Okay, so this hasn’t been a vintage week. But that can be a good thing. On slow weeks like this you get a chance to zoom out and experience some less well-known games that you wouldn’t otherwise have played.
This week we’ve got one blockbuster, one indie darling, but otherwise it’s just a handful of obscure games from indie studios and successful casual game publishers. Give them a play and you might learn something.
Game of Thrones: Conquest
In the game of thrones you win, or you die, or you restart and have another go a bit later. Game of Thrones: Conquest gives you infinite opportunities to outwit and outfight the Lords of Westeros and plant yourself on the Iron Throne.
Featuring dragons, swords, ravens probably, and all your favourite characters from the all-conquering Game of Thrones series, Game of Thrones: Conquest has solid user reviews so far, and may help you survive the long winter until season 8. Get it here.
Love You to Bits
In Love You to Bits you have to explore the galaxy in the hunt for the scattered body parts of your robot companion, who was destroyed by aliens. It’s a point and click adventure along the lines of last week’s Thimbleweed Park.
This charming, artfully made follow-up to Tiny Thief has earned numerous awards and finalist spots thanks to its well-designed puzzles and pitch-perfect art style. It costs £3.79, and we recommend it. Get it here.
Spin a Zoo
Let me start by saying that you should NEVER attempt to spin a zoo. For one thing, you won’t be able to, and if you do somehow succeed in spinning a zoo you will inflict untold damage upon the animals, visitors, and grounds.
However, you are welcome to play Spin a Zoo. This adorable child-friendly zoo management game arrived on Google Play this week, and it looks like the sort of fun, vaguely educational app that you can let your kids play while you make dinner. Get it here.
Mmm Fingers 2
Another child-friendly game, Noodlecake’s Mmm Fingers 2 ingeniously imbues your touchscreen device with a sense of danger by populating it with monsters that want to hurt your finger.
The goal of the game is simply to dodge the monsters as the screen scrolls inexorably upwards. They come in elaborate patterns, and as you progress you unlock new stuff. Get it here.
Booty Quest
Isn’t life just one long booty quest, when you think about it? No, not really. But Piper and her pirate crew are on a booty quest, and it’s your job to help them by matching gems in lines of three or more.
Booty Quest has quests, unlockable treasures, multiplayer puzzle races, five modes, duels, loot, and much more besides. Yes, it’s another match-three puzzler, but it looks like a good one. Get it here.
Loopables
The goal in Loopables is to manipulate a block-based environment to help a forgetful robot reach its destination, even though the only sensible thing to do with a forgetful robot is to repair it or put it in the bin.
The obvious comparison is with Monument Valley. If you’ve already played that, and you can’t wait till Monument Valley 2 comes to Android next month, Loopables looks like a solid, enjoyable alternative. Get it here.
Swish Ball
We like the look of Swish Ball. It’s a casual pixel-art game where the aim is to get radically different kinds of sporting balls through a basketball hoop using giant pinball paddles.
There really isn’t much more to say about this game. You play it on a timer, and you can compete with friends. There, that’s it. Get it here.
Celestine
Celestine looks like a more streamlined and arcadey Waking Mars. Your goal is to visit the red planet and explore its flora and fauna, and you have a jetpack, but you’re always travelling vertically, and there’s a lot of deadly stuff to dodge.
That’s no bad thing. We dig the arty sci-fi Waking Mars vibe, and Celestine looks beautiful. Get it here.
