Naught Reawakening Review

Developer: Genera Games
Price: $3.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

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No doubt you've been told by an irritated spouse or parent that the world doesn't revolve around you. That may be so, but the world certainly revolves around Naught, the black shadow kitty that takes the lead in Naught Reawakening by Wildsphere and Genera Games.

Naught Reawakening is an action / physics game, but unlike similar titles, you don't get much control over the titular Naught. Instead, you rotate the background environment – often by 360 degrees at a time – and send Naught scrambling up and down long tunnels and drops.

The world of Naught Reawakening is dark and dangerous, which isn't surprising given its Limbo-inspired silhouette-based graphics. Enemies patrol the corridors, and even the foliage will give you a nasty shock if you're not paying attention. Thankfully Naught Reawakening has plenty of checkpoints scattered through each level, though using them requires you to spend “seeds” that you pick up as you play. In other words, there's no free ride here. You have to scratch and claw for your victories.

Naught is aided by The Spirit of the Tree, a floating eyeball that offers advice and literally points you in the right direction (though going off the beaten path is certainly recommended in order to find diamonds that unlock secret levels). You occasionally take control of the spirit, who's capable of shooting through narrow corridors and shattering amber blockades.

Altering the background in Naught Reawakening is usually fun and a bit of a thrill – just don't do it after a heavy lunch if you have a sensitive stomach – but it's not without imperfections. Sometimes it's impossible to spot a sneaky bed of thorns until you fall directly on it. Being expected to memorize your surroundings is fair enough, though it's frustrating to be hampered by Naught's easily-depleted stock of seeds. If you run out of seeds, you start the level over again.

This do-over becomes especially irritating during boss fights, which rely more on avoidance than actual scrapping. It turns out avoiding tendrils and projectiles becomes a big hassle when your only means of avoidance is to flip your world upside-down.

Naught Reawakening isn't perfect, but it's impressively ambitious, and it does most things right. You won't regret exploring this kitty cat's deep, dark word.