Eden: Renaissance

NOT MUCH OF A RENAISSANCE. $4.49 | thelastkind.net

IN THE SAME vein as Lara Croft and Hitman GO, it takes place in multiple scenes, each of which requires you to hop from one square to the next, avoiding traps and picking up valuables on the way. The issue is not so much that Eden: Renaissance copies the format of the GO games, but that it does so badly, creating a frustrating and less-than-fun way to explore an interesting story. Failing a level — usually achieved by falling down a hole or being shot — boots you back to the start, and you’ll fail an awful lot with the fiddly touch controls. The buttons and areas you need to tap to progress are tiny and often overlap. We failed many levels because of a slightly off tap. Still, the game itself isn’t really bad, just less smooth and developed than the GO games — hardly a surprise when facing off this small indie team against the might of Square Enix. Playing

Eden: Renaissance has its highlights: the story — about unexplained natural disasters and a mysterious box that might help stop them — is pretty interesting, and the art itself is quite lovely, spanning across multiple themed areas. But this title isn’t going to change the face of mobile gaming by borrowing off games that already did. In fact, it could do with a lot of refining and simplifying to make it easier to play. But if you’ve finished the GO games, you will likely enjoy this similar title for what it is.