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iOS - Superbrothers: Swords & Sworcery EP Review
Okay Geek Team May 6, 2011
Cheap Games, Downloads, Exclusive, Gaming, Okay Geek game review, Reviews 
Swords & Sworcery EP
Platform: iOS - Universal app for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch
Price: $4.99
Developer: Capybara Games
Our Impressions
Swords & Sworcery is an original game like no other seen on the iPad (and most recently universalized for the iPhone). It has a definitive beginning and end, meaning that it’s not a “pick up and play” like most mobile games. You’re going to want to invest time, and give it more than the usual attention you normally would for a game on your phone. It’s not Final Fantasy deep, but by the time you’ve completed it you’ll have thought of it more as an experience than just a game.
Starting out as a female protagonist only known as The Scythian, you are introduced to a touch-sensitive world of magical bits and bytes. The art design is a splendid mix of retro pixel art, but scaled in a way to present its grandious setting. The game is played as an old-school, 2D action adventure, with the ability to rotate your device to switch into attack mode. Early in the babysteps of your journey you won’t find much usage for battle, so the name of the game is figuring out what to do, but that won’t be too hard as your hand is held for the first “session”.
The plot, as you are made aware of shortly after starting, is to find the Megatome, a magical book whose contents are not yet known. The motives for The Scythian trying to acquire such an artifact for aren’t delved into from the get go, so it’s up to the player to find out what happens next.
Beyond figuring out a few introductory puzzles on your own you’ll discover that you aren’t really sure on what you can or can’t do in S&S. This is where the magic happens. I won’t try to spoil anything but there’s an instance in which you’ll stand next to a body of water, when suddenly some wordage appears on the top right spelling out the word “Believe”. Moments after you’ll try walking over the water only to find out that you can indeed do so. It’s instances like this, as well as some quite oddly placed witty and modern vocabulary spoken by you and the supporting characters (spoilers: your dog friend included), that will undoubtedly put a smile on your face.
Overall
Swords & Sworcery EP (iOS)
Download it now on the App Store
To sum up Swords & Sworcery is a little hard to do considering it’s not your run of the mill mobile game. S&S oozes the creativity placed carefully by its makers; whether it’s the contemporary music reflecting the world around you, or the pixel art done by Craig Adams that makes you stand around just to stare, or even the gameplay, which for all intents and purposes, is the same stuff we’ve experienced since we were kids, S&S just dared to be different.
Giving it only 5 minutes of your time isn’t doing it justice. It’s better enjoyed on a large screen, such as the iPad, and headphones are a definite must. $5 bucks may seem a bit steep for a game you’re supposed to take on the go but it’s really not that kind of game. Sit down in your favorite easy chair, turn off the tv, and load up Swords & Sworcery on a Saturday afternoon — you can thank us later.
