Game Reviews

Hungry Oni

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iOS
| Hungry Oni
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Hungry Oni
|
iOS
| Hungry Oni

While most parents inform their very young offspring that they should be careful about what they put into their mouths, Hungry Oni's mother and father clearly shirked this vital responsibility.

As a result, their unruly charge is perfectly free to ingest bizarrely shaped fruit that drops from the tree outside his house.

By moving your finger across the screen, you can guide our eternally famished hero from left to right, ensuring that the fruit lands squarely in his gaping maw.

Oni needs to be picky to a certain degree, though - he has to consume only the fruit that matches the colour of the tree's leaves. Gobbling the wrong colour results in Oni shedding one of his three lives - once all of these are exhausted, it's Game Over.

Fruit frenzy

Oni can toggle the colour of the tree by munching on special leaves, and it's possible to earn bonus points by standing in between two pieces of fruit and eating both. Error-free performance allows Oni to enter the bonus mode, where golden rings - known as 'Oins' - rain from the skies.

Oins serve as the game's currency, and allow you to unlock new levels, costumes, and other features. Normal play ensures a slow drip-feed of Oins, but you can speed things up by purchasing them with real cash.

Hungry Oni is a fine-looking game, packed with bold and detailed visuals. The audio is equally impressive, thanks to a catchy soundtrack and some amusing retro-style sound effects. From a presentation perspective, the game simply cannot be faulted.

Munch bunch

Sadly, the core gameplay just isn't engaging enough. The challenge lies in the speed of the falling fruit - the further you get in the game, the quicker it drops, making it harder to grab the correct fruit, and avoid the wrong one.

Unlocking all of the game's content takes time, but it's debatable whether the average player will remain interested long enough to acquire everything.

In short bursts, Hungry Oni is enjoyable enough, but it simply doesn't have the long-term appeal of games like Temple Run and Angry Birds.

Hungry Oni

In terms of presentation, Hungry Oni doesn't put a foot wrong, but the rather basic gameplay limits its staying power
Score
Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.