Have you flapped all the birds and popped all the locks? Then it’s time to warm up your trigger thumb and get ready for Color Switch, the new reflex game that’s quickly gaining popularity in the App Store. The game is …
Have you flapped all the birds and popped all the locks? Then it’s time to warm up your trigger thumb and get ready for Color Switch, the new reflex game that’s quickly gaining popularity in the App Store.
The game is simple on the surface- tap to keep a ball bouncing in the air and match its color to an obstacle in order to pass through it. Pass through as many obstacles as you can before crashing into a different color than your ball. The challenge of the game is that the obstacles are moving and the ball is changing color. Over time, the obstacles become more complex utilizing different speeds, shapes and areas of color. And as we’ve come to expect from these types of high score chasers, though the gameplay may be simple, it is equally addictive.
However, unlike other similarly twitchy games, there are a lot of details that keep Color Switch from feeling too repetitive or dull. The bold color design using cyan, magenta, yellow, black (CMYK for us nerds in the group) plus violet makes it feel a bit retro while still being fresh. The effervescent star burst when you successfully reach each target is motivational. The scattering dissolve effect when you’re unsuccessful is still appealing even as it announces your failure.
The physics of the obstacles are fun and at times surprising; they show a creative spirit behind the scenes. Shapes that I assumed would be simple to pass were often far more difficult than I anticipated which was an exciting discovery. But nothing was impossibly difficult or too frustrating, unlike Flappy brethren.
Unless the soundtrack is imperative to the gameplay, I play the majority of my mobile games without the sound on- mostly because headphones annoy me and I don’t want to bother the people around me. But also, many sound effects outside of a musical score are really annoying. The music in Color Switch is probably my favorite music I’ve ever heard in a mobile game. Officially (which means according to my DJ bestie), it’s deep house; but I’d call it cool neon lounge music that’s upbeat chill with just the right dash of retro effect. I would listen to it without playing the game, frankly.
Perhaps my favorite detail of the game is that you can slow yourself down and stay in one area if you need to. You can tap lightly to tread water, as it were, and keep yourself afloat while you wait for the ideal moment to advance. Gratefully, this removes a lot of the stress of the relentless pacing that this game type can produce. While this game is by no means mellow, the small moments of relief (as long as you keep yourself bouncing) make it that much more enjoyable.
Be warned, you will have a ton of cheap deaths. Though the course is slightly different each time you start, you will have a chance to learn these different obstacles and improve over time. Aside from an occasional ad, there is no delay in starting again, so you’ll be able to get your quick fix as many times as you like. The portrait orientation and one-finger operation means Color Switch is great for commuting or waiting in lines.
While I’m not sure how long the addiction will last, Color Switch is clearly my pick for Game of the Day. And by “the day,” I mean “all. day. long. just one more try I almost got past that last one just gimme one more minute GAHHHHH…”
