find the game a little offensive to their memory of the series.

Version 1.0.5 Played

Wish Upon A Cat - A Quirky Dimension Hopping Story With Nice Art And Music - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Wish Upon A Cat, from Odencat, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

Wish Upon A Cat was originally released on PC in 2025, you can pick it up on Steam for free. this is the iOS release of the game. i haven't played the Steam game yet, but my guess is that the two big differences between this and the PC version are the addition of adverts and a vertical screen. I do hope to check out the PC game in the future, but i'm unsure if that'll be something i record or not.

Wish Upon A Cat's App Store Page lists the game as being short so for this video i played maybe 1/3 to half of the game, judging upon the reveal that there were 5 adverts and i had seen 3 by the end of this video. But even by this point, i wasn't totally sure what was going on. i don't think that's a negative for this game as there seems to be a general sense of confusion all around. but at the very least we had the hints of understanding between my character and the other cat.

Graphically it feels similar to Deltarune and Undertale in terms of character design but i'm unsure if i'm familiar with the landscape art style. each area we went looked quite distinct and they also had their own music, which was also really cool. i also enjoyed how the game tried to answer simple questions like the mouse can see what's happening because the headset has a camera. that mouse is far to calm about the crazy stuff that's happening. there are plenty of strange characters throughout but as we're travelling between dimensions it all fits in with the game.

Even though i may not fully grasp the story, i have started to have some thoughts about it and i do want to continue playing to see what happens next. Wish Upon A Cat is one of those rare story games that are free to play and tell a story in a playthrough, or two. i would recommend checking it out.

Version 1.0.4 Played 

POINPY - Re-Released As Free to Play, Could Do With A Better Tutorial - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried POINPY, from Ojiro Fumoto and Devolver Digital, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

It wasn't until after i played POINPY that i knew that the game had been re-released. i can't say i knew about the game before i started, but i did know Downwell and have it so as this game was from the same person i wanted to see what they came up with.

The App store page made it clear that this is a free to play game with no ads. the store page also mentioned about the game using a tip system for those interested. but i was surprised that inside the game itself there was no mention of this. i stumbled upon the tip feature rather than having the game point it out.

POINPY doesn't really explain that much about itself. the tutorial shows how the basic controls work but when you start the game it frustratingly adds elements not in the tutorial. this is probably a sign of the game's real age as it came out in 2022. the best games nowadays will have mini tutorials or information about the new stuff as we uncover it. here, there's nothing. this applies to the left and right of the screen. i'm sure i might've discovered them by accident, i only aimed right to see if the rabbit was something i could interact with.

It feels like POINPY has been re-released with little to no modernisations. the gameplay idea is still great, which is why i recommend it. but what's been built around it already feels a little dated and has been done better by quite a few games. it's unclear if there'll be any other updates to POINPY or if it's just been re-released as is. i've checked the latest press release i have for the game and it's not clear.

So as a quick pick up and play game, POINPY is good. but it falls behind the better games released nowadays with it's dated tutorial and general lack of information. this "souls-like" approach was more common on consoles whereas on mobile it's much less common now.

Version ? Played (Launch version)

Digimon Up - Mostly For Digimon Fans, But Doesn't Give Fans What They Really Want - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Digimon Up, from Bandai Namco, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I'm a fan of Digimon so i was interested in giving this new game a go. the App store page for Digimon Up wasn't too clear as to what this game would actually be. In the end, it turns out this is a very similar game to FAIRY TAIL Wizard Chronicle, https://youtu.be/vp2RVOPPaMU, which i checked out last year.

This Digimon game lets you choose your partner Digimon, you can train them, watch them level up, and when the time is right you can Digivolve them. there are cards, there are other Digimon who can support you, and crests too. But most of that is hands off for us as this is more of an idle game where we do more behind the scenes management work than anything really hands on. the #App Store calls this an #RPG but it feels more like a management sim than that.

The game that it is, is well made. there was a point earlier in the video where i was beginning to feel the grind and perhaps the need to put it down so it can play idly in the background. But because it's a new game, there are a lot of bonuses being given out to players and this meant i was able to continue playing and trying out new things as they unlocked. It's hard to know how long these gifts will last for so players starting the game in 6 months might have a very different experience with the start of Digimon Up.

