I love trawling through the iTunes store looking for games to become addicted to. I also hate trawling through the iTunes store looking for games to become addicted to. Maybe it's me, but there's a lot of shit that's exactly the same - everything lately seems to fall under a few categories: "Oh cool, this is just like Angry Birds" or "Oh cool, this is just like Canabalt" or "Oh cool, this is just like Fruit Ninja". And in-part, it's hard to blame iPhone devs; the attention span for iPhone games is one that can be measured only in nano-seconds before a title becomes just another part of the mix. I find it so hard to find a new game before something else comes along that everyone else is playing. It's also this shovelware crap that makes games like the Sword & Sworcery EP that much more memorable.
S&S is a simple enough looking, but therein lies it's true beauty. Without giving too much away, the story is about a young female hero, roaming about the woods questing all over the place, when you come across a woodsman and his dog in the forest, known as Logfellow and Dogfella, who can assist you up the mountain in search of an ancient mystical book. You find and take the book, then all hell breaks loose.
The story is told via a strange man in a suit, who greets you at the start of the game. The man smokes a cigar and keeps up to date with the story as it unfolds. There's a weird "Cancer Man from X-Files" vibe about him, which makes the character that much more intriguing. The story's told with a perfect blend of oddity and occasional humour in this story that's bound to keep you glued to the touch-screen.
The game is played out in specific chapters, designed to be played in short bursts - at times going so far as to tell you after the first level that you put the phone down and take a break for a while. They're words for the wise too, as this is such an easy game to get lost in. It's best played late at night with headphones, to truly get a sense of the wonders that you're about to witness, in both the audio and visual varieties. The sound production for this game is nothing short of outstanding. You can purchase the soundtrack on iTunes as well, and I would suggest that this is definitely another wise purchase. Everything from the choice of music, to the awe-inspiring incidental sprites of music as the exciting action kicks in, to the simple sound effects as you pull out your mighty sword are just a pure joy to ears. Nothing about the sound is an accident, and all the music is perfectly orchestrated with pinpoint precision.
The controls are also quite clever too, making the most of the iPhone technology. Simple tap your way across the screen to make your hero wander from location to location, double-tap things/people you wish to interact with. When a fight scene is upon you, it's quite obvious, so to draw your sword, simple turn the iPhone 90 degrees and let the battle begin!
This isn't a perfect game, mind you - some of the puzzles are quite confusing, and hark back to the old-school method of just clicking everywhere on the screen to find the next clue. There's a lot of trial and error with this game, but still, this only adds to the fun to be had.
PROS
Amazing sound production
Simple, yet highly effective graphics
Great story-telling methods
Amazing use of the advantages as well as limitations of the iPhone
CONS
Some of the puzzles aren't very logical and take some random screen-touching to solveSUMMARY
There's plenty to explore here in this game, and I'm hesistant to go into all of them for fear of removing some of the enjoyment that comes with finding out for yourself. This is a game that demands the attention of all your senses. At $3.99 for iPhone and $5.99 for the higher-res iPad version, it's definitely a bit more than the usual couple of dollars you may be used to shelling out, but trust me when I say that this is a worthy purchase. This is quite possibly the best iPhone game I've ever played.
Do yourself a favour, buy this game, then find a nice quiet, dark room, put your headphones in and prepare to be amazed. Game production like this is truly to be applauded and I for one can't wait to see what else is in store from the Superbrothers team.
[originally written for australiangamer.com]