Game Reviews

Pastry Panic

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iOS
| Pastry Panic
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Pastry Panic
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iOS
| Pastry Panic

Most smartphone games aren't relaxing. They're caffeine shots - quick rushes that pass a spare few minutes. If the hit we get from them is strong enough, then we'll go back for more, chipping away at levels and high scores as we do.

If you're not careful - or even if you are - Underground Pixel's Pastry Panic could very well end up becoming your next metaphorical caffeine fix.

You see, it's another frenetic, single-screen arcade-style score attack game that sees you trying to gobble up pastries and lumps of metal that roll along three conveyor belts. And while it's not as addictive as some of its genre ilk, there's a couple of bus journeys' worth of fun here.

Cake calamity

In Pastry Panic, you are cast as a strange sort of lizard thing, and are handed the rather enviable 'task' of pastry munching. Delicious sweet treats slide along the three conveyor belts that run across the screen, and you have to snaffle them up to score points.

Lumps of metal also rear their shiny heads, and you need to eat all of those, as well. Any bolts, nuts, or spiky scraps that get past you will cost you a life. Special Donuts will grant you extra chances, though, and will influence the game in other ways, too.

Sometimes, these doughnuts change the way the conveyor belts are running; on other occasions, they slow down time or speed it up. Tapping on the left or right of the screen moves you in that direction, and sliding up or down sends your lizard leaping between the conveyor belts.

Sweet, but not filling

In the second game mode - Tongue Tied - you are rooted to the spot. Using your extendible tongue, which you unleash by tapping on the screen, you can pluck pastries and metal off conveyor belts running above and below you.

It doesn't take too long for things to speed up to ridiculous levels, leading to frantic screen stabs as you try and make sure that no bolts sneak out of sight.

It's an interesting change of pace, and, if anything, it offers more fun than the platforming core of the game.

Pastry Panic is a simple, mildly addictive game that never really sparks into life. It's fun, and there's nothing particularly broken about it, but its lack of big ideas means that you are unlikely to come back to its delicious snacks time and time again.

Pastry Panic

While it will keep you entertained for a period, Pastry Panic is a little too lightweight to become a classic
Score
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.