Pits of Death Review

Developer: Rebisoft
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5/Apple Watch

Graphics / Sound Rating:
User Interface Rating:
Gameplay Rating:
Re-use / Replay Value Rating:

Overall Rating:

My first steps into Pits of Death were rather dubious - not because I was afraid of falling into a pit or stumbling into a dragon, but because I don’t exactly have a set of nostalgia goggles for old LCD-style games (think Game And Watch or old Tiger handhelds). But step I did, and I’ve ended up enjoying myself quite a bit.

Pits of Death has been designed to emulate extremely old video games from back before animation was really a thing. So long as you don’t jump in expecting visuals that are advanced in any way you’ll be fine, but it might be a bit jarring to some. Although I’ll admit that there’s a certain charm to the game’s intentionally... let’s go with “rustic”... style.

The entire point is to wander around a dungeon of sorts, avoiding pits and a nasty dragon while trying to find an arrow to slay said dragon with. It’s very simple in practice, though. All you have to do is swipe in a direction to move that way, and be mindful of the pit and dragon warning icons that alert you when you’re one space away from either hazard.

It’s kind of like a fantasy-themed Minesweeper when I stop and think about it. I mean, you’re basically trying to plot out the location of a bunch of traps by following clues that appear when you get close. Of course Pits of Death is a bit simpler but it scratches that same itch, which is probably why I keep playing it.

You can also load it up on your Apple Watch if you’re so inclined, and it’s not bad. The interface is a bit more of a hassle though, since you have to tap the Cursor button to toggle the movement arrow between the four directions (as opposed to just swiping up/down/left/right on the iPhone) and then tap Move to move. It’s also a little weird that games on one device don’t carry over to the other, but it’s not a big deal, really. Mostly it’s just the awkward interface on the Apple Watch that bums me out a bit.

I imagine the target audience for Pits of Death might be somewhat specific (and not that big), but if it sounds like your kind of Minesweeper-esque puzzle adventure then chances are you’re going to have fun with it.