IOS Spotlight #29: Naught 2

Title: Naught 2
Developer: Blue Shadow Games
Platforms: IOS Universal
Price: $1.99
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It takes a lot for a platformer to stand out on the App Store. Naught 2 caught my attention due to its atmospheric art style and gravity shifting gameplay.

The first aspect that stands out is the art style, a mix of Limbo-esque black and grayscale environments, contrasted by bursts of color. The game has a textured organic look, with pulsating grasping roots, oily dripping pools, and other weird fauna and flora. But navigating these game's 30+ levels are not as simple as moving and jumping; instead you rotate the environment itself. Your character Naught is nicely animated, maneuvering into a slide when you turn the floor into a steep slope or landing in a crouch after a long fall. The rotating mechanic allows for curving twisting world, moving obstacles, and hazards at all angles. And later levels drop you into the dark underwater depths and unleash dangerous creatures and bosses to evade. I didn't find the game that difficult but the exploration, cool gameplay mechanic, and visuals made up for that in my opinion.

Replay value consists of hard-to-reach or well-hidden diamonds in each level, as well as a time trial mode that unlocks after you complete each zone. The developers are already working on more levels that will add "new enemies, more skills and many more secrets" and they hope to release the game on Steam Greenlight and PS Vita later. You can purchase Naught 2 for $1.99