#power hover

Not quite a review but not quite a rant either, Tremulous Thoughts is a new section on Tremulous One where your friend in the darkness talks about stuff that’s interesting. It’ll probably mostly be about video games, but we’ll see how it goes.

I’ve been on a robot kick lately. 

On Rusty Trails, which is probably my favorite game of the year (even if one ignores the fact that I’m in the credits), was probably the initiator of it, but there’s been a few other things lately that stoked the flame. Destiny, Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye, Evolve, the nerdy stuff I’ve been consuming over the summer to keep myself from going mad from boredom.

But what’s cooler than just cute robots? Well, how about cute robots with hoverboards? (Real hoverboards, not that wheels on the ground bull.)

(This GIF took way too long to figure out.)

I stumbled upon Finnish indie studio @oddrokoddrok’s debut game Power Hover for the second time recently after Apple made it their Free App of the Week. I’d always thought it looked interesting, but initially I’d passed over it because of the $4 price tag. Without the cost of entry as a factor, I saw no reason to let it slip my mind again.

If I could go yell at my past self to buy it, I would’ve.

The basic premise of Power Hover doesn’t ask much. Go left and right, collect batteries, try not to die. On paper it’s a hard sell, but in motion it works beautifully; every level and section is built with the physics of your hoverboard in mind, and while it can be challenging occasionally due to the pace, most of the levels are smooth, enjoyable rides through a variety of locales.

The presentation of the game is a winner too. The aesthetic is effectively a modernized version of the low-polygon look that dominated the PlayStation era of gaming, and with a dynamic camera that isn’t afraid to switch things up, you’ll be able to appreciate every Day-Glo vista and environment Oddrok’s packed into the game. The music, done by Ted Striker, is appropriately retro-futuristic minimalist electronic stuff-- my only complaint is that there’s not enough of it (the whole game only has four tracks).

(Side note: the default robot’s design is my favorite. They’re very green. It’s wonderful.)

Everything gets tied together by a progression system that allows the player to upgrade their survivability and performance based on their scores in each level. Going back to previous levels to improve old scores becomes that much more satisfying when you’re finally able to unlock that extra life or that character you’ve been saving up points for-- and even if you aren’t particularly interested in replaying the old levels, Oddrok’s got you covered with a cohesive challenge mode and the campaign’s four infinite runner-styled boss levels.

There are a few moments where the game feels like a spiritual successor to Acceleroto’s criminally underrated Unpossible, particularly in the challenge mode and on the two campaign levels set on a long, winding pipe. Close as they are in basic gameplay and vibe on those levels, though, Power Hover is very much its own thing, and a Very Good Thing Indeed.

(I turned into a screwdriver and an original Game Boy after taking this picture. The things I do for blogs...)

I’m a tough cookie when it comes to mobile games, precisely because of the ulterior motives that seem to be inescapable within the market. I went into Power Hover expecting to be bamboozled somehow, but instead I found myself playing my favorite mobile game since Black Pants’s Blown Away dropped at the tail end of last year. Get it for free if you can, but I promise that it’s worth the money if you do choose to buy it later. 

I’m excited to see where Oddrok goes from here, and if there’s ever a sequel, well. “I won’t hesitate.”✌🏾️

Power Hover würde Marty McFly gefallen. @Oddrok

Power Hover von Oddrok ist ein neues Action-Spiel, in dem ihr auf einem Hoverboard durch Röhren und Schluchten rast. Was wohl Marty McFly zu diesem Spiel gesagt hätte? Ich sage, dass sich der Download lohnt. Denn Power Hover ist ein äußerst unterhaltsamer Spaß. Das mobile Spiel ist aktuell nur für Android kostenlos. Die iOS-Variante kostet schlappe 3,99 Euro.

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