Monobot isn’t one of those platformers that make you rely on your dexterity and quick reactions. Sure, there are some challenging leaps, but for the most part you’re going to be straining your gray matter rather than your digits as you puzzle and bounce your way through the game.
There are shades of Limbo here – not in