Format: iOS, Mac, Windows
Price: $0.99 iOS, Currently free for Mac/PC
Release Date: March 2012
Target Age Group: unspecified, appropriate for all audiences
Developer: Medusa
Genre: side scroller/platformer
Price: $0.99 iOS, Currently free for Mac/PC
Release Date: March 2012
Target Age Group: unspecified, appropriate for all audiences
Developer: Medusa
Genre: side scroller/platformer
I'm often a sucker for blood and guts in my video games, but I'm also somewhat paradoxically a sucker for the unapologetically cute. When I first learned about Rain, Sand, Stars, I could feel myself instantly drawn to the colorful visual style and playfully drawn characters. That cute-but-not-cloying graphic style, combined with completely non-violent gameplay in the form of terraforming planets, told me that this was a game I wanted to know better. So with nothing to lose, I took the plunge into the fictional Yakeraan planetoid system...
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Dancing in the rain is more fun when you're wearing leaf pj's. |
Of course, this mission of mercy is not without complications. On each planet are Yaks. Yaks who are apparently very, very cranky. Maybe it's the lack of rain, or maybe hunger has driven them to distraction, but these yaks don't take kindly to your presence, even if you are only trying to help their small worlds. Players have to avoid the dizzying headbutts of these temperamental Yaks and try to perform their rain dance long enough to make new trees sprout. It's a task that's simple in theory, but proves increasingly challenging as the number and variety of Yaks changes with each level.
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Move over, Angry Birds. These Angry Yaks mean business! |
Those few frustrations aside, I still enjoyed the hour or so that I spent playing through Rain, Sand, Stars. The game is simple enough to have broad appeal, but manages to avoid seeming overly facile. Ultimately, reflexes are more important than strategy, but outmaneuvering the Yaks does require some element of planning. Fortunately, gameplay is both forgiving enough that even clumsy players should be able to progress through the levels without too much difficulty, while mastering some of the later levels presents enough of a challenge to keep more skilled players engaged. Moreover, it's a fun game with an entirely non-violent premise, which makes it great for younger gamers and serves as a nice palate-cleanser for those of us who spend too much time killing zombies as it is.
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