Skiing Together with your Finger Is More Enjoyable Than It Sounds [Quickreview]

Skiing has just never really translated well into gaming-SkiFree notwithstanding, needless to say. But developer duo Mikengreg has eschewed realism in Solipskier, their arcadey stab at the slopes, attempting instead to capture both the thrill and quietness of skiing.

Solipskier is, admittedly, a troublesome game to jump into, by iOS standards. It truly is deceiving, because the game has just one control-your finger. No shaking, no tilting, no multitouch. Just your finger, tracing a clean, snowy path across your screen. You just control the terrain, not the actual skiing, putting an attractive twist on normal sports-oriented gameplay. Where your finger goes, so goes the slope (and, indirectly, your skier). Trace a steep cliff and watch your intrepid character hoof it uphill together with his poles-or treat him to a steady downslope. Either way, you’ll need to experiment very much with varying grades before you actually determine just how the hell to ski, in a game it truly is all about skiing.

This could be frustrating (firstly). But whether intentional or not, Solipskier’s learning curve forces you to dig in deep with the game’s sensitive physics, and after falling in your death with a mis-drawn path a hundred times or so, you’ll be kind of gliding around without difficulty. Solipskier makes the early frustration well worth the time, with bold, tantalizing points and multipliers, rewarding you for tricks executed by sending yourself flying off of daring ramps of your individual design. Whether you wish to have a sequence of gentle jumps or an insane, Olympic plummet is up to you. Nail gates, speed through tunnels, or wow the judges and the game’s arcade inspiration shines with positive visual feedback.

The game’s graphics pit colorful interface elements and a satisfying rainbow velocity trail against a minimalist greyscale background. The end result glues your eyes to the screen with your finger, and add to the game’s simple addictiveness-paint something pretty and watch it come to life. Although your deaths can be many, the game is a joy to navigate once frustration subsides, and is a good method to blow through a couple of minutes wanting passing. Solipskier is a $2.99 universal iOS release, with an Android version on the way in which. [iTunes]

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This post is tagged: Enjoyable, finger, Quickreview, skiing, Sounds