Robotslayer - Volume 1 Review

Capturing childhood innocence amongst the backdrop of vicious robots quite well, Robotslayer - Volume 1 is a pleasant graphic novel with some interactive elements. Given it's only the first installment, it does a sound job of enticing one into finding out more.

Well designed for the iPad, the app primarily uses swipe controls to 'swish' one's way through the content. Certain interactive moments are available as well though, with hotspots allowing for the user to tap on them in order to invoke some appropriate sound effects. The focus is consistently on the storytelling and artwork, and that's a good thing.

Telling the tale of Leo, a boy living in a city besieged by aggressive robots, it's an adventurous story but one that lends itself equally well to young and old. The artwork is attractively designed - although the text is a little tricky to see at times, proving quite small and sometimes blurry. That's on the iPad 2, so I assume it'll be all the blurrier on a retina display screen.

Those issues aside though, Robotslayer - Volume 1 is quite pleasant to read through. Just over 50 pages long with a simple menu to step back and forward through, it's sufficient in length to entice one to want to read more of it. Alongside the story element comes a mini-game too, involving shooting at robots. It's quite rudimentary but that doesn't stop it from being a passing curiosity. See it as a freebie alongside the main event, rather than anything particularly significant.

Episodic content understandably demands a long term investment both time wise and financially. Robotslayer - Volume 1 does a sound job of making one feel it's going to be worth it. Offering an original tale that's satisfying to explore, it's certainly piqued my curiosity for future episodes.