Before i got those gifts, the game was progressing nicely. i felt that at the start the Tutorial was doing a good job of not only explaining how things worked but also saying we should return to things to get more and level up. i really appreciated the game offering tips on how to make progress when we first stopped beating the boss. But with a tutorial as good as this, it's always noticeable when it fails. in Digimon Up the tutorial does a poor job of dealing the home screen U.I. It's also tied into the game's quest system and uses that to measure progress. so when i was making more progress than the quest system, i was unlocking features like Dungeons and there was no tutorial.

As an RPG, Digimon Up doesn't offer us much control. as a Digimon game, it has the music and the looks, there are familiar Digimon and an encyclopedia explaining them. but the interactions with them are basic and few and far between. as one of these Idle RPG's, it's fine. i don't think, at least at this point in to the game, that the Digimon factor adds much to the experience. it's possible that we'll be able digivolve and undigivolve, but i don't think the game's hinted at that. So it's entirely possible that Bandai Namco take this engine and style of game and just reskin it and release a new game, much like how East Side Games released Star Trek: Lower Decks, POWER RANGERS: MIGHTY FORCE, and Doctor Who: Lost In Time which were all reskined variations of each other.

Version 1.0.3 Played

Tavern Tale - Nice Story And Tutorial, Looks Great, Easy Roguelike RPG - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Tavern Tale, from chillyroom, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I was curious about Tavern Tale because even though the art style looked "cute" the app's description made the game sound more darker. i was curious how they would achieve this balance between the art style and game world. after an hour with it, i can say that the developers have done a great job.

There's nothing, so far at least, about Tavern Tale that's complicated. the way the developers made the game world and art style feel cohesive was via the game's story. there's an opening story segment that makes it all work together. but what's even better is that during gameplay there are reminders that we're playing a game when the evil queen's hand appears to move her game pieces.

The tutorial is thorough and i felt ready for the battles when it came. it explained not just what buttons do what, but also most of the game mechanics and more importantly some of the UI too. 

After an hour of playing Tavern Tale i hadn't finished the second tutorial segment. i was going the introduction quests. i think it could take maybe another hour to reach the end of it. but it never felt slow, the game's pace feels right. when that's finished, there are many characters we would then be able to interact with.

The roguelike element to the game is simple but it does have it's own risk reward. you're able to deposit money and that money will come with you after a run. but, you also need money during a run to upgrade weapons, get potions, and what not. so there's a balance between saving for the world and saving for the run.

I think Tavern Tale would work well as an introduction to roguelikes for players less familiar with the concept but also it'd be nice for gamers who know about the genre because of it's art style and story. i'd recommend checking out Tavern Tale.

Version 1.1.2 Played

Coin Summoner: Coin Pusher RPG - Simple But Works Well With A Decent Tutorial - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Coin Summoner: Coin Pusher RPG, from Pomenest Studio, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

It starts with a great tutorial. it may feel a little hand holdy but it's great for more casual players or people new to the genre. the problem is that when the tutorial is over, we're very quickly greeted with a choice that wasn't covered in the tutorial. it's a mistake i see happen quite frequently, but it stands out here because of how well the tutorial was doing up to this point. there are moments later where we unlock new things and the expected tutorial doesn't arrive to show it to us, but when we access them ourselves the game does then provide information.

For as much as Coin Summoner: Coin Pusher RPG gets right, there are quite a few things missing from the experience. the game is basic in many ways and for the most part it works out well. but here's a frustrating example when it comes to combat. you don't know what your enemy is going to use, there are no hints until the fight starts. But even when we do know, at the match screen there's no way to change your team. you have to back out back to the home screen, go into a different menu to change your team, to then go all the way back and start the fight. we also don't know how strong the enemy is nor what moves they are going to use. instead of strategy, it felt like we were winning the fights by luck or brute force.

Some of the art looks low resolution, some of it looks nice. some of it fills the screen whilst others leave the top and bottom empty. the home screen is sparsely filled with art that's completely different from the game's style, and there was a moment when one of the characters we've been introduced to, and have seen with wings, appears with no wings. it does feel like this game used AI, which might account for some of the strangeness.

Coin Summoner: Coin Pusher RPG does have adverts. i didn't know that until it started happening. unfortunately, it's not handled well with the adverts just randomly appearing during loading after battles. the adverts themselves are also frustrating, and i know that's not in the hands of the developer, but when the advert just randomly appears and then is annoying, it's not a great experience.

