Splitter Critters review
:: TEAR-IFICALLY CHARMINGPrice: $2.99
Version: 1.1.4
App Reviewed on: iPad Air 2
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Splitter Critters is a terrifically unique puzzle game that feels perfectly suited for mobile. In it, you literally tap, drag and release to tear apart your environment and rearrange it so that your Lemmings-like alien buddies can make it to their spaceship. It's not the most vexing puzzle game out there, but its tearing mechanic alone makes playing through the game an absolute pleasure.
Working in the background
Your job in Splitter Critters is to help aliens that have been stranded on several different planets reach their spaceship. You don't have to worry about controlling the aliens, as they wander about all by themselves. Instead, you have the ability to rip and readjust the environment to let your buddies wander exactly where they need to go.
So, if there is a high platform that these aliens need to get up to, for example, you can rip a vertical line through the platform and drag it so the higher floor meets the lower floor. Once your aliens have wandered onto that higher space, you can then hit an undo button to keep them up there.
Complex critters
Things in Splitter Critters don't stay as simple as basic platforming though. As you go through the game's 40 or so core levels, new enemies get introduced, as well as switches, moving platforms, lasers and more.
The great thing about the puzzle design in Splitter Critters is that each level feels unique in some way, and no single mechanic or concept overstays its welcome. It's certainly refreshing, though I did find myself wanting more of certain kinds of puzzles by the end of the game.
Go on a tear
As much as I enjoyed my time with Splitter Critters, I never felt stumped on any given level. This allowed me to breeze through the game relatively quickly, even the challenge levels.
That said, I'm not sure that Splitter Critters would necessarily benefit from having a ton of levels that just iterate on the same mechanics over and over again. Part of what makes the game so fun is that each new level brings something new to the table, and you'd lose that if you put in a bunch of levels to pad the experience out.
The bottom line
Even though it's on the easy and short side, there's really nothing quite like Splitter Critters out there. Tearing environment feels amazing and allows for some really creative puzzle design that is delightful to discover. Go play this game. You won't be disappointed.