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Review: Rocket Roy for iOS

Rocket Roy screenhot - hazards
Review: Rocket Roy for iOS
2

Platforms: iOS

Game Name: Rocket Roy

Publisher: RainySundayAfternoon

Developer: RainySundayAfternoon

Genre: Physics based platformer

Release Date: October 16, 2014

Rocket Roy – What We Think

Love knows no bounds – even if it’s a long distance relationship – and there is no keeping a good couple apart.

So many people are in long distance relationships nowadays and one of the big challenges facing such pairings is that they are often far away from each other. Jezebel and Roy are in such a union, and Rocket Roy’s idea of alleviating the distance problem is by using a rocket to fly to Jezebel as quickly as possible.

Developed by RainySundayAfternoon, Rocket Roy is a challenging mobile game that requires you to overcome the distance, all in the name of love.

Rocket Roy screenhot - story

Rocket Roy and Jezebel live on opposite sides of the world. You play as Rocket Roy and in order to fix this problem you must successfully fly to Jezebel, pick her up, and bring her back to your house. This is your objective for every level throughout the game. It’s a simple premise that helps keep the game grounded and somewhat endearing. There is not much else when it comes to narrative and the complexity of the game comes mainly from its level design.

Sky Rockets In Flight

In order to reach Jezebel, you must guide your rocket and land on the rocket platform in front of her house. Then you must fly back to your house to complete the level. Guiding your rocket is simply done by pressing on the screen to activate your ship’s rockets and tilting the screen left and right to go in a certain direction.

You’ll do a lot of tapping and holding on the screen with your finger to accurately move your rocket. Tilting controls feel tight and responsive and for a game that requires a lot of nuanced tilting, these controls work in the game’s favor.

Rocket Roy screenhot - hazards

The levels in this game are very short, but they can get difficult especially later on. Once you complete a level, you are then graded on how quickly you finished it. In total there are 32 levels and each of one has hazards you must avoid. Hazards include flying zeppelins, pools of water, lighthouses and gusts of wind that forcefully push you in a certain direction. These hazards ramp up the challenge of the game, because they require you to swiftly avoid them without touching them once.

Should your rocket touch anything in a level (besides a rocket landing platform), it explodes. The margin for error is very thin and requires you to be smart and patient. You can’t rush through every level, you have to complete them at the game’s methodically set pace.

Blast From The Past

Levels start to feel the same after around the seventh level. You do the same thing over and over again, and the game fails to mix it up enough. It’ll start introducing levels that require you to complete them before your fuel runs out, but this just means you have to land on a platform that refills your fuel tank. It doesn’t do enough to add onto the game’s core mechanics.

Burning Out His Fuse Up Here Alone

As levels become more and more difficult they unintentionally expose the weakest aspect of of the game: The rocket’s weight plays as if it’s very heavy, so gaining altitude takes a while and requires a lot of fuel. At times, it feels as if you are not in complete control of the rocket. This can negatively effect your gameplay experience as levels become more and more hazardous and require perfect precision to avoid objects.

The game’s controls don’t feel apt enough for the precision the later levels demand. It felt fine when stages didn’t require you to be as spot-on, and early levels feel like the right amount of challenge. They are more focused on finishing a level quickly, while later levels will just make you happy when you finally complete them.

In short, the game becomes increasingly frustrating as you progress, but to a point that it interferes with the overall enjoyment.

Rocket Roy screenshot - Jezebel

This game has a Tim Burton-esque art style, though the overall palette is a lot more colorful. I like the way various hues contrast with one another, and how it all looks like a children’s story book. I was hoping the game would get more visually interesting but environments and levels all flaunt a similar look. It would have been great to see differently themed planets, to help the game feel less visually repetitive.

Failure To Launch

Rocket Roy is a mobile game that falls under the weight of its gameplay mechanics. It feels like a game that would have been better if it expanded on its core ideas, or furthered the game in ways other than making it more difficult. It ceases to be enjoyable early on, thus ending up as a frustrating experience that offers up too little incentive to keep you playing.

Rocket Roy – Official Site

Get Rocket Roy at the iTunes App Store

Watch the trailer for Rocket Roy below: