AFTERPAD

Review: Badland

Apple 2013 Game of the Year Badland has been updated for MFi controller support. This joins the also excellent game of the year runner-up Impossible Road in supporting controllers.

For those of you who haven’t played it, Badland is a real treat. Top quality graphics, engrossing presentation, and brilliantly simple gameplay. Badland is a 1-button game – press the button, your character flaps into the air and moves forward a little bit. Fly higher and fall lower, avoid traps, collect power ups, and navigate your way to the exit. This is made more difficult by the camera, which moves forwards every time you flap – if you fall behind the camera, you lose.

One of the things that separates this game from a glorified Flappy Bird is the swarm aspect. Along your way to the end of the level, you’ll meet up with other little guys – clones of your character. Each one you collect joins you on your way towards the goal. Some puzzles require multiple characters to complete, but finishing a level only requires one guy. The rest are expendable – and they will be lost on your way to the exit. Think of it the way the multiball works in pinball games.

Badland didn’t require controller support to be amazing. Heck, Apple gave it their iPad Game of the Year award, based on only touch controls. With that said, physical controls DO make for a better experience here. Having your finger block the display on the iPhone made the game needlessly difficult – hardware controls fix that issue. Twitch-response controls are easier with a button to press, even on the iPad.

Even without touch controls, Badland is an excellently crafted iOS experience. Brilliant graphics, Game Center achievements, multiplayer modes, iCloud sync, full retina graphics, great sound and music – everything here is lovingly crafted, and makes excellent use of the technologies enabled by iOS. Beyond that, though, Badland is just a great game. This is easily worth the asking price, and a strong recommendation.