There's no shortage of Cut the Rope games out there, I know. But maybe you've been thinking that's not enough. You need more physics puzzlers to play on the go. I've been there, man.
One of my favorite games in that style has long been Spider Jack, which comes from a Russian developed called MaxNick. Their latest physics puzzler Green Jelly (not to be confused with Jelly Bean or that rock band) plays a lot like Cut the Rope, but it also has some clever gameplay mechanics of its own that make it worth a look.
Tastes like candy
Like Spider Jack before it, Green Jelly starts out with a very brief but humorous cinematic that lays out the game’s premise. The creature (whose name is the same as the title) is sort of a living chunk of gelatin. One day he heads to the refrigerator only to discover that it’s woefully empty. This of course inspires him to seek food elsewhere…
Instead of flies, Green Jelly eats sweets. The goal of each level is to reach the gingerbread house exit while eating as many candies as possible. These candies are optional pick-ups, but you do need them to unlock new level sets so you can’ skip too many. Green Jelly has three sets of 20 levels, for a total of 60 levels. A future update will supposedly add more levels, though they have been promised for a long time now.
Stretch and shoot
The actual gameplay works a bit like Cut the Rope and similar games, with a few twists to keep it from being too similar. Our hero needs to latch on to objects in order to get around. Touch and drag him and he’ll extend a limb over to nearby objects. Make a swiping motion over his limbs to cut them, causing him to drop down or slingshot around.
The unique mechanic here is that Green Jelly can slingshot with a great degree of precision. Whenever he is latched on to at least one object, pull at him and you’ll see a line appear to show which way he’ll fly. Then release and Jelly shoots off in whatever arc you selected, hopefully grabbing candy along the way. As long as he passes by another fixed object, he’ll safely latch on to it.
Miss or otherwise allow poor little Green Jelly to fall off the screen and he dies. Harmful obstacles can kill him too, such as purple buzzsaws and electrical currents. Thankfully there is no penalty for dying. The level restarts instantly, allowing the player to try a new (and hopefully less dangerous) strategy.
Hungry for more
Green Jelly can’t quite match Cut the Rope’s lovely visuals, but the protagonist does have a cute personality of his own and animates pretty well too. The backgrounds are themed after various foods like waffles and chocolate bars. They’re too brown for my liking though - maybe future levels will add more color.
Players who dig this type of game will probably like what Green Jelly has to offer. The puzzles start out good and easy, gradually ramping up in difficulty over time. The mechanics of latching onto objects and launching off of them give players a lot of approaches towards solving the various puzzles too. If MaxNick hurries up and releases some new levels, this title could have some staying power.
Green Jelly is free to download, but you’ll only get access to the first few levels. Unlocking the full game requires an In-App Purchase of $1.99.
