Nomasaurus Rex Review

Nomasaurus Rex is a puzzle game in which players control a dinosaur that has to eat its way through an endless amount of ice cream. Because there is limited space in the dino's belly, players must strategically manage which ice creams to nom while also avoiding falling towers of ice cream and other obstacles. The ultimate result of this concept is a super-cute and sweet puzzle game, though one that can feel a bit familiar.

To play Nomasaurus Rex, players simply must swipe in the direction that they want the dino to chomp. Movement is controlled the exact same way, making the game very accessible and playable with one hand. When the dino encounters a block of ice cream, it automatically eats it as well as all other blocks of ice cream of the same color connected to it. This allows players to carve out large sections of ice cream in a single chomp, which sets up the main challenge of the game.

Beyond managing the dino's belly, players must also look out for falling ice cream. Ice cream falls when it no longer has anything underneath to support it. If players find themselves underneath ice cream as it falls, they get "bonked" in the head. Three bonks, at least at the beginning of the game, results in a game over.

As players keep playing Nomasaurus Rex, they can earn coins and unlock other dinos to vary up the gameplay and make progression a bit easier. As players dive deeper down into the depths of the ice cream maze they also will encounter power-ups that can clear the dino's belly, provide coinage (for upgrades and power-ups), and activate a special Super Nom power that sends the dino into a feeding frenzy. Of course diving deeper also presents additional hazards, like spider foes, to increase the challenge as well.

The only real problem I've experienced with Nomasaurus Rex is that the controls can feel a little clunky at times. Swiping doesn't always seem to move the dino in the desired direction, which can result in a "bonk" or other negative outcome. Also, I think it's safe to say that Nomasaurus Rex is game that seems pretty familiar for anyone that's played any sort of miner or digging puzzle game on their iOS device before.

That being said, Nomasaurus Rex is a completely competent take on the digging puzzle genre. It adds a bit of novelty with its matching elements and cute factor that make it worth playing for those that haven't had their fill of these kinds of games yet.