GRink Review

GRink is pretty tough but it also offers a certain something about it that makes me want to love it. As the app description states, it's a puzzle platformer - one that elicits memories of so many indie games before it. It offers a quirky visual style, perhaps not attractive but with its own unique feel to proceedings.

The aim is simple - get to the other side of the level as quickly as possible. The catch lies in overcoming the obstacles such as platforms and traversing switches and more. You have one useful trick up your sleeve though in the form of adjusting your size. You can grow and shrink at the touch of a button. It makes for a nice mechanic that's used to good effect. Veering away from accelerometer based controls is a wise move here as you're afforded more control with your fingers. Throw in gravitational factors such as how fans affect you depending on your current size and it's a pretty neat idea. The problem is it takes a while for GRink to get going.

The lack of any detailed tutorial means that you're thrown in the deep end. It's not hard necessarily (it will challenge you though) but it's not long before you could do with a bit more explanation, something like a hints system would have been great. While there are brief instructions, if they'd been put in action through early levels, it would have felt easier to love. Persevere though and it is worth it. There's a lot of loading going on too which doesn't make GRink the quickest of games to drop into. Plus of course once you complete the series of levels, there's not really anywhere to go next. Global leaderboards could have helped this a lot.

I sound so very critical but much like a Mom complaining to their kids, it's because I care. I like what GRink has to offer - its quirky nature, its simple but indie like graphics, and the careful combination of precise movements and thinking through your next move. GRink provides a fairly entertaining experience for its inexpensive price but it does need a bit of fleshing out in a few departments to be as special as I think it could be.