6 of the best… weird and wonderful iOS games
Immerse yourself in soundscapes and creepy dystopian mysteries
You can get a million weird things on the App Store, but not all of them are wonderful. Take a break from the mundane stuff, and download something a little more special for your daily commute.
If a game designed by Radiohead that relies on experimental looping beats and haunting Thom Yorkian chanting is an idea that excites, then you are the right kind of person for
Polyfauna (Free, Universal). It’s like a modern version of a music player’s visualizations, where you can influence trippy, evolving patterns by poking, swiping, and tilting the screen. Of course it’s weird, because it’s Radiohead, but it’s wonderful in the same sort of mesmerizing way experimental early screensavers were. For something a bit wackier, try
Daddy Long Legs (Free, Universal) – a game that challenges you to walk a strange hairy creature in a straight line for as long as possible without toppling over. It’s like trying to walk with a charley horse in each leg. The difference is that Daddy Long Legs’ titular pins are spindly, while his head is disproportionately gigantic, making this an exercise in patience, control, and a bit of frustration. Speaking of walking, there’s The
Nightjar ($3.99, Universal), a game in which Benedict Cumberbatch’s mellifluous vocal tones guide you – completely blind – through a scary, dark spaceship, where your only option is to walk forward. It’s a game designed by Somethin’ Else, the talent behind Papa Sangre. Originally made as an advertisement for gum, The Nightjar uses ingenious sound design to create a surprisingly unnerving sonic environment. “See with your ears”, the game tells you – but you can at least close your eyes when things get scary. You can’t close your ears.
Similar to The Nightjar and Polyfauna, The Ap Formerly Known As H__R (Free, Universal), also known as H__r (very confusing), relies on your ears to amuse you, by amplifying and echoing the sounds around you. There are several options, including ones to make you happy, drown out office noises, and provide you with surreal dreams. Okay, it is a little creepy - but it’s also very interesting. From sound-only to text-only:
Greyout ($2.99, Universal) is a fantastic, if occasionally obtuse text adventure. You might have played Blackbar, the game that Greyout’s dystopian text-based experience is a prequel to – and, if you have, you’ll understand the concept: something’s up with the people in power, you’re finding it hard to get words out, and you have to piece things together using a combination of logic and trial-and-error. It’s a wonderfully creative way to tell a story, and though it can be really tough, it’s definitely worth persevering with.
If you like weird text-based puzzles, you’ll enjoy Device 6 ($3.99, Universal), too. Similar to weird metatextual mind-bending book House of Leaves, Device 6 makes you read things upside down, back to front and figure out strange puzzles. It’s also designed in this lovely, pulp fiction/Agatha Christie sort of way, which just makes it all the more intriguing to play and solve the mystery at its heart.