Coin Summoner: Coin Pusher RPG is a fine game. the basic mechanics are done right. but there's not much else to it. this means it's deficiencies stand out more. it's the same problem the tutorial has. it's great until it's not. it's fine to play, but it needs more work, more content, and more cohesiveness. 

Version 1.0.3 Played

Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker - Wave Based Auto Ball Shooter With Roguelike Elements - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker, from #cookapps, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

The game's App Store page listed it as a Roguelite Pinball Defense game, but from the screenshots i wasn't so sure as it reminded me more of Monster Strike. either way, i did like the art style and i was curious about it so i decided to give it a go.

Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker isn't a pinball game, but i can understand why the developers might have picked that as it's hard to describe what genre of game this is. there are elements of Puzzle Bobble, for example, too. it's an auto shooter where our character could just as easily be a turret. waves of enemies are approaching us and we have to fight back with balls.

we start with normal balls. when we defeat an enemy we get experience and after a certain amount we level up. this grants us access to a power-up which is either an active skill like different balls to attack with or something passive. there is a limit of to each at first but there are other upgrades which enable us to fuse balls together into something new, but critically that free's up a space for a new ball to be used. 

It's easy to play and i did most of this video with one hand. the only tricky part is that the game expects you to touch where you want the ball to go. but there's also the ability to touch and drag for more accurate aiming. but that initial press on the screen could be wildly off if you're not careful.

the rogue element of Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker is very generous. in a run we collect money and ball scrolls. with enough of each you can upgrade your balls. by the end of the video i was approaching the point where i would need to grind a little to get the resources needed to level up, so i could make progress.

With the simple mechanics, controls, and a fairly decent tutorial, Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker is a very approachable mobile game. the graphics are nice, the music is a bit repetitive, but overall i enjoyed it and will be keeping it on my phone.

Version 1.0.10 Played

Pokémon Champions - An OK Battle System With A Poor Story And A Poor Tutorial - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Pokémon Champions, from The Pokémon Works, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I had downloaded this on Switch but i haven't played it yet because my favorite Pokémon wasn't in the game. But now it's out on phones, i decided to give it a try, even if Jumpluff still isn't in the game. Honestly, i do think that is a negative for Pokémon Champions. there are over 1,000 thousand Pokémon now, so there are over 1,000 possible favorites. it's an unenviable task to try and get all of them in the game from the start. so they're always going to make someone unhappy with their choices.

I had heard a little of this game from PokéYouTubers but i was surprised to discover that this game tries to do a story. it's something i had heard nothing about and after trying it i can understand why. logically, even in a Pokémon world, it makes no sense. you could pretty much cut it out of the game and the game would continue as normal.

It could be argued that the story is there as an introduction for newcomers to Pokémon, unfortunately the game's tutorial makes it clear that this game isn't for them. very early on the tutorial says my Pokémon is faster than the opposition. but there's nothing in-game for me to see that information. the tutorial kinda makes it clear that to play this game you need an extra device with Pokémon stats on because this game won't provide them.

The tutorial also feels old, it's more that it tells us what to do rather than telling and showing before letting us try. having a wall of text with still pictures is something not done much nowadays, something that even console games have started moving away from, so it felt kinda old getting it in Pokémon Champions' tutorial.

This is a menu based game, though the language used in the story did make me think that i would be navigating a 3D world, going from place to place to do each thing. so when we get a menu, that's the end of the main tutorial and nothing about that screen is explained. i also found it odd that the game's language doesn't quite match that of the mainline Pokémon games. for example, i don't think i ever saw an attack be supper effective, mostly likely being extremely effective, and yet the text on the move said it was super effective.

The battles themselves are fine. the stage is fairly lifeless and the Pokémon models aren't too detailed, but some of the moves did look cool. but to get to the information you need, you have to go into menus and all of this happens within a timer. it feels like they're not taking full advantage of the screen and should give us more customisation options. Oh, i couldn't find any accessibility options for this game. not even an auto play on the story.

The start to Pokémon Champions just isn't very welcoming to new players or more experienced players. there's a lot of fluff around the main fighting and i don't know who it's for. it feels tact on and not fully realized. 

