After the End is an action puzzle game downloadable on iOS devices and Google Play (reviewed on iPad here).  You play as a boy and his father from an alien tribe as they travel across the desert in what I think is two different time periods.  I’m not really sure, though, because this is one of those games where they tell the story with no words, and they don’t do it as well as other games.  But anyway, gameplay is very similar to Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, another puzzle game on the Wii U.  The minimalist desert graphics also make me think of the game Journey.

You’ll move around mazes by dragging your finger on the left side of the touch screen.  But you can’t jump or defend yourself from baddies, so to help you see to get around, you can use the right side of the screen to move the camera all around to see hidden passages and other points of interests.  See, just like Captain Toad.  Sometimes they mix things up with an action sequence or music mini-game puzzle, but that’s pretty much the game in a nutshell.  Collect diamonds to give you extra lives (I think) and find hidden statue pieces that I’m not sure what they do because the game really doesn’t give you much clues as to what things do because of the lack of text.  Sometimes you can click on a lightbulb at the top of the screen to get a hint, but that’s it.

But the lack of clear instructions and goals is not the only problem this game has.  Controls for moving your character around as well as the camera are very sluggish and keep the game from being addictive.  I think this game would’ve fared better on a console with more precise controls.  I love the Captain Toad game, it’s a shame this one didn’t turn out as well.

Kid Factor:

Nothing too terribly violent here.  If you get hit by spikes, rocks, or baddies, you just fall over or sit down.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, but not necessary just to play.  Younger gamers may get frustrated at the tougher puzzles and sluggish controls.

Tags: Game Reviews