Straight out of… nowhere. I love games like this on the iPhone. Something you’ve never heard of, with no hype or, indeed, much marketing of any kind appears on the App Store, someone tries it, likes it, lets the Internet know and soon enough there’s a front page article on Touch Arcade and lots of people like me rush to download it at the launch price of 59p. (I think it’s going to be £1.79 at some point but – spoiler alert! – it’ll be worth that price, too.)

Think Indiana Jones meets Bionic Commando in a stylish pixel art setting. You can run left and right through the side-scrolling levels, but most of the time you’ll be using your whip/grappling hook to swing across the levels, collecting coins and trying to reach the exit before the nasty monster chomps you into little bits.

It’s a bit tricky at first – and I still can’t get on with the Pro control scheme – but the controls soon become familiar. That doesn’t make the game easy, though. You’re left with a tough challenge, estimating angles – the whip always shoots at forty-five degrees – and working out the best time to let go of one swing and start on another.


It’s hard, satisfying, has global and local leaderboards for every level and a shop to buy upgrades and new abilities with the coins you collect.

It’s a great arcade challenge, with each death spurring you on and each impossible section forcing you to come back and work out new techniques. Less immediately thrilling and more frustrating than Canabalt, but more structured, with a proper difficulty curve and nearly as satisfying.