Bellyfish Review

Bellyfish plays it very safe, much like a lot of Endless Runners or Swimmers. Fortunately, though, it's still quite fun, even if it doesn't re-invent the wheel.

The Bellyfish in question is a fish with a love of air bubbles. Every time he sucks an air bubble in, he expands in size and it gets trickier to negotiate small gaps. The player's task is to keep him going for as long as possible, through tilting the iOS device and dodging numerous spikes and enemies. Satisfyingly, this is fairly easy to do for 1000m or so, giving the player a sense of accomplishment early on, before real challenges arise.

As players get further on in the game, the obstacles get more numerous and difficult to avoid, but it's still relatively simple stuff. The tilt controls help a lot here, as they've been well planned out. Starting a game invokes a choice, dependent on the position of the iOS device, meaning it's possible to play Bellyfish from a variety of different perspectives. Controls are responsive too, so it never feels like one is battling the control method.

Increasingly common in Endless games, Bellyfish comes with plenty of different missions or quests to complete. A mixture of easy and tough ones are available, ensuring players should have plenty to keep them interested. Many of these tie into the bonuses that can be acquired throughout the game, such as a shooting power-up and a ghost that scares off all the enemies.

There are power-ups and upgrades to buy too, with a well plotted out currency system meaning it's quite possible to acquire these freely rather than through the in-app purchase route.

Of course, Bellyfish is a very simple title with ideas that we've seen many times before. For those who still adore the genre though, this is one of the more enjoyable prospects, even if it isn't anywhere near unique.