The latest entry in our classics series shines a light on Dark Nebula (2009), a mobile gem long since lost to the inky void of wherever games go when they’re taken down from the App Store. But for two glorious decades, it was a shining star of mobile gaming.
Dark Nebula HD for iPad
What was Dark Nebula?
At its core, a dexterity test on the small screen. If you’re familiar with classic titles like Super Monkey Ball and Marble Madness, Dark Nebula had a similar vibe, having you coax a ball-like contraption through hazard-strewn mazes.
However, unlike those games, this was a resolutely 2D top-down affair. You’d tilt your device to steer the nameless, trundling protagonist through hostile enemy fortifications, scooping up orbs, using boost pads to leap over walls and whirling spikes of doom, and keeping mere fractions of a second ahead of death.
Why was it a classic?
Because it got everything right. The accelerometer-based controls felt perfect – and if you shifted in your seat, a two-finger tap recalibrated everything. Magic. The difficulty curve was just right, introducing new hazards and ideas with care, and slowly ramping up the tension without overwhelming you.
A clever shields system offered a layer of mercy, and perfectionists were rewarded with gold stars for flawless speed runs. The level design was pitch-perfect too, regularly shaking up the pace as the game shifted from having you slowly creep through tight corridors packed with traps to blazing you through breakneck speed zones. And, throughout, the visuals were slick and the soundtrack rousing.
Sequel Dark Nebula: Episode Two
Where is it now?
For a time, all was good in the world of Dark Nebula. A year after its debut, the superb Episode Two appeared, building on the original with lush new environments (including steamy organic-tech jungles), more expansive level layouts, and foes that were equally vicious and mobile. You’d have to contend with everything from lumbering red-eyed automatons with scythe-like edges to deadly metallic snakes, bashing them with your own spinning orb of doom, or bouncing on them via jump pads, like a steampunk Mario.
Over the years, both titles received glorious ‘HD’ editions with souped-up visuals and audio. And then, abruptly, they later vanished. Is a revival likely? It’s hard to say. Creators 1337 today have just one game on the App Store, the excellent Leo’s Fortune – although that does also have an Apple Arcade incarnation. Perhaps that means there’s still some hope the Dark Nebula games might one day roll back on to our screens.
Visit the 1337 website or watch the YouTube trailers for Episode One and Episode Two, while dreaming about the day the series makes a comeback.