Cosmic Buddies Review

Developer: Nyx Digital Ltd
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.0.7
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

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Overall Rating:

Aiming to educate your children on the benefits of memory and reflex skills, Cosmic Buddies is a mildly charming series of mini games, but it lacks that wow factor - as well as some useful instructions.

Starting out, you have a choice of different levels to pursue, although it’s not very clearly explained as to how you get there. Each level offers a different objective. One might have you listening out for specific sounds of ocean creatures, for instance, while another might have you guide the correct food to the creature’s mouth. Another feels more like a regular game with you tapping to guide a balloon wielding creature to safety.

Along the way, you can frequently collect coins which are used to unlock new stages. You’ll be pleased to note there are no in-app purchases around to circumvent this process, saving you the worry of your kids wracking up a bill.

It’s all quite simple to learn, which is useful because Cosmic Buddies offers no instruction. It offers trivia along the way but in terms of clear insight on how to get somewhere, you have to figure things out for yourself. For an app aimed at children, this feels disadvantageous. It doesn’t act like it’s encouraging experimentation, it just forgets to explain things as you go along. Visually, Cosmic Buddies also doesn’t capture your imagination, being quite simple to look at, rather than vibrant or compelling.

Sure, Cosmic Buddies is quite fun for a brief time, but there are better educational options out there. Your kids will find themselves focused on collecting coins to unlock new challenges rather than learning anything particularly useful as they progress. And even then, there are better simple games to play with them than this. It awkwardly straddles two genres without really succeeding at either.