Good mobile puzzle games are typically minimalist with lovely sound effects, and Socioball from India’s Yellow Monkey Studios is no exception. Available on the App Store for US$2.99, the puzzle game is also a social one.
Socioball is 60 levels of puzzles solved from an isometric view. The aim of each level is simple: get the ball from where it appears to a goal tile. Of course, the ball doesn’t simply roll straight there. In the player’s way will be obstacles like trampolines, towering bricks, teleporters, and directional tiles. Each level has a witty name that briefly describes the sort of puzzle that lies in wait.
Socioball moves fast, so if you’re looking for a quick challenge, this is the right game. A new level segues in seamlessly, and opening the app even after a complete shut down will see you right back in the thick of its puzzle-solving action.
Since it’s a paid app, there are no ads or in-app purchases in Socioball – just you and your (hopefully agile) powers of visualization. You’re going to need them to get past the later stages. I find the difficulty level tunes up drastically about one-third of the way through the game’s levels, but that’s more of a welcome challenge than anything.
The premium minimalist puzzle genre isn’t new to mobile games, and Yellow Monkey Studios knows this. So to set itself apart, it has made use of steganography, which is the the art of concealing a message within a message. (Full explanation in this infographic.) Users can create their own levels and share them on Twitter.
Socioball will take a snapshot of the user-created level, hide the puzzle data in the image created, and tweet it with the tag #socioball. The game will search for puzzles on Twitter with the same hashtag, decode the image data, and make all user-created puzzles available within the game automatically. Pretty cool, huh?
While I’m frankly ashamed of sharing my shoddy puzzles online, the level editor is quite entertaining for when you get stuck. Socioball’s awesome sound effects can be listened to in excess as you try to build your puzzle, and I love watching the balls bounce around.
Ads would have destroyed the minimalist aesthetic of the game, so making Socioball premium is a justifiable decision. I just wish the price was slightly lower. US$2.99 seems a bit high for yet another puzzle game. The off-putting price will result in less downloads for sure, and what happens when no one’s around to create new puzzles?
Socioball is available on the App Store.
8/10.
We received a complimentary code of Socioball for review purposes.
This post Puzzle lovers can now get their social fix with Socioball (review) appeared first on Tech in Asia.
Puzzle lovers can now get their social fix with Socioball (review)
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