Shoot for the Stars in all Black and White!
The best bits of Naught 1 and 2 and the spikey things that killed you in the Android rage – 14px collaborate to give you the very best, off-the-cliff, gravity-defying experience, in ROTO. ROTO is a minimalist masterpiece, asking you to go back to the basics of video gaming and kick start your mind to solve a horde of puzzles. Lucid Labs is a newcomer Indian game developer company who made this mind boggler come alive. I’m sure they will leave the first impression with their Lucas Arts lookalike logo in the game loading screen.
Like the name suggests, ROTO (assuming it’s coming straight from the word Rotation) is more about understanding the basics of physics and maths, and applying the same to perfect your moves versus rotational force. But in the end it is a simple, cohesive and rewarding puzzle game that will stick to you like gravity.
The game believes in minimal style wherever possible, be it in the simplistic gameplay mechanics or the art style, that is reminiscent of one of my favourite Android games of all time, Naught. The flat white crepe paper background and the black orbs that needs to be traversed are simplistic, bold and fitting the genre of the game. I was so amazed with the minimal art style that I even took heed of the amazingly sleek font used during gameplay.
Like your Windows XP Labyrinth game, the latest genius Rayman: Legends or the Indie Classic Supermeat Boy, you will control the central character, which is but a black dot, and together cruise towards the finish flag. Between the starting point and the flag are some insane drops (not the Dubstep kinds), spikey things, and a great deal of rotational pull. The ball needs to leap from one big dot to another, sticking to its tangent, and then needs to make a dash for the next. Fixating on the overall swing of the bigger dot you are homing, you will need to adjust your next leap of faith, thereby not only making sure that you clutch onto the next dot but also collecting stars that will rate your results. Get all the three stars in the levels to unlock the next chapter.
There are over 50 such challenging levels, each time howling at you with more intricate challenges: like the moving big dots and the triple spike assault. Even though it will take some time for you to understand the core mechanics of succeeding in ROTO, it will make you a leaping genius by your 15th or 16th attempt. Plus there are powerups for you to use during vital situations, these powerups usually draw a concentric orbit around the bigger dots for you to be sucked in straight to their tangent without falling.
ROTO has already hit Google Play, waiting to tease you with its simple looking challenges, and an iOS version is also in the works. Here’s to one helluva addictive game that comes to you for, wait for it, FREE! Dive straight for this beautiful game of physics and dots!
