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If you’re looking for a new game to go “nuts” about with unique endless gameplay, a new lovable character, unusual obstacles, a myriad of power-up opportunities, along with mystery items, and free of flapping and pipes, then Squirly should be on your wish list. Accompanied by great graphics, background music, an awesome video storyboard, interface and thorough tutorial, Squirly has all of the right ingredients to be a big hit. We will take it to task to see if it measures up.

The Best Squirrel

Squirly is not the first squirrel character to debut in a video game or animated piece, but his story makes him stand out. The cheery flying squirrel who lives in a forest is one day swooped up by an angry bird. Bravely fighting and eventually cut loose, Squirly falls into a Jungle full of snakes, monkeys, prickly tree branches and other scary obstacles instead of his coveted home. Your job is to get him out of there!

Starting Up

We immediately were taken to Squirly’s interface. The app comes with cute animated storyboard which shows how Squirly ended up in the scary jungle. You also get a thorough tutorial explaining all of the available power-ups and obstacles in detail. On the startup screen, you have access to the tutorial, intro video, leaderboard and shop full of in-app purchases. From the outset, you are given three “super squirly’s”, which allow you to play longer (i.e. more lives) without having to start over. Once you run out, you can purchase more in the shop. From there you can also remove banners. We recommend this. You also get a few freebies if you visit their Facebook page.

Playing the game is as simple as tapping the screen to make Squirly move from side to side. Gameplay is non-traditional in the sense that tapping the screen will make Squirly move opposite the direction he is going in. You cannot force Squirly to one side by swiping, so keep this in mind. Your job not surprisingly is to get all of the nuts! Golden nuts can also be obtained. Mushrooms will force you to lose points, so those need to be avoided. Bonus Multipliers and Rainbows can increase points 2-5 fold. Random Boxes can contain anything; even objects which can make you lose points. While this can be a drag if you get something you don’t want, it does make the game more interesting.

In Practice

Once you get the hang of maneuvering your character, all is well. However, obstacles get more challenging as you advance. The prickly tree branches that protrude from the sides of the display reach further toward the center. You can also slam head first into poles. Snakes venture out to the middle of the display every now and then and can take you down. Monkeys even hang out on branches. Our highest score was in the 1400 range. We were able to get this high on our sixth attempt after mastering how to get around.

Verdict

Squirly is fun. Though the gameplay and characters are fresh which make the game enjoyable, we were particularly pleased with how well laid out the interface is, and the time spend on creating the video piece. We love the well-designed tutorial that is easily accessible from the home screen. The app itself is blazing fast, and by this we don’t mean just the game play, but the app in its entirety. There is no lag time when calling up certain functions and everything works well. We suggest giving Squirly a shot, you will either love the game, fall in love with the cute character, or both.

GMA