Tetrobot and Co. Review

Developer: Swing Swing Submarine
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

Graphics / Sound Rating:
Game Controls Rating:
Gameplay Rating:
Re-use / Replay Value Rating:

Overall Rating:

Tetrobot and Co. is a rather appealing puzzle game. It’s not perfect, with some niggling issues arising, but it’s still pretty charming.

You have to guide a small robot around to get through each level. You use blocks of various different kinds in order to manipulate switches and pressure points, and even alter chemical properties along the way. It’s pretty fiendish really, with a slight adjustment to how you think required in order to progress quickly. That makes that $2.99 asking price quite good value for money though, as you’re certainly not going to be rushing through what’s here. Wood, stone, sand, iron, glass, slime, and other types, all play a valuable role in keeping things interesting.

Adding a bit of personality to such blocks, you also gain a Faceblox entry for each,a kind of Facebook for blocks. These are quirky and interesting, but also provide some insight into what such blocks can accomplish. Golden memory bars can be collected too and both give you a reason to aim for full completion of a level, as well as being a requirement to unlock future stages.

Where Tetrobot and Co. falters is when it comes to its control method. You tap to direct the robot where you want to go, but the path finding can be a little off. It’s sometimes too easy to go in the wrong direction because of how the game has interpreted your action, making it wiser to move slower around the stage. There’s no way to cancel a move either, often leaving you to mistap and go somewhere you didn’t intend to.

Such an issue does get a little annoying, but your gray matter will be twitching at the puzzles here and you’ll enjoy figuring things out despite the problems. While Tetrobot and Co. might need a little refinement, its focus on such logical puzzles means it’s pretty rewarding to play through and it should stick out in your mind for a while. Any game that can make a humble block seem charming is pretty notable, really.