Such Complexity

For such a simple concept, Alien Path sure incorporates some pretty complex mechanics. Especially in terms of enemy robot abilities. So far, my player level is twenty, my highest level alien is thirty and I’ve completed all planets except for the harder “mini” planets. During this time I will have come across at least ten different robots with differing abilities and “boss” versions.

Robot abilities you’ll come across are things such as changing random tiles into lava that, when passed over with your alien, deal damage to you; changing random potions into poison that deal damage to you each turn, and zounds more!

Upgrading alien cards is quite a fun experience as well. Apart from needing the required money and resources to do so, you also need good reflexes to tap the upgrade button just at the right time to gain the most increase you can.

Aesthetic Charm

If you’ve played an oldie but goodie of Appxplore’s called Alien Hive, you’ll see some cute familiar faces! The graphics are quite similar to those seen in Alien Hive and they’re really delightfully illustrated. Differing alien and robot forms are quite distinctive and very imaginative.

The background music in Alien Path is really enjoyable and I never muted it once. During a level it’s quite fast-paced and almost empowering and when you’re in the level select area, the music becomes rather soothing.

Final Thoughts

When I first saw the trailer for Alien Path, I was really excited about how unique it looked. It reminded me of something I once played in a game called Doctor Brain where you’d “program” a robot to move in a certain way to reach a goal. The mechanics are similar in that you can change the trajectory of your alien, but the game as a whole is so much more complex and requires a fair bit of strategy.

Alien Path has got to be the best game I’ve played on a mobile device, and with the current amount of levels and aliens to unlock, there’s so much gameplay to offer. Judging by a message that pops up when you tap on the final planet that says a new planet is coming soon, it looks like Appxplore have some future plans for this game. I’m really excited to see where the future of Alien Path leads and can’t wait to play it more.

I highly recommend Alien Path to anyone that enjoys puzzles, or even for anyone who has ever picked up a match-four game and thought it was mildly fun. I guarantee Alien Path will have you hooked from the first level and you’ll only want to play more and more. Download it now!

Score

5 stars – a most enjoyable puzzle game with RPG elements for no cost at all