Drylands Review

Developer: Angry Bugs
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.4.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

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Overall Rating:

Have you ever wanted to combine your post-apocalyptic video games into a single experience? If so (and the games you'd like to combine specifically are Borderlands and Fallout) then look no further than Drylands. Even though it doesn't play like either of those action RPGs, Drylands clearly borrows from the two series to create a somewhat flawed but enjoyable side-scroller.

In Drylands, players take control of a nameless protagonist who is let out of prison to help rebuild Serenity, one of the few settlements left in the world after some cataclysmic event destroyed everything and left survivors with no options for survival beyond "juice." To help rebuild, players go on quests where they scavenge for supplies, explore new lands, and fight bandits and wasteland creatures using on-screen buttons to move, jump, and shoot.

The deeper into Drylands players get, the more loot and perks come to the fore - both of which seem lifted pretty directly from Borderlands and Fallout, respectively. While these systems on their own aren't as extensive as their predecessors, their combination makes for an interesting character progression system that can actually change the way players choose to approach situations out in the wasteland.

The only problem with these systems is that they're wrapped inside of a game that could use some refinement across the board. Drylands is not particularly pretty, nor does it animate particularly well. Additionally, the on-screen controls can sometimes be a bit cumbersome, partially because the game keeps devices oriented in portrait mode and just renders all of the game as if it were in landscape view. The problem with this is that touching the movement controls on the edges of the screen can occasionally make the Notification Center drop down, which is less than ideal. This is not to say Drylands feels unplayable or anything, though. It's not particularly pretty or elegant, but the systems in place get the job done.

More than combat and progression though, the best things about Drylands are the non-combat moments. Ithas a surprisingly deep story and set of quests, not all of which are as simple as "go somewhere and shoot things" (though, to be fair, there is a bunch of that as well). There are old computers littered around the wastelands with interesting bits of story and characters, and with interesting back stories that really flesh out the game world and make wandering through it compelling.

Drylands is a solid side-scrolling action RPG that borrows a bit from some rather good games pretty successfully. Although a lot of the animations are stiff and the controls aren't stellar, itearns some major points for being more than just a shooter. The world, story, and quest structure demonstrate a level of ambition that's worthy of praise, both because of said ambition and because of its execution.