Rotate & Roll Review

Controlling gravity seems pretty cool to me. I might never get to control it in reality but in gaming, there always seems to be a steady supply of options, certainly when it comes to puzzlers. Rotate & Roll is all about navigating the little blob to the portal while collecting up all the stars in the level, and avoiding various enemies. It's a typical kind of game really but it's quite enjoyable.

You control gravity by using your finger to rotate the world around thus rolling the blob in the relevant direction. It's an interesting move and it's a little strange that there aren't any tilt controls. Although not normally a fan of tilt controls, I think Rotate & Roll would hugely benefit from them and it'd make for a much more immersive experience. Fortunately, according to the App Store notes, tilt controls are on the way. That's not to say that using your finger to rotate is bad, it works quite well. Rotate & Roll is clearly quite a tough game admittedly. It takes very precise finger drags to succeed in collecting up stars. Even after the first couple of levels, you're thrown into a challenge and a half with the urge to cuss growing by the moment.

I'm not sure if tilt controls would make things easier and they might even make Rotate & Roll harder. The choice would be nice, however - as it stands, I like the formidable challenge of Rotate & Roll. It makes a change from the norm and it's satisfying to take a step back and plan your next course of action. In particular, working out how to get around various enemies is a real challenge. It's a tricky business trying to fly into the air without flying too far and falling off the screen!

Rotate & Roll is a very simple concept but it does so well. It might not strictly stand out from the pack, lacking GameCenter support and any way of comparing progress with friends, but it is enjoyable. The 54 levels are respectable enough to provide good value and hopefully the developer will continue to support the game for a while to come. It's perhaps not a game to buy before anything else but certainly one to give a shot at some point.