iPhone/iPad game of the day: Solipskier

Game: Solipskier
Price: $2.99/ £1.79
Size: 14.5 MB
Get it now on the iTunes store:US/UK

There are plenty of games that have you drawing your own path and plenty of games that task you with running as far as possible before crashing. But Solipskier might just be the first that combines the two. And it does it with a solid dose of unique style, complete with a monochromatic color scheme, rainbow capes, and a rocking soundtrack.

As you can possibly guess from the name, Solipskier is about, well, skiing. It stars a tiny little stick figure dude wearing a pair of headphones who’s just itching to hit the slopes. Your job is to create the mountain he’ll be skiing on. Move your finger to the top of the screen and it will create a ramp, take it off the screen and there will be a gap for him to jump over. Going down will speed him up and going up will slow him down.

It’s a pretty simple concept, but the developers have spiced it up with a few extras. At all times there are arrows at the edge of the screen indicating what’s coming up next and how far away it is. Sometimes it’s a gate that will increase your score if you reach it, other times it’s a tunnel that will vastly boost your speed. There are also obstacles to avoid and forced jumps you’ll need to make it over.

Like all good arcade style games, it’s easy to grasp the concept of Solipskier, but hard to master it. When you get up to those blazing speeds it’s easy to make a mistake and it only takes one flub to end your run. And since the name of the game is high scores, it’s a good thing Solipskier gives you plenty of ways to share yours, both through OpenFeint leaderboards or by bragging on Twitter or Facebook. Also, note that Solipskier is a universal app, so one purchase nets you both versions.

Nov 24, 2010

PRODUCTS
Latest in Adventure
Screenshot of Herdling, showing the weird yaks heading toward a sunset horizon.
With 18,000 glowing Steam reviews on their lovely debut game, this indie team's game about leading cute fantasy yaks up a mountain is instantly one to watch
The two characters in Split Fiction holding their hands up in surrender in a futuristic city
Split Fiction, the new game from the It Takes Two devs, launches to Overwhelmingly Positive reviews on Steam and is the highest rated game on Metacritic this year
Exploring and fighting in Blades of Fire
Blades of Fire plays like a lost Xbox 360-era mashup between God of War and Soulslikes, and it's coming from the studio behind Metroid Dread
Pokemon Legends: Z-A screenshot
Pokemon Legends: Z-A looks to finally bring my anime-inspired dreams of truly active combat to life
Zoomed in art of the Sudowoodo illustration rare card in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Pokemon's literal god of the universe is almost unstoppable in TCG Pocket – the only thing that can save us is a smiley tree and a concussed dinosaur
Charizard in the Pokemon anime.
Pokemon fans prove they'll buy anything as a Cheeto shaped like a Charizard sells for almost $90k
Latest in Features
Kai and Giatta battle Xaurip in Avowed
I get why Obsidian doesn't like The Elder Scrolls comparisons, but Avowed is the first RPG to have its hooks in me this deep since Skyrim took over my life 14 years ago
GoDice in their RPG case beside Pixels dice
I put two electronic d20s head-to-head and the bad news for your wallet is the discount D&D dice failed its saving throw
Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread in play
This board game TRPG hybrid delivers something D&D hasn't quite managed to capture for me
Disney Lorcana cards in a circle around a deck facing down on a wooden surface
Disney Lorcana: Archazia's Island has one major advantage over MTG, and the new decks prove it
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again immediately earns its title with a foundation-shaking opening that sets it apart from its Netflix predecessor
John Lithgow as Dave Crealy in The Rule of Jenny Pen
John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush's twisted chiller is a much-needed shake-up to the horror genre, disrupting harmful elderly stereotypes embraced by the likes of X and The Shining