Duet Game Review

By , on October 11, 2013
Last modified 9 years, 12 months ago


Duet Game
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Rock solid fundamentals make navigating obstacles smooth and enjoyable.
  • Very compulsive.
  • Just the right kind of frustating.

CONS

  • Simple visuals and steep difficulty curve might be offputting.

VERDICT

Simple but devious, Duet is another twisty and satisfying iOS puzzler for Pivvot and Super Heagon fans.


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Things have been getting terribly twisty in the world of iOS gaming lately. Duet, the twitch-based game of rotation and avoidance, is the latest in the recent spat of lo-fi spinathons. Like Pivvot and Super Hexagon before it, Duet takes a simple concept, dresses it up in basic block colours, and then begins to mercilessly test your reflexes without giving a second thought to your sanity or self worth.

You take charge of two coloured orbs which are linked by a circle. It's your job to avoid letting either of these orbs touch any of the descending white barriers. To achieve this, you rotate the circle left or right by touching the appropriate side of the screen.

The chapters - each of which are named after one of the psychological stages experienced when coping with loss - comprise around six mini-stages. At first, the blocks and bars which approach can be swivelled around relatively easily. Soon, you encounter strings of blocks that require you to gracefully loop-de-loop around their insta-killing corners.

Once you get the hang of things, besting levels delivers a real glow of satisfaction. As with all the good auto-runners, chaining a series of perfectly-timed manouvres together and emerging unscathed feel both deserved and brilliant, and spurs you on to tackle the next challenge.

However, when shifting and rotating blocks appear, things start getting hairy. Soon, you're leaving red and blue smears all over the clean white barriers, and offering up foul curses to the gods of dexterity and compulsion.

But you've only got yourself to blame. Duet's mechanics are considered and methodical - exactly the frame of mind you must be in to get the best out of the game. It's harsh, but fair, and though its visuals may be crude, its subtleties cannot be denied. If Pivvot had you spinning right round (baby), then Duet should have you coming back for seconds again and again.

Screenshots

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