Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP Review: Stylish

App Name:	Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP
Platforms:	Universal, Designed for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad
Publisher(s):	Capybara Games
Version Reviewed:	1.02
Genre(s):	Adventure
Release Date:	May 3, 2011
Price:	$4.99
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I’m a big fan of the old-school point-and-click CD-ROM adventure games. There’s been quite a resurgence of these games on iOS, with a lot of classic old games releasing for iPhone and iPad. So I was pleased to see a game like Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, a fresh, stylish take on the genre tailored for an iOS interface. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP isn’t perfect, but it’s a mildly engrossing game with spectacular production values.

The plot of S:S&SEP  is … er … um, well, I really can’t elaborate on the plot too much, for two reasons: (1) spoilers and (2) there really isn’t much to elaborate on. You’re the Scythian; you want to help people with names like Girl and Logfella; you fight things and solve puzzles; there’s a Rod Sterling-ish character who appears occasionally. There’s a tongue-in-cheek self-awareness to it all — the game keeps doing things to draw attention to the fact that you’re playing a game — not to mention a cheesy sort of faux spirituality a’la the Matrix by way of the Twilight Zone, and cloy references to other (more serious) adventure games. It will definitely appeal to some, but I found it a bit annoying. I suppose this is a taste issue. To me, though, the plot really was just a vehicle to show off the great design values.

And what design values those are! I cannot fault the style and design sense of this game. It feels like nothing else on the iOS right now. It’s got that blocky, retro look, practically 4-Bit Commodore-64 sensibilities, but with an artistic edge that just wows. The palette is all earthy browns and tans to begin with, but can fade into lush, soft blues and purples depending on the environment; and the shading and shadows are sometimes very subtle. They’ve coaxed a lot of graphical wizardry out of this game! The soundtrack is also singular and very listenable. It’s a real showpiece for the designers, a piece of portfolio-quality work that you’ll love to explore.

Most of the exploration is in the old adventure vein. You find items, solve puzzles, interact with characters, and occasionally have timing challenges.  But the gameplay has you variously touching, tapping, holding, and turning the device in a very fun way that, say, recent iOS re-releases like the Broken Sword games can’t match. This game is at its best when it’s being interactive and forcing to you to explore.

There is some repetetiveness to things, though. For one, get used to backtracking a *lot*. Repeatedly visiting enviroenmtns is a problem that all adventure games of this type suffer, but in S:S&SEP it seems particularly acute. It’s a small world in there! The combat controls, too, are overly simplistic, and combat was absolutely not one of the highlights of the game (it didn’t help that the second boss [first Tri-Force piece] is incredibly difficult and requires precision that felt above the standards of the controls). The repetitiveness of the environments and combat might have been more of an issue if the game were longer; but it’s a pretty quick play the first time through.

In the end, I have to call Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP a stylish adventure game that’s a bit light on substance. If you’re a fan of both point-and-click adventures and quirky design, then this is definitely a game you’ll want to pick up.

Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is a Universal app. It can be downloaded in the App Store.

About the Author

Writer@Large Brian P. Hudson is an educator and freelance writer currently living in Dearborn, MI.

 

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