Little Galaxy Review

The cardinal sin of casual gaming is lack of originality. Even the wild phenomenon that is Angry Birds wasn’t a completely new idea. Video games have been borrowing from one another for years and there are few new features or innovations in a modern game that haven’t already been seen somewhere else. Little Galaxy was a refreshing change from the profusion of endless runners that seem to dominate the casual market. What sets Little Galaxy above the pack is the art style. Despite the main character not having any dialogue or personality, his archetype is immediately recognizable as the plucky, upbeat hero of almost every child’s movie who conquers all with quick wit and a warm smile.

The basic premise behind the game is elegant in its simplicity. A boy is looking for a new home and invents boots that allow him to leap from planet to planet. To get him there, all it takes is a single tap. Touching any part of the screen launches your heroic adventurer out into space. The challenge of the game is that you can only control the timing of your jump. Leap at the wrong moment and you sail off into emptiness or get sucked into the fiery heart of a star. Later, the planets bob and sway across the heavens, further ratcheting up the difficulty. The meat of the game’s challenge is the tasks you must complete for each level. They vary from achieving a certain score to spending a certain amount of time shooting through space. After only a few levels you begin to come across challenges that force you to prioritize- with a time limit on each foray into space it can be difficult or flat-out impossible to complete certain challenges concurrently. Some challenges will force you to take especially risky jumps, which make for some tense, nail-biting gameplay.

The game design is fun and extremely well thought out. The planets come in a wondrous array. There are rocky orbs pockmarked with craters, grassy worlds and strange spheres festooned with light bulbs that glow brightly. The suns burn with a fiery malevolence and the darkness that creeps up at the bottom of the screen when time is running low is full of foreboding. The sound effects and are an unusual mix of whimsical and epic that fit well with the game. There are a few character customizations available to unlock, specifically headwear and outfits, but they seem something of an afterthought given that there are really only a few. Overall the game is a very shiny package, which is good given that the gameplay quickly loses its luster.

As with many casual titles this one is clearly intended to be playable in short intervals. The game lacks the addictive qualities that many other casual games have. Some might consider this a good thing as we’ve all spent a few hours thinking to ourselves “just one more game”, but to me it means that despite its charm and solid construction, Little Galaxy is missing the crucial element that would make it hard to put down.

This isn’t the game that you’ll ache to play and be thinking about when you lay in bed at night but if you’re looking for something to scratch that entertainment itch in those small idle moments of life it’s hard not to recommend Little Galaxy. The right blend of ingredients all came together to make something extremely enjoyable a few minutes at a time. In an industry where casual games force you to choose between cheap graphics or in-app-purchase schemes, Little Galaxy is a refreshing change.