Follow the Rabbit Review
Miranda L Visser / Aug 12th, 2012 No Comments
Having spoken previously with disdain about the sheer amount of puzzle games that are downloaded and, shortly after, deleted from my iPhone, it should come as no surprise to you, dear reader, that at first my attitude was pessimistic about Gamaga and Armor Games’ new title for iOS. However, I was happily surprised at what they had to offer: an intuitive, fun, albeit short, game that while easy to complete, is a challenge to perfect.
Absolutely surrounded by angry, horny blocks
It seems as though chasing rabbits has been all the rage since Elmer Fudd first had his debut opposite the conniving Bugs Bunny who constantly taunted and teased the “poor” hunter, but while many have tried to replicate this magic, precious few have succeeded. Follow the Rabbit features the same basic concept of a prizeless chase found in the famed old cartoon without all the violence, featuring updated graphics and a bit of a twist.
Story
Follow the Rabbit presents little in the way of a story, instead encouraging players to simply jump right in to the puzzles it has to offer. Some might be put off by the lack of immersion this might encourage, while others will be pleased with a “straight to the point” strategy. Undoubtedly, the game doesn’t really need a story to stand on as the rest of the title is interesting enough to keep players engaged. However, it is easy to beat relative to other games in its genre, and not difficult to master.
All the levels are downright easy to complete and it is only slightly harder to do so while collecting all of the coins (I was able to do so fairly quickly and puzzle games aren’t even my strong suit). However, in order to attain the much sought after “Perfect” score, players will have to accomplish both those things while still working within the limits of so many moves. That challenge is surprisingly difficult considering the occasional mis-swipe in the wrong direction.
Gameplay
A little tilt never hurt anyone… okay, maybe someone
The best puzzle games are made with very simple, easy to use and understand mechanics. In Follow the Rabbit the end goal is to collect all the coins in the shortest amount of time while maneuvering about the course, avoiding blocky-looking bats who will try and gobble you up and spiky-headed villains who will send you to your death; much harder than it sounds. Players use short or long swipes of their fingers to maneuver their character, whether side to side or leaping into the air.
The controls are fairly accurate and in later levels the game effectively incorporates the tilt function available for Apple devices to allow players to change the direction of gravity on the field. Where other developers might cheapen their apps with cliché or token uses of this feature, how it is utilized in Follow the Rabbit is not only clever in itself, but an interesting addition made to further complicate the stages within the game and challenge users.
Graphics
The blocky stages aren’t going to wow anyone and cause them to hunt down the engine, but they do have charm – cartoonish, cutesy charm. Movement is fluid and sweet on the eyes and the colors are attractive whether playing in a dark room before bed or out in the sunlight while waiting for the bus. The only downside is once you reach the last set of levels, playing in front of people can be a bit embarrassing as you obnoxiously turn your iphone and yell in horror as your block falls off a platform.
Sound
Timing is everything
The music featured in the game is repetitive, but catchy – enough so that players might find themselves whistling along at some point before noticing and quickly turning it on silent. While the first twenty minutes might be fine, after playing the game extensively the simple beat that sees no change between stage 1 and stage 125 may get old.
Overall
There are much, much worse titles in the App store that you could buy for the low cost of $0.99, especially in the area of puzzle games. However, there are also much better. A short, cute detour from some of the more engaging games on your phone, Follow the Rabbit is a fine game, but lacks anything remarkable to make it stand apart. It’s been done before and it will be done again, but if you find yourself looking for a game to distract you for a few minutes, you might want to give this a try.
Miranda L Visser
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