Funky futuristic driving game in a full 3D environment which looks a lot like something from Tron.
Gameplay: Tilt your phone left and right in order to roll & yaw your spaceship left and right. It’s a timed race where you slalom through panels as fast as you can. You can travel along the floor or ceiling, and float up and down by pressing a button or dipping the angle of your phone. As you pass through more panels correctly, then the game gets faster and faster. You need to watch out not to miss panels, avoid red slow panels, and you need to steer clear of sticky pads.
Great stuff: Return Zero has the wow factor in terms of graphics. It’s got that awe-inspiring Tron-glow feel to the lights in the game. The controls are very responsive, and the setup for the accelerometer is just right. For a short period of play, the music is harmonious with the game – it’s not perfect… but you can’t expect the developers to compose a track which is as epic as Daft Punk.
I completed the demo in under 20 minutes, and then my competitive racing spirit kicked in, so I continued to play for about 2 hours trying to perfect the laps in the shortest time possible. The variety across the levels is surprisingly good, and the different levels have been well thought out.
Initially I was slightly annoyed at the whole top-half, bottom-half business because I felt it was too hard to see the half panels. But actually it’s good that the half panels are hard to see because it means the game isn’t too easy, and you need to learn the tracks to get a 100% pass rate. The other benefit of the floor or ceiling travelling is that it increases the dimensions in the game so you have more than just sliding left and right.
Verdict: 5/5 I was going to give Return Zero a 4 rating, but then I felt it deserved the top score because it’s so innovative. I played the free version for a decent amount of time, and I wasn’t bored. It brought out the competitive spirit in me, and put my phone accelerometer to good use. Definitely give the free version a try on your phone. I think the developers have done a great job in keeping the variety for the free levels, and I’m tempted to buy the full game.
Return Zero QR Code
Developers: We came from Mars
