The variety in play styles is reflected in the levels. Some levels test your reactions, dropping chunks of scenery on you and forcing you to change direction rapidly to stay alive. The platforming is reasonably smooth, and mixes measured hops with desperate chases. Holding it for longer makes you leap higher, and pushing it again once you're airborne pops out an umbrella that lets you float for a while. Two direction buttons on the bottom left of the screen control your movement, and a button on the bottom-right lets you perform little jumps.
#Icycle on thin ice mobility scooter series
You're in control of Dennis, a man who finds himself lost in a series of different frozen worlds with nothing more than a tiny bicycle to help him through the ever-changing landscape. It makes for a continually enthralling experience, and one where you're never entirely sure, at least for the first play-through, which direction you're supposed to be going.
And these are far from just visual changes.Įach deformation is a new pathway, a split-second test of reactions, or a fresh set of obstacles for you to pedal over. As its levels deform and reshape themselves, cracking into shards and collapsing all around your ever-panicking avatar, you can't help but be impressed. This game is only held back by a smattering of minor or middling issues and comes highly recommended.Icycle: On Thin Ice is a thing to behold. An 8/10 is only awarded to a game we consider truly worthy of your hard-earned cash. Bite-size, fun-packed levels make for a game that doesn’t overstay its welcome, and stands out from crowd both artistically and mechanically. VERDICT: A relatively plain platformer boosted by a vivid and surreal art-style, Icycle: On Thin Ice is just about crazy and unique enough to warrant a look. Meanwhile, Dennis himself is as simple as a character can be, given a single soundbite (a simple “Hellooooo!” shout) that adds a little character where needed without becoming annoying. It’s a game built of crisp and clean vectors with added surrealism, reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s Monty Python work, and it adds something more to what is, mechanically at least, a very generic platformer. From the game’s quirky silhouette introduction to its final location, there’s always something to make you smirk or feel utterly confused. New modes of transport, new threads and on-board vacuum cleaners for attracting ice cubes are available, and the currency is also purchasable with real money – which thankfully isn’t required as each level has more than enough ice cubes to find.Īs a mobile platformer, it’s simplistic stuff – the main draw is Icycle’s incredibly surreal imagery, portrayed via some of the most wonderful animation seen on the iOS platform. Each level also has ice cubes to be found, which are used to purchase cosmetic and functional upgrades in-between levels. Initially, just reaching the end of each stage is enough – but to complete the other challenges, you’ll need to perform feats such as not dying or collecting hidden items.
#Icycle on thin ice mobility scooter trial
In a sensible move, controls are limited to left, right and jump, although because you are mostly riding a bicycle on ice, you can imagine that the controls are a little sluggish, which is part of the challenge – as are the environments themselves, which transform to create new platforms or deadly barriers.īecause of this, it’s fair to say that each level very much becomes a matter of trial and error, with 90% of deaths coming from the environment suddenly collapsing around you, or a deadly obstacle coming out of nowhere.īut this trial and error approach to level design proves far less frustrating here, as each level is relatively short, lasting only a minute or so (although several challenges encourage multiple playthroughs of each level).
You must guide him and his trusty bicycle through a series of levels that take place in both his reality and in the deep reaches of his admittedly broken subconscious. For he is a nude cyclist in a post-apocalyptic frozen wasteland – and he is quickly descending into madness, in this incredibly surreal platformer.īut can you blame him? Lost and alone in this harsh environment without anything to cover his extremities, Dennis is alone and searching for companionship. But Dennis, the hero of Icycle: On Thin Ice, thinks nothing of these sub-zero temperatures. As we screech towards the holiday period, our thoughts quickly turn to the cold weather – wind, rain, snow and staying at home in the warm.
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