illi

I first noticed this as the Free App of the Week and managed to play through all 60 levels and complete every single goal within a matter of days. It was a truly immersive experience that really got me thinking, and the fluid animations, unique art style, and excellent level design made me want to come back to it all the more. The only possible complaint I could have is that I wish there was more! It felt almost unfinished when I completed that sixtieth level, and I feel like there's a lot more room for level expansion and even story. illi as a character has a unique and mysterious design, and it would be amazing to learn more about who illi is and the scenery and surroundings illi navigates through. (What is the factory? Where did the rubble come from? Where is illi trying to go? etc.) Regardless, I'm happy to have discovered and played through such an interesting, well-designed, and underrated platformer, and I look forward to playing it over again if I ever do. Thank you for making it!

The puzzles are well thought out and clearly tested well, the visual aesthetic is cute and the sound design is perfect. My biggest issues are: The puzzles are pretty similar, and you usually use the same solution for several in a row before it introduces a minor new mechanic. This isn't a huge issue because it's sort of a puzzle platformer, so movement is more important than engaging puzzles. On that note, the movement is usually nice and responsive, but it can be difficult to gage how or where exactly your jump will land. Also, especially in later puzzles, you can die quite a bit trying to achieve some of the harder challenges. This is alright, but restarting involves going through a menu and a few seconds of loading, which could certainly be whittled down to make it less frustrating. Finally, there is no way to look at the full level without moving the little worm guy, which in turn moves the camera around. Once again, this is fine as it contributes to the puzzles, but personally I feel it's a bit of a cop out. It may just be me getting frustrated, too, so take that as you will. Overall, despite the flaws, this is still just really fun to play. I would absolutely recommend it.

I hesitate to call this game a puzzle platformer. There is no gravity in this game, with illi constantly flipping direction. Though the rules aren't what we normally expect in a game, they do make sense, and are consistent once you get used to them. The game is challenging, but not frustrating at the same time. The levels themselves are easy to clear, but completing the bonus challenges - like getting every crystal, beating it in limited time/jumps, getting so many seconds of air time, or clearing rubble off the planet - can prove more than difficult. The balance of optional challenge and easy levels makes the game feel very fair - something some games lack. I wouldn't have given this game a second glance if it wasn't free app of the week, but now that I've tried it, I'm so glad I did. The gameplay and art style go great together, and the music (or atmospheric noises) set a relaxing mood as well. illi has become one of my favorite apps very quickly.

The weird little fuzzy (sometimes farting?) protagonist is cute. The puzzles are fun but not terribly challenging. Even in the last few levels the hardest part is really just judging exactly how long your jumps need to be and when exactly to jump to nail the landing on the other platform. This means lots and lots of dying and restarting levels until you find the sweet spot for a jump. A little frustrating but not bad (it restarts quickly and there are NO ADS which I love 😁). Also, I wish something happened at the end. I beat the final level and got every single little goal on each and at the end of the last level it just showed me a "next level" button that did nothing because there were no more levels. No fanfare or message or anything saying "you did it!"... 😕

Overall, I enjoyed this game, but it has annoying bug where it sometimes will get stuck in the screen where you can choose which level to play. The workaround is to kill and relaunch the app. This happened 3 or 4 times over the course of completing the entire game. (This is on an iPad Air 2 with iOS 11.2.) That said, I would still recommend this game to anyone who’s a fan of the genre. It has a somewhat original concept where your character can walk on any surface, and whatever surface it is currently walking on becomes “down.” The levels have a nice progression from easy to hard (but never become super difficult). I also appreciated the lack of adds and in-game purchases.