Game Reviews

Fin Friends

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| Fin Friends
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Fin Friends
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| Fin Friends

Remember Tiny Wings, the one-finger flapping sensation? What about Mighty Fin, the single-digit deep-sea spectacular? Well, good. That's makes our lives a lot easier.

Now, squish them together with your brain-fists and you've got Fin Friends, a uni-appendage endless-swimmer from Claybox.

Here's what happens: Ruby, the fleet-of-fin star of this particular show, swims forward. You poke the screen to climb upward, and remove your digits to sink back down.

Your job is simply to avoid the ocean's aggressive wildlife for as long as possible, whether that be sulking blowfish, monster crabs, electric eels, or some other underwater horror.

Making a splash

It's a game that builds itself around some good old-fashioned highscore-chasing, with a handful of other mechanics keeping things interesting too. For instance, you can battle boss creatures, collect score-bumping stars, gather power-ups for a bit of a performance boost, or free your fish friends for bonus protection while you steer them to safety.

Crucially, Fin Friends nails those all-important controls, striking the right balance between underwater weightiness and precision.

There's even a Tiny Wings-style objectives system at play, rewarding your successes with special new fish chums that act as score multipliers while they're in tow.

It's as reliable an addition as ever when it comes to encouraging replay, and gives the otherwise simplistic score-clutching an extra bit of meat. Unfortunately, while Fin Friends is certainly entertaining, it's also rather derivative - with little attempt to inject anything fresh into its familiar core.

Clay, good lookin'

One thing does set Fin Friends apart, though - its presentation. The game is simply beautiful, featuring wonderfully animated claymation-style creatures, packed with personality. And these glorious creations do their thing against a delightful backdrop of colourful, cardboard cutout locations too.

It's absolutely joyous to witness, and elevates Fin Friends from mere copycat endless-swimmer to something a bit more special. It could probably do with a few original ideas of its own, but that solid setup and stunning world makes for a game that's far from swimming with the fishes.

Fin Friends

An entertaining, if familiar, endless-swimmer that's kept afloat by its gorgeous visuals and ample personality
Score
Matt Wales
Matt Wales
Following a lifetime of adventure on the high seas, swabbing the editorial decks of the good ship IGN and singing freelance shanties across far-flung corners of the gaming press, Matt hung up his pirate hat and turned his surf-seared gaze toward the murky mysteries of the handheld gaming world. He lives to sound the siren on the best mobile games out there, and he can't wait to get kraken.