SAN FRANCISCO, May 28 — Stock up on some of the best new mobile games from May 2016 with our selection: a quintet of quality apps that includes adorable player-driven puzzler Mekorama, bite-size action titles Bushido Bear and Hungry Shark World, paintsplosion pinball in INKS, and the late-month amazement of Heart’s Medicine — Time to Heal.
Mekorama (iOS, Android)
Ratings: 4.5/5 iTunes, 4.9/5 Google Play
Price: Free with tiered Pay What You Want options, from US$0.99 to US$31.99 (RM4.05 to RM130.89)
Guide a tiny, hapless robot around 50 diverse, premade levels and an innumerable amount of user-created puzzles. Those custom levels can be shared via a clever revival of the QR code (an impressive feat also attempted by “Angry Birds Action”), disseminated via social networks or simple from phone to phone.
mekorama.com | iTunes | Google Play
Bushido Bear (iOS, Android)
Ratings: 4.5/5 iTunes, 4.6/5 Google Play
Price: Free, US$4.99 to get rid of ads
Protect an idyllic forest home from waves of horrible (yet cute) nasties in a first action title from the studio behind 2015’s AlphaBear — winner of Best Standout Indie at the May 19 Google Play Awards. Bushido Bear does nothing to diminish its creator’s reputation for both mental challenge and welcoming accessibility.
spryfox.com | iTunes | Google Play
Heart’s Medicine — Time to Heal (iOS, Android)
Ratings: 5/5 iTunes, 4.8/5 Google Play
Price: Free for 5 levels, US$9.99 to unlock all 90
Allison Heart is the new medical intern who hopes to prove herself as a gifted surgeon, demonstrating top-notch task management skills along the way. But what makes Heart’s Medicine an absolute time killer is the clever storyline woven through its chapters that deftly complements each level’s novelties.
gamehouse.com | iTunes | Google Play
Hungry Shark World (iOS, Android)
Ratings: 4.5/5 iTunes, 4.4/5 Google Play
Price: Free, with in-app purchases from US$4.99 to US$99.99(!)
With the aim of bettering Hungry Shark Evolution, this sealife-scarfing sequel has plenty for everyone to munch on. Pick one of 17 shark species to grow from tiny to monstrous via a very carnivorous and at times comically gory journey. It’s free, though those IAPs are designed to significantly smoothen the experience.
ubisoft.com | iTunes | Google Play
INKS (iOS)
iTunes Rating: 4.5/5
Price: US$1.99 purchase; US$0.99 to US$11.99 for extra in-game credits
One part pinball, one part joyful explosion of colour, as two flippers at the base of each contoured level, table, or (perhaps more appropriately) canvas send a tiny marble around towards its destiny, accompanied by a tune of delightful sound effects.
inksgame.com | iTunes — AFP-Relaxnews
