Anyo and Rui Review

Anyo and Rui is a physics game that may look familiar to some players because it is similar in style to Hanger. The difference is that the developer improved on the Hanger experience by not including as much gruesome violence and adding exciting features to the game play.

As the name suggests, this hookshot physics game features two characters. Rui is the green stretchy creature that Anyo is able to swing from. The controls aren’t easy to grasp at first, but players should be able to get used to them pretty well after the first world.

There’s a lot of coordination involved in moving the two creatures. There are left and right arrow buttons that swing the little blue fellow back and forth on Rui. When it’s time to swing from a new location, players must tap on the detach button and then tap on it again to hang quickly to avoid bouncing off objects. Swinging too hard or bouncing off a cliff or other objects results in the loss of one of Anyo’s limbs. Gamers can continue until he has none left to lose, then they will have to restart.

Along with swinging and detaching, players can use the up and down arrows to shorten or lengthen Rui. This makes it a little easier to snatch all three stars in each level. Once players successfully make it to the end, the score is not only based on how many stars are collected, but also on how many body parts were lost and how fast the level is completed.

Gamers who do well will find themselves climbing the Game Center leaderboards and earning achievements. There’s an overall leaderboard along with one for each of the five worlds. There’s a total of 30 levels included in the game.

An issue worth pointing out is that the controls can be a little frustrating. My suggestion is to stick with it and continue to experiment with them. Players will have to get used to how hard of a swing they can make without losing a limb as well as adapting to shortening and lengthening the green monster in order to achieve better precision.

Despite the odd controls, Anyo and Rui is still a heck of a game. Although it’s similar in style to Hanger, the developer did a nice job expanding on the game play and making it unique. While it's strange, quirky and odd, I feel like that’s what makes it so great. Hopefully an endless mode and additional content is in store for a future update. For now, gamers who still aren’t convinced can download Anyo and Rui Free to check it out before they buy it. What’s great is that players can restore their data from the free version into the paid so they can start exactly where they left off.