Squibble

Remember those sticky little rubbery men you used to be able to buy as a kid? The ones that came from little coin-operated machines in your local shop?

You could stretch them, lob them against walls, stick them to ceilings, put them down your sister's neck. It was marvelous stuff, and your fun was limited only by the possibilities of your immediate environment.

Playing Squibble is a bit like taking control of just such a flexible novelty toy - in more ways than one.

Touching a solid surface with your finger on each 2D level shoots out one of Squibble's sticky tentacles, swinging him forward like Tarzan. Another touch sends a second tentacle out, which enables a Spider-Man-like means of locomotion.

Another useful tactic, once both tentacles are anchored, is to pull Squibble back and ping him like, say, an angry bird. Occasionally, this is your only way to progress past a certain point, which serves to vary the pace and leads to several heart-stopping moments as you leap into the unknown.

In fact, this shows up one of the game’s key flaws. The screen feels rather cramped and restrictive, and the lack of any zoom-out, free-camera, or map functions makes navigation a bit of a guessing game.

Fortunately, the goal is very simple – to get to the level exit, while collecting as many of the droplets that are littered around as possible.

It has to be said that while the method of moving around the levels feels both fresh and fun, the levels themselves let the game down.

They’re neither memorable enough in isolation nor varied enough en masse. While Squibble’s journey takes him through castles and fields and beaches, each simply feels like a reskinned version of the last.

It’s not enough to put you off the game altogether, as simply stretching and pinging Squibble around is more than enough fun to justify the price (although the lack of levels may prompt some to disagree).

I look forward to a sequel that marries Squibble’s winning control mechanic with the truly memorable and diverse level design it deserves.