Slide the Shakes is a fun and challenging game from the game studio PrettyGreat. It is the second game from this talented studio, that also released Land Sliders last year. If you still don’t know about PrettyGreat, now is a good time to get to know them. They make wonderful games.
PrettyGreat was founded by Phil Larsen, Luke Muscat and Hugh Walters. If you have heard the name Phil Larsen before, it is because Mr. Larsen was CMO at Halfbrick. Everybody knows the great games that Halfbrick produced like Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride. Mr. Muscat was also part of Halfbrick and created and led the design for the two games I just mentioned. Rounding out the original team members is Hugh Walters, who handles programming, animation and much more. Land Sliders which released last year, was an enjoyable game. If you missed playing it, you can download it for free in the Play Store. Based in Brisbane, Australia, this team continues to produce really good games that your whole family can enjoy.
The primary goal of the game is to get your shake to the highlighted area on the counter. It could be at the edge of the counter, the center or even a counter across the room. The game mechanics are simple. You pull back anywhere on the screen to release the shake. Once you begin pulling back, an indicator pops up on screen. It has arrows and they change color the longer you pull back on screen. The more you pull back, the faster the shake will travel to its destination. What is actually helpful and a brilliant part of the game mechanic, is the sound as you pull back. You hear the sound of something ratcheting up with clicks. If you listen closely, you can almost count how many clicks it takes to get the shake to travel a certain distance. Why is this important? It’s important because you will most certainly be smashing the shakes and having to do it all over again. Each counter has different characteristics that will challenge you as you try to get your shake to the other side. Sometimes there is an opening between you and your landing spot. Or, at other times, the counter may have places that are solid ice or slopes, which will inevitably speed up your shake. You have to take all of these elements into account, to get your shake safely to the right spot.
Each level has multiple counters. There could be three, four, five or more counters in each level. What makes the game a bit tougher is completing the level the first time through, to achieve a star for perfect. If there are five counters that you have to complete and you get four of them completed and smash the last shake, you have to start over at the beginning of that level. It can be cringe-inducing, but you have the opportunity to watch a video, which will allow you to continue from the last spot. This is indeed helpful, because some of these puzzles will take you a few times to complete.
The art style in the game is colorful, with just enough detail. The colors look like they could have been pulled from any ice cream soda shop, so it’s perfect. The physics in the game are spot on. It is also nice to see the detail of the shakes sloshing around, once they have taken flight and landed in the right place. It seems like it might be a minor detail, but great artists labor over the details, and it makes all the difference in pulling you into the game.
Slide the Shakes Features:
- Over 125 levels
- Stunning shakes to unlock
- Delicious recipes
- Interesting milkshake facts
- Shakes are awesome!
Slide the Shake is a pleasant addition to my game library. The game is integrated with Google Game Play Services with seven achievements to unlock and leaderboards to compete on. As you progress in the game, you unlock different shakes. As you unlock them, you can view the recipe for them in the Shakeopedia. How amazing is that? You have a great game, and if you need it, recipes for some cool shakes in one app! Even better, as you unlock the different shakes, you can share the recipes with your friends. Slide the Shakes is free to download. The only in-app purchase is for skipping a level, which will cost you $.99 There are no other items to purchase in the game, so you can actually enjoy it for free.