Version 1.1.2 Played

Cosmic Royale - A Bad First Impression, No Human Players, And Poor Kart Handling - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Cosmic Royale from Eden Games on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

My search for another good racing game on iOS continues, with EigenGauge https://youtu.be/AeqoQvM7STs still probably the best i've played, as Cosmic Royale has little about it worth recommending. It's a Fall Guys style game but in karts, so it's not even a true racing game.

The only tutorial the game has are skippable pictures that barely cover the controls and what to expect from the game. each stage, as you enter, gives a basic hint as to what will happen, but ultimately the game fails to tell us how to play the game and expects us to find out as we play. but playing the game wasn't that great.

with no tutorial at the start, we're dumped on the home screen where nothing is explained. i went to start hoping that a tutorial will be there but instead i ended up on an empty track with another countdown starting and then i was whisked away to another track, this time with other riders on it, and expected to race.

Once the track was finished i noticed something strange. as soon as i crossed the finish line, the game immediately stopped the race and moved onto the next one. the top 16 would progress to the next round but i didn't finish 16th so i began to think that it stopped because i was the only human player to in the race. this was confirmed later when i tried Rank mode and did 1 race. the points i got for it were enough to take me top of the leaderboard...of one...just me.

The game hasn't been updated in 4 months and with my experience i'm guessing that the player count has dropped significantly or is non existent. I'd like to say i found a hidden gem, but the only positive i could think of were the tracks themselves. i was surprised by how bland the karts and characters were. it started to feel like that maybe they were ai designed because of how generic and simple they looked. I didn't enjoy how the karts controlled either. i tried changing the controls in the options, but the handling characteristics of the karts just didn't work for me. i found them too twitchy and hard to control, and when you pair this with track hazards that move quite quickly, it started to become easier to just bang the kart against the wall and wait for it to go rather than try to dodge it.

I can't recommend Cosmic Royale and i can say for sure that it won't be replacing Squad Busters, a game that's not longer being supported by it's developers, as the Friday live stream game on #iPhone.

Version 1.0.1 Played

iPhone Friday - MONGIL: STAR DIVE - Nice Fluid Combat, Fun Characters, And Not Overwhelming

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried MONGIL: STAR DIVE from NetEase on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I would've played this game sooner if it wasn't for my previous laptop breaking. i had always been curious about how the game would combine character summons with monster collecting and using. Whilst there is an additional data download at the start, there's little to complain about with the opening to MONGIL: STAR DIVE.

The tutorial is perhaps where things could be improved, but even here i thought that it went at a good pace and the initial tutorial about moving characters was tied very well into the story and world. as things unlocked through this playthrough, there were additional tutorials for each new thing including showing us an on screen button that previously had a red dot on it but i hadn't checked out as yet. combined with the relaxing, but not slow, pace of the game i would say the opening to MONGIL: STAR DIVE is very approachable as even though it's a big game it never felt overwhelming. as i played, it was easy to keep going.

I was genuinely surprised by how funny i found this game. i'm not say it's like watching a comedian, but the way the characters interacted with each other when the spoke was funny, some of their facial expressions matched perfectly the tone of the voice acting, and for the two main characters i started with it really came across that these are people who have been working together for a while.

In some respects, i feel that the game's combat has been undersold on the app store page and even with the in-game tutorial. the combat is fluid without feeling too fast, there's spectacle and restraint in some of the larger attacks, but what i really enjoyed was the teamwork on display. switching character to character didn't mean only 1 character on screen at a time, it meant that initial character i picked could continue for a little bit whilst this new one jumped in and attacked or i could bring in the healer to heal the first character i was before that character jumped away. i never noticed the combat stuttering because it was too much for my phone.

The overall performance of MONGIL: STAR DIVE was great. i was surprised by how fast the loading was at times. it really made it pleasant to play and keep on playing. the game has struck a good balance between visuals and performance. i've played some games that focused on great looking characters or great look world with a compromise on either the other or performance. with MONGIL: STAR DIVE, i never felt wowed by anything looking stunning, but everything looked like it had the same level of detail and the world felt cohesive.

I had a great time with MONGIL: STAR DIVE and i would highly recommend it.  

Version 1.01.10 Played

iPhone Friday - Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG - Looks And Sounds Good, Easy To Play Buy And Merge RPG

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG from 5minlab on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG is a combination of a few different popular mobile games into one. it has the limited item spot mechanic tied, there's a merge mechanic, there are RPG mechanics, and there's a strategy mechanic. what also caught my attention about Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG is that it was available for pre-order here in Japan. that's not too common so i had the presumption that this wouldn't be just any old Ai made game, that this had the possibility of being something different. 

