Developer: XRay Mobile
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPad 2
What do piglets dream of, when they take a little piggy nap? Despite sounding like it could be lyrics to a song from the next Hangover sequel, the silly verse is actually the premise of a new physics/puzzle game from developer XRay Mobile. So what does a pig actually dream of? Apparently it is fixated with saving fellow test subjects from a lab, spanning a wide variety of locations including a beach, pirate ship and even space. Maybe this is more of a fever dream, than a pleasant experience. Poor little guy…
Kidding aside, Pig’s Dreams is an interesting take on physics manipulation games that focus on modifying the environment in order to hurl the slumbering swine through the air. The end goal is to send the piglet flying into the side of his glass cages, which are restraining his fellow test subjects. While this may sound simple in concept, the execution of the task is far more difficult. Herein lies what helps make the game so much fun.
Once players have come to an understanding of how the limited number of items will interact with other items, blowing through puzzles become somewhat of a breeze. This isn’t to say that things are not difficult from time to time, but the broad majority of stages can be completely with limited amount of mental strain. Luckily there are seventy-five different stages, set in five differently themed “dreams.” The changes are rarely more than just purely aesthetic, but regardless, the change of scenery helps to keep the gameplay fresh.
If the biggest issue with Pig’s Dreams is repetition, when the “fun level” is this high, there could be much worse problems to have. Plus, the “dream” world structure leaves plenty of room for expansion later on down the road. Clocking in at only ninety-nine cents, this is the kind of game that will certainly give you more than enough bang for the buck to justify an instant purchase.