I already posted this on the main iOS thread but I re-found (found, forgot and found again) this thread so its a better fit here. I will be adding more of my hidden gems to this thread soon. First is Worm Run, my favorite 2D endless runner, from Golden Ruby Games.
Since Time Tangle has taken the endless runner throne yesterday and today it reinforced that feeling, I have to mention the game that had the throne from 2012 until now: Worm Run from
@GoldenRubyGames, an amazing indie studio from New York. It arrived in early 2012 and to this day still holds the crown -in the 2D realm now- to this day.
In Worm Run, you control a space miner that were about doing his business with his jetpack, collecting grubies (the currency) until a giant and freakishly cute giant space worm sets his eyes on you to feast on your meat. And you have to run from it. By do that you have to swipe in the direction you want to go to, there are 8 directions you can go to, and the jetpack trapped on your back does the job quite nicely. The controls are tricky at the beginning but after a few tries they click and without them, the game wouldn't be the same. The developers wanted you to feel how of a giant space worm with very sharp teeth chasing you from behind feels like, terrifying, and with a simple tap to jump this wouldn't have been achieved, instead they came with the perfect combination: frantic swipes to guide your character through the path, which is filled with lava pits -for example- and many nooks and hidden corners that makes the environment, in combination with the controls, work so well, and mostly your character sticks to the wall you you are frantically swiping in the direction you want to go, plus the worm always behind you, shaking the ground as it get closer. This is the soul of the game and it does it so, so extremely well and good. Then the game keep getting harder and harder for each of the 4 different "levels" the game offer, with another interesting twist: as you keep playing further, the game unlock different types of obstacles, so the more you play the more difficult and deep it becomes. Lucky for us, the game feature a wide arrange of plenty of useful powerups. You can choose how many you want to use and each have two upgrades -I only use the bomb and the skunk juice, both fully upgraded- so these adapt to your play style. There is ice, which makes walls non-sticky, a rocket, a magnet, ... These are made with a lot of style and love. The whole game is a letter of love to gaming. It also features missions, giant grubies and plenty of things to upgrade all with ease. The are many many more quality touches everywhere on this game, but I dont want to spoil it all. I will leave something for you to discover on your own.
The is IAP and a gruby doubler (I got that, 2$ for a game this good is a no brainer), but just look at it and you will see that is just there for the impatient. Truly, the only game I can say that. The most expensive IAP costs 4$ and gives you everything in the game three times over... maybe four times over. The game has revives but they follow certain rules, like only activating when you are beyond your high-score and only twice then. Fair.
I can't recommend that game enough, its my favorite game on iOS along with Out There and Time Tangle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPcEVbyXObI
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/worm-run/id569497239?mt=8
Seriously, buy this game.
