Miniverse Review

Miniverse is a good game that makes a mediocre first impression. This is the risk games take by putting most of their content behind a paywall. It’s not bad, it’s just unfortunate.

In Miniverse, players lead astronauts to their rocket ships by ferrying them across the tiny planetoids they are standing on. Dragging one rock close enough to another object allows astronauts to hop between them across deadly barriers, and once everyone is back onboard the ship can take off. Occasionally the planets will explode after a certain time, so they must be moved in the right order. But most of the initial puzzles are very straightforward. The game is more about having a steady finger than a sharp mind because dragging the planets into the stage walls will also blow them up. The wonky acceleration doesn’t help.

From there the game starts opening up and introduces clever new ideas like direct rocket control, asteroid showers to dodge, laser turrets to block, and even aliens to watch out for. However, none of these concepts show up in the nine levels that make up the game’s free content. The other far more interesting stages, worlds, and boss fights must be purchased separately. There’s nothing wrong with saving the best for last, but the current game is essentially just a short, un-enticing demo/tutorial. It’s a shame because the rest of the package really is worth checking out.

This first taste of Miniverse isn’t all bad, though. The menus are super slick, full of blinking neon text and cool, seamless zooms giving the game world depth and cohesion. However the other 3D graphics are a bit rougher, even if the sight of a giant spaceman on a little rock is inherently awesome. Also, between levels players collect puzzle pieces, and the painted illustrations they ultimately form are a nice treat.

It may be hard to tell at first, but Miniverse does eventually become a game worth considering after coughing up a few bucks. Just take our word for it.

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