Don't Die, Mr Robot! - No, don't, I'd be really sad
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iOS
| Don't Die, Mr. Robot!

Don't Die, Mr Robot! is, as you might expect, a game about keeping a robot alive. But it's a bit more complex than that might sound.

It's sort of a mix between the art style of Teletext, the rampant but specific craziness of Geometry Wars, and the tilty exuberance of something that Radiangames might make.

And it just about manages to hold itself together. It's not the best looking game on the App Store, but judging a book by its cover is always going to be dangerous, and while it lacks physical controls, its tilting works really well.

Okay so it's a shooter?

Not exactly. It's more like a dodger. You're playing a podgy yellow robot, who's bimbling around minding his own business while beset on pretty much all sides by a variety of different spacecraft.

There are rockets, giant chomping monsters, plates that start at either side of the screen then smash together, and panels that slide around blasting out lasers.

The Geo Wars theme continues with a bunch of different modes. There are challenges to complete, fruits to blow up, and all manner of other entertaining diversions to play around with.

And that's the point. Everything that the game throws at you fizzes and pops in just the right way. It might look a little clunky, but the actual mechanics of play here are brilliant.

Everything is remarkably tense, especially when there's a counter ticking down or you're chasing a specific score to move on to the next challenge.

It rides the wave between arcade compulsion and mobile simplicity brilliant. It's tough, but not unforgiving, and you're always happy to jump back in when a run goes spectacularly wrong.

And they will go wrong. This isn't a game that pulls it punches, but it does it with a nostalgic bounce that will leave you with a smile on your slightly sweaty face.

Well, this sounds pretty good

It is pretty good. In fact, it might be better than pretty good. It's an ugly beast and no mistake, but if you look past its dowdy plumage you'll find a wonderfully engaging smooshing together of some sharp ideas.

It's eminently playable, isn't afraid to throw in new ideas, and glories in the hectic nonsense that it's spewing directly into your face-holes.

While it won't be to everyone's taste, if you're looking for an arcade blast that focuses on mechanical polish rather than eye candy, and pulls it off pretty spectacularly, then you're going to love it.

Don't Die, Mr Robot! - No, don't, I'd be really sad

It might look a little haphazard, but Don't Die, Mr Robot! is actually one of the best arcade games to hit the App Store this year
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Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.