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Gestures – a fast-paced arcade tapper

Price: Free
Size: 76.1 MB
Version: 
0.9.040
Platform: iPhone/iPad
Developer: Vaclav Krivanek

Gestures

Well, we haven’t seen a game like this in awhile. And you know what? Despite it’s formulaic approach to using taps like they’ve just been invented, it’s actually quite refreshing.

It starts simple. Tap the numbered discs to clear them.

This is the type of game that first started rising on the App Store in the early days, when the touchscreen was still a novelty. But now that apps and games are moving to subscription models, or hiding behind the Arcade paywall, something as simple and straightforward as Gestures reminds us what a great pick-up-and-play device the iPhone is.

The layout will change with each level

The aim of the game is to tap. That’s basically it. There isn’t a semblance of a narrative, leaning instead on its laser quest-style retro-futuristic design. Tap on discs that rapidly appear across the game board until the level, well, decides you’ve tapped enough. The game gradually introduces new mechanisms, but always keeps things simple – perhaps adding numbers that indicate how many times you have to tap to clear each disc, or additional obstacles you should avoid which, if tapped, will lose you a life.

There are 2 game modes: challenge and infinity, the latter of which uses the full board on each level

The challenge comes purely though the breakneck speed. If you’re looking for something to keep your mind and reflexes sharp, we’d say this’ll do a pretty decent job. There are 100 levels and you’ll make your way through the first handful easily. But eventually, the speed becomes intense as the number of discs increases and you’ll inevitably find some time out and lose you a life.

If you don’t tap the discs within a few seconds, you’ll lose the game

Gestures is a free to play game but there are some in-app purchases which increase coin collection, which in turn can buy you some largely innocuous power-ups. Thankfully, this system is very unintrusive, allowing you to easily pay without playing.

It gets increasingly more stressful – some discs need a bunch of taps to clear

Overall, Gestures is a fun little game with a solid challenge – but we can’t help feeling like it completely lacks in inspiration and personality, and we do wonder whether we’ll even remember its existence in a week’s time. The problem is it’s almost too simple. The approach is similar to whack-a-mole, but whereas the fact that you were whacking a mole on the head each time it raises its head is its personality, Gestures USP seems to be: vague outer space vibes?

But give it a go – after all, we don’t get anywhere near as many accessible free-to-play arcade-style games anymore.