This week was a little slow on game releases, but the releases we did get sure were intriguing. Our top game of the week, Little Inferno, is a rather poignant puzzle game from the makers of World of Goo. We’ve also got a surprisingly inoffensive and well-made freemium city manager, a great Micro Machine-style racer, a puzzle game about sorting, and the latest annual Baseball Superstars game. Let’s round the bases of this week’s best games.
Little Inferno ($4.99)
Now, I should mention right off the bat that Little Inferno is currently an iPad exclusive, but when a game from the designers of World Of Goo hits the App Store, I’d say it’s worth making a special note. Originally released on the Wii U, this is a puzzle adventure game about burning things. Most of the game is even spent in front of a fireplace. Themes drive this game more so than the gameplay. This is one of the most unexpectedly thought provoking games you’ll play, with a surprising level of satire and profound meaning. Based on these aspects along, it’s no surprise Little Inferno has received rave reviews. You definitely shouldn’t miss out on a game this unique. Burn baby, burn!
Pixel People (Free)
Pixel People is a new city management game from Chillingo and LambdaMu Games. Yes, it has a visual style that is reminiscent of Tiny Tower, but it is by no means a rip-off. In fact, this is the most surprisingly good freemium game to come along in a long time. In Pixel People, you forge and manage a utopian city in a post-apocalyptic world. It’s very charming and cheerful despite the setting, and mechanically it’s quite addictive. I don’t usually go for this genre of games, but this one is worth checking out.
Table Top Racing ($2.99)
Here we have a totally awesome new racer set in the spirit of Micro Machines. In Table Top Racing you speed tiny toy cars around realistically proportioned environments, such as kitchen tables and living rooms. Apparently, some of the developers of the original Wipeout helped develop Table Top Racing, and it really shows. The controls are tight and responsive, the graphics are excellent, the gameplay is all around well-done, and you’re never made to pay for the optional premium currency. It’s not a very large game, but it is fantastic nonetheless.
Sortee (Free)
Here is the token oddball new game of the week. Sortee is a bizarre, but frantic new puzzle game from Flow Studio. In the game, you sort items that fly across the screen based on all sorts of criteria. You sort by color, size, description, and other sorts of other random descriptors, and it’s up to you to keep up with the game’s extremely fast pace. It’s quite simple, but with some creative sorting descriptors, it’s packs quite the challenge. Plus, there are 400 different items to sort across the 50+ levels and two game modes.
Baseball Superstars 2013 (Free)
Aside from Zenonia, the annually released Baseball Superstars games have been the most consistently well-designed and highly downloaded games on Gamevil’s roster. Well, the latest iteration is here, with Baseball Superstars 2013, and it is better than ever! The same excellent visual style and sound design are back, but they’ve included some gameplay tweaks, like a redesigned My Batter and My Pitcher mode, and an updated quest system. Plus, the game is still gorgeous with its vibrant 3D visuals and cute chibi people. Batter up!
