Muffin Knight ($0.99) is a quirky and fast-paced arcade platformer for your iOS device. What it lacks in strategy or depth, it more than makes up for in silly and intense action.
The story behind the game is rather ridiculous, but in a charming way. You are a young boy who is astonished to see a delicious basket of muffins explode into the sky as you touch them. The old fairy who made the muffins is understandably upset, so she turns you into a knight, and charges you with returning all of her muffins at once!
The story is not the highlight of this app, the gameplay is. There is a hint of the old original Mario Bros. arcade game here, with lots of furious hopping from platform to platform as you collect muffins and dispatch baddies. The sense of humor is quite a bit different, though, than the ’80s classic. In this game, after grabbing a muffin, your character will switch between shotgun-wielding gnomes, shuriken-throwing kitties and a unicorn that “drops” exploding rainbows. (I think there is a poo joke in there somewhere.) There are a total of 15 of these curious characters to unlock, each with its own attack style, that can be upgraded as you gain experience points (XP) on the various stages. XP is also the currency used to gain both extra lives and perks that will aid you on your quest. These perks should not be overlooked, as the skill to jump on enemies, or the ability to slow down time will certainly help you survive at least a bit longer on each level.
The art style is of the cartoon/fairy tale variety, and lends itself well to the silly vibe that the app presents. The first time I laid down one of the aforementioned rainbow mines, I chuckled out loud at the developer’s boyish humor. It is refreshing to come across an app like this, that isn’t afraid to laugh at itself, all in the name of having fun.
Only one negative aspect keeps me from giving the highest rating for this app. The app boasts the ability to connect to any iOS device, and even Android devices for multi-player games. However, there needs to be a critical mass of players out there for this to work, and unless you know a specific buddy’s IP address, you’ll be staring at the “waiting for client” screen for a long time. Other than this, there’s a lot of silly mayhem to be found here, and I very much look forward to future updates.
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