So apparently evil robots from another planet have destroyed our world (again), and humanity's defense in this game's case is to don a suit so you can ski down slopes, crashing into the robots, and destroying them. Their one weakness! Krashlander has you traversing hazardous mountain paths with the end goal of smacking into these robots, before moving onto the next mission. It's a physics based arcade game in bite sized levels, but there is one crucial difference here, the control scheme.
Games like Bike Baron, that deal with positional physics in relation to landing a jump usually have a left and right arrow to adjust the character in mid-air. Krashlander has a circle of directional positions that take up half the screen. You can freely move through these eight positions if you think of the center of the layout like a joystick. Opposites play a large part in jumps (using a crouch/leap system), but adjusting your landing in mid-flight is not as simple as moving left or right to compensate. Not only that, but crouching forward doesn't really increase your speed on slopes, and the whole thing is more a case of trial and error than learning the controls. The developer relates this input to learning to ride a bike, and talks about everything clicking and becoming second nature. This was not true while reviewing, and even if others have better luck, this learning curve is a high barrier to entry and will put off all but the most dedicated players.
Presentation is quite striking with flat colors combined with black and white. It creates mood while imparting game information easily, and the ambient wind noises help to sell the whole package. Stars are achieved by completing levels in a certain number of tries, though seeing that you can restart a level, once you know what you're doing, you can gain three stars without any problem at all.
Krashlander just asks too much of the player while not meeting them halfway with an adequate tutorial or first series of levels to teach this complicated control scheme. The fun factor of barreling into robots suffers as a result, and only those who wish to master the complexity for self satisfaction or bragging rights are going to persist or get anything out of what this has to offer.
Description
Krashlander is a physics powered game that will have you blasting down large mountain slopes and soaring over gaping crevices to attack the evil robots that destroyed your world.
PLEASE READ:
The controls for Krashlander are unique and require some practice to perfect. While in my mind they are definitely worth taking the time to learn, they are not for everyone.
If learning a new control mechanic is not something that interests you this game may not be a good fit.
That said, the learning can be part of the fun. The crashes can be epic and fun to watch and if you approach the game with the right mind-set I don't think you will be disappointed.
-Jeff Weber (Developer of Krashlander)
TIPS:
- Slide your thumb (Don't Tap) to control Krashlander's posture.
- For small jumps, slide your thumb down to crouch then quickly slide thumb up to jump.
- For large jumps, slide your thumb down to crouch then LIFT YOUR THUMB OFF THE SCREEN and tap the top of the control surface.
- Landing on your skis. This is the most difficult skill to learn. While in the air, slide your thumb left to rotate counter clockwise, slide your thumb right to rotate clockwise. The rotation forces are very slight so you will need to get a feel for this. It takes practice.
- When you go over a mountain, you don't always need to jump. Often your inertial will carry you over and you just need to worry about landing on your skis.
TOP REVIEWS:
Cool game - Challenging! ★★★★★
"This game utilizes the most unique control scheme I've ever seen. It's also the most skillful and precise I have played on the iPad. This game is challenging but if you give it a chance it is very rewarding. At first it seems hard to control but becomes easier with time. Once you master it there's nothing quite like it." by S.Grits
Innovative controls ★★★★★
"Great app, takes a solid amount of time to perfect but is a lot of fun when you do." by Jonathan Opara
Great game! ★★★★★
"Original, fun, challenging, addicting and beautiful. Great game!" by poehneltj
WHAT TO EXPECT:
-A fluid and precise physics-based control mechanic borrowed from an awesome, old abandoned game called Ski Stunt Simulator.
-A crazy amount of epic rigid-body style crashing can be expected.
-A dedicated one-man development team with a notebook full of update ideas. This first release is very much just the beginning.
BACK STORY:
Evil robots from another planet have destroyed your world.
Revenge is your mission.
Your krashsuit is your weapon.
ATTACK THE ROBOTS!!!
The story behind Krashlander is short and not so sweet. You play as the last remaining human, once a member of an elite force of Krashlanders.
As a Krashlander, you wear protective a krashsuit, ski down mountains, and crash into things. The krashsuit is your weapon. It is also, with it’s ability to protect and heal, your savior.
As the last remaining Krashlander, now simply going by the name Krashlander, your only mission is to exact revenge on the robots that destroyed your world.
THE CONTROLS:
The learning curve for the Krashlander control system, if plotted on a graph, would very closely align with the learning curve for riding a bike. When you first learned to ride a bike, you were probably pretty wobbly and over-steered a lot. You probably also fell on your bum often. Eventually, though, it all just clicked and became second nature.
Krashlander is a lot like this. If you get to the point where it "clicks", I think you will be impressed with what you can do and the feeling you get while doing it.
Have fun and krash well!
Comments
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I enjoyed this game a lot. Controls do take a bit of getting used to, but once you get your head around it, it's awesome!
Bummer. This sounded like a really interesting concept.
Hey all,
Krashlander developer here. Just wanted to let folks know that I'm working on a new update for Krashlander that will address this comment mentioned in the review:
"Krashlander just asks too much of the player while not meeting them halfway with an adequate tutorial or first series of levels to teach this complicated control scheme. "
It really is a different game once you grasp the controls. Read the app store reviews to see what I mean. Hope you'll give it another look when the update and new tutorial levels come out.
Thanks for the review and your time.
-Jeff