It starts strong with a tutorial that details some of the game's basic mechanics but i feel that it fails as a complete package. there are aspects of the gameplay that it doesn't quite cover and Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG suffers from the home screen problem that soo many games do in that not all aspects of it are detailed. at least it's not all unlocked at once and when something is unlocked we're pointed towards it. but this does feel a little ruder than the early tutorial in that we're told what to do but not really why. Something that this game did well was tell us what to do when we lost, that we should level up and get stronger.

The gameplay loop in Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG isn't too complicated. you pay, earn money, use it to level up, go further next time and earn more money, level up, and go further next time.  but there are some nice ideas here. when you level your character up 10 levels, their rank changes, their base stats increase and reset to that new higher level, and you level them up again another 10 ranks. Later in the video we unlocked the gear mechanic which further makes us stronger, and near the end we unlock the pet mechanic which also makes us stronger but the pets themselves have their own stats, levels, and abilities. all these aspects are simple but i think they've been woven together in such a way that they compliment each other and don't feel overwhelming.

With the randomness of what weapons appear, there's the chance that Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG could feel unfair and purely luck based. but there are some cool ideas here to help mitigate that. you're able to re-roll the store or even use a power-up to make better items appear. you can fill your inventory but you still have a separate inventory that doesn't interact with the gameplay. so you're able to be more defensive or more attacking when needs be. items can be combined or you can lock an item to prevent this. Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG feels like a game that's easy to play but tough to master.

In all, i had a great time with Overgeared Hero: Merge RPG and will be keeping it on my phone. i feel like it's one of the better games i've played this year and would highly recommend people check it out.

Version 1.31.4 Played

iPhone Friday - Card Crawl 2 - A Welcoming Easy To Play Hard To Master Card Game With Great Art

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Card Crawl 2 from Tinytouchtales on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I've played a couple of games from Tinytouchtales, like Miracle Mart https://youtu.be/kpCxEvBWk4w and Geo Gods https://youtu.be/SeqUTw1sL_o, and i've always enjoyed the art style and characters in the games. with those two, the gameplay has always been solid but perhaps felt like it maybe lacked a little depth. But with Card Crawl 2 i feel like this has it all, it has the art, the music, the gameplay, the tutorials, and the depth that makes it a card game that's easy to play but hard to master.

Firstly whilst i did just praise the tutorial, it does fall just a bit short. it explains how to play the game and it's mechanics very simply. we're told what to do and it makes us do it. we're then tasked with beating a character using what we know before moving onto learning something else. that's done great. the tutorial also introduces some of the home screen, as by completing different parts of the tutorial more of the game opens up and more icons appear on the home screen. But it doesn't explain all the buttons. the Challenge Mode needs a tutorial as, from what i played, it seems like that if you don't play on Monday, it's pointless to play the other days of the week because there's a weekly bonus. also, the eye symbol was very unclear and i wasn't impressed that it launched into an advert with no warning.

Other than that shortfall, it's hard to find much else wrong with Card Crawl 2. maybe those who are great at the game may feel like they're being held back by having to complete tasks before things are unlocked, but personally i appreciate this approach. i agree that it may feel like it artificially lengthens the game, but it opens up the game in such a way as to not overwhelm the player. the better a player gets, the more they can unlock. if things are tough, it'll take longer but the player is also able to replay the easier stuff whilst retrying the harder stuff.

the gameplay is a little different to other card games i've tried out. in Card Crawl 2, you have a hero card. the goal is to defeat all the tavern's cards whilst making sure your hero card has health. the Tavern's Cards consists of monsters you have to beat, shields and swords you're able to equip onto each of your two hands or put into your one backpack slot, health potions, coins, and there are spell cards. so simply, use the swords to attack enemies, shields to defend from them, and spell cards to do both. just remember to heal when you need to, there are times when your hero must attack the enemy themselves. The coins act like a high score, so the more you're able to collect the higher the score. But what's really interesting with Card Crawl 2 and that adds a lot of depth to the gameplay is that you're able to remove any of the non monster cards and get money from them. this means you can get a higher score, but it also means you have less cards to deal with the enemy so the risk reward is real for those chasing a high score.

Overall, i highly recommend this game for those looking for a card based game. i'd also recommend this for those looking for some strategy. the art is great and will appeal to gamers, too. some may not get much more out of the game than the easy levels, but there's a lot here to unlock and master for those who enjoy it.

Version 1.0.12 Played

iPhone Friday - Dicero! - Good Art, Easy To Pick Up And Play, But Poor Tutorial And Maybe Too Simple

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Dicero! from HABBY on my iPhone14Pro. 

Dicero! is a recent release on the Japanese App Store, but since it came out i've seen many adverts for the game, especially when it comes to adverts in other free to play mobile games. A lot of shovelware games have had similar advertising pushes so i came into this not really sure what to expect. the App store page has screenshots, but they're less useful than the adverts i had previously seen.

Unfortunately, Dicero! starts off with a bad first impression as it downloads data without warning, without permission, and it never says what it downloaded. it's not a big download, but it is there. 

The game starts right away. there's no opening cinematic, there's no story, it's straight to gameplay. there is a tutorial that tells us what to do, but it doesn't really explain the why. before you know it, the tutorial is over and i found there to be many things left unexplained. the gameplay from this first hour is simple enough and with some reading and experimenting it's not too difficult to work things out. but again, it's the first impression that the game's stumbling with in a market where the really good games focus on the tutorial and explaining things. for example, there was a powerup using a term i hadn't read before. it would've been great to have a gif showing what it actually does so i could make a better informed decision about using it.

What i really liked about Dicero! was the artstyle. the characters and enemies looked fantastic and there were small animations everywhere. the boss monsters really stood out. graphically it maybe somewhat simple but it is really nice to look at. the general background music is also nice. the track that plays during most of the gameplay effortlessly loops without me noticing. but when it came to the boss music, it was very energetic and appropriate but it was also really noticeable when it looped.

Throughout the video, i kept on coming up with ways to enhance the gameplay. what i played was easy to understand, but there didn't seem to be much depth or strategy to it. Dicero! is very much a pick up and play game but it also came across as one where you don't really need to think much about what's happening.

On the whole, i did enjoy playing Dicero! there are good aspects of the game but there are maybe more average aspects of it. it may not make the best first impression, but if you play a couple of levels you'll get the hang of it and it seems fine for most people. being able to play the game with one hand makes it a fine choice for commuters and with things being as simple as they are it would help pass the time quickly.

Version 1.0.1 Played

iPhone Friday - Astro Defenders : Capt.Couch - A Simple Yet Fun Wave Based Tower Defense Style Game

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Astro Defenders : Capt.Couch from PLAYHARD STUDIO on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I downloaded this game a while ago and it's been constantly updated ever since, so it does seem like the developers are supporting the game. the screenshots on the app store page seemed very accurate as to what the game is.

Astro Defenders : Capt.Couch is mix of tower defense, wave based shooting, merging, and idle. the game starts with a tutorial that takes things nice and slow. by the end of it i felt i had grasped how to play it. the tutorial is also extends to the game's home screen. but it's here that it falters. the game play mechanics are covered when they're unlocked, but the rest of the icons on the home screen seem to be ignored.

The game is free to play and there don't seem to be adverts inbetween stages. but it does have an energy mechanic. it costs 10 per stage you play. but what i really liked was how clear the game makes the recharge time. it says when the next charge is ready and when it's fully charged, each with their own countdown.

If i had to point to an issue it's the placement of your troops on the stage. before a wave starts, you're able to freely move your units, call new ones, and change your team. but moving them was tricky. when i record these videos i have the game playing on TV, via the HDMI out i record from, as well as my phone's screen and it was from this i realized i was having trouble moving characters. because of how zoomed out the camera is when moving them, i couldn't see the shadow under the characters so for a while i wasn't able to place them exactly where i wanted. in the end, i switched to watching the game play on tv so i could place the characters more accurately. i wonder if it's possible for the developers to zoom in the camera whilst you're moving characters around so it's easier place them exactly where you want.

From the time i played Astro Defenders : Capt.Couch, i think it's a great introduction to this style of game. i think the tutorial makes it easy for newcomers whilst the merge mechanics offer something new for more experienced players. i hadn't unlocked everything by the time i was finished so there's a good few hours of content at the very least. i'd recommend giving it a go.

Version 1.1.13 Played