Review: Pollywog - Plus Video Review

Overview

Pollywog is the second game from Chaotic Box who brought us Pinch n Pop. In Pollwog you guide Pauly the purple pollywog in a 2D top down racer. Your goal is to pick up yum yums, and dodge lilly pads, bamboo, and rocks all the way to the finish line. The yum yums boost your speed, and you have to reach the finish line in the given time limit. You can dodge items, and also tap to send a jet of water to move the items out of your path.

Features

19 Levels are included across four tiers. Each level has four medallion aspects based on run time, yum yums eaten, items dodged, and all three contribute to skill rating. You have to achieve a certain number of medallions to unlock the next tier. Controls are straightforward as the pollywog accelerates automatically, and you tilt to move the pollywog. You tap to send a jet of water to push items out of your way.

The Good

Pollywog is simple, and fun in every aspect. Everything is made well, and its packed with casual enjoyment on top of that. There is a lot for good going for it so let’s get down to it. The game is so easy to begin by just tilting your device, but then it become oh so challenging. The difficulty amps up quickly making you throw your iPhone back and forth and having your entire body move with the pollywog. The Pollywog is moving so quickly that the items come upon you rapidly requiring you to be on your toes. Then you need precision to collect all of the yum yums, and you never know when lillypads and bamboo will be in your path needing a tap to blow out of the way. One really great aspect is the dichotomy of having a zen like theme flowing on peaceful water with lotus flowers and bamboo. While the main game is a hectic race to the finish with your pollywog flying downstream, and needing to dodge multiple items. Just like Pinch n Pop this game has absolutely great production values. Pauly is really well designed, and cute enough so that you feel bad as he slams into items. The entire artwork is on par with some of the best 2D art design for the iPhone. The animations are great too from the flowing jet stream behind the pollywog to collecting yum yums. The included soundtrack is a wonderfully vibrant upbeat melody that is a joy in itself to listen to. There are varied soundtracks through the levels, and not just the same nice one over and over like some games. Even the sound effects of Pauly eating yum yums or hitting items are cute. After the first three levels it becomes extremely difficult to get all four aspects perfect, but the game presents high replayability to try to do so. On most levels you’re first run will just be to figure out the layout of the course. Then you will want to collect all the yum yums, and be sure to dodge everything. The best part is that you’ll have fun with each try, rather than building frustration.

The Bad

Really not much to dislike, it excels at what it sets out to do. It’s a casual game for a burst of fun during a few minutes in your day. If you do complete all 19 levels there is nothing else to do, but doing so will make it well worth $1.99. No online high scores or achievements, but since the game is award based, and not score based it seems unnecessary.

The Verdict

Pollywog is an outstanding casual game, and one of the best pick up and play titles in the App Store. Every aspect of the game is top notch including the gameplay, controls, visuals, and sounds. Chaotic Box has made another game that everyone should give a try, but sadly is relatively unknown. Pollywog is a should buy for $1.99, but higher if you’re a big fan of casual games.

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