Gadgetory

what's up internet Kevin here and as many of you know January is a really damn slow month when it comes to games but it did give me time to get back to my iPad and bring you guys my favorite iOS titles of January 2015 now this month there were a lot of puzzle titles that I really loved some are really simple and minimalistic while we've got another one it's a little more complex with some RPG elements thrown in I've also got an action game for you guys called space marshals but before I get to any of those we're gonna start with the one free to play game on this month list and that's the twitch base time killer skyward now at first glance this probably looks like one of those games where all it boils down to is just tapping the screen again and again and again and to be perfectly honest that really is all it is basically a flappy bird clones but there are some other things they do from a game design standpoint that does make it a lot more interesting in the long run first off there's the game's aesthetic which is absolutely gorgeous the whole thing has this very assure painting style vibe which makes it a lot more unique from other twitch based games but second off is its mechanics where every time you reach certain high scores the game adds new templates to its random level generator which changes up the experience each time you do better and better so as a result called still boils down you're just staring and tapping at the screen it still changes things up a little bit every now and then as compared to other twitch based games that are just the same experience again and again and again plus not to mention as I said it's free and all the ads are just simple banner ads they never pop up or interrupt gameplay keeping it one continuous experience now second up on the list is hook which is only a dollar and is the first of three puzzle games I have for you guys this month and out of the group this one is by far the simplest and most minimalist now the idea behind hook is that you have to retract a bunch of lines by pushing buttons without having any of those lines actually intersect or touch each other in other words it boils down to just pushing buttons in just the right order now the problem with this is that it can really just come down to doing trial and error over and over again but things do get a lot more complex in the later levels when a lot more mechanics are added and it takes a much greater amount of time trying to figure out just how to solve each puzzle what starts off is just a few simple lines you can easily discern from one another eventually becomes an absolute mess of lines everywhere forcing you to really take time to figure out which exact button effects which lines it's a pretty simple idea and as I said earlier you could solve the whole thing with enough time and patience using just trial and error but even then at only a dollar the game has a great amount of content that you can sink into for the occasional time killer or if you just want to lose an entire day solving every single puzzle cluttered up at three dollars is my favorite game on this month's list shadow Matic shadow Matic is a beautifully realized puzzle game whose core gameplay stems from the idea of shadow puppets you have a number of objects that you have to rotate and move around drew and create a familiar image and its shadow like a dog or a racecar what makes this complex though is that oftentimes you'll have to deal with two objects the same time and not only have to move both of them but also move where they are relative to one another it is possible to accidentally solve some of the single object puzzles really easily by just turning it just the right way but in parts where you have to deal with two objects the game can get really really difficult the only thing I have to complain about is that in some puzzles with dual objects it does get a little nitpicky about how perfect lines have to be you might find yourself sharing it an image that looks like a dog to you but the game still thinks you haven't solved it quite right so you spend a minute and half just trying to align them perfectly that one hiccup aside though the rest of the game easily makes up for this by being intuitive creative and beautiful well worth the three dollar investment now of course the top 5 list from me wouldn't be complete without having at least one RPG title and that's what brings us to the fourth game on this list at four dollars the puzzle RPG hybrid hero emblems in the vein of other popular puzzle RPG hybrids like puzzle quest here envelopes has you playing a tile matching game which gets translated into combat whenever you line up certain symbols it has the equivalent hero do something for instance witches and warriors attack your healer heals up the party and the defender has a shield which reduces damage from enemies the mechanics are simply fun and addictive but what really helps it out too is that they're accompanied by cute visuals a great soundtrack and the difficulty pacing is handled really well for the game story missions requiring only a little bit of grinding here and there now the game's English could use a little help and the writing in general really isn't anything special but this is more than made up by everything else the game has to offer now if you're not a fan of puzzle games I do have one action title for you guys it is the priciest game on this month's list coming in at five dollars but it's got more than enough content to make it worth the price eggs and good news if you hate and have purchases it's completely in-app purchase free so don't worry Francis you can just buy the game five dollars and you're done basic story here is a space prison blows up a bunch of convicts escaped including you but you're also a former space marshal who is then on the spot three instated to go hunt down all those other convicts or shoot them dead while the main character is pre-designed you can customize them a little bit with different hats and outfits then you unlock along the way and the gear you choose to bring along on each mission does change up to play style quite a bit because each gun works differently whether you want to go long range with a sniper rifle you're up close and personal with a shotgun the game also throws in some light stealth elements to really round out the gameplay and it has done a fantastic job with touch controls making it a really smooth experience and don't forget to mention that it's a completely in-app purchase free something that a lot of other mobile action games can't say well those are my favorite iOS games to come out in January i'm sure you guys had some favorites that i forgot to mention so make sure to let me know what those were down in the comments if you guys enjoyed the video hit that thumbs up button to let me know and if you haven't subscribed yet hit that too because i've got a lot more great content planned for februari until then though guys I'm Kevin Henson and I'll see you later