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SpellTower and Circadia indies make classic iPad game Halcyon available for free

A generative guitar and a time-management game in one

SpellTower and Circadia indies make classic iPad game Halcyon available for free
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| Halycon

If you've got a tablet and a taste for spatial action games with procedurally generated string soundtracks, then, boy, do we have a deal for you.

Mesmerising 2010 indie iPad game Halcyon is now available for free.

The idea is simple. Coloured triangles move along giant guitar strings, and you must force them to pair up by drawing temporary shortcut paths between the tracks. If you let two triangles of different colours meet, it's Game Over.

It's an art house take on Flight Control. Because when the pace kicks in, it's like desperately trying to unpick a Gordian Knot so you can disable a ticking time bomb inside. Challenging stuff.

It's also a generative musical instrument. Each string, strum, and pair creates a new tone, so you'll compose your own tranquil, ambient soundtrack as you play.

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Halcyon comes with 36 levels across four environments, and features a pair of endless modes in which the difficulty is dynamically adjusted based on how you are doing. There's also Game Center support, score chasing, and no IAP in sight.

The game is a co-production between Zach Gage and Kurt Bieg. Gage is the creator of SpellTower and Bit Pilot, and was a collaborator on Ridiculous Fishing. Bieg, meanwhile, is the daddy of Circadia, and his new game - Tomb Breaker - is out next week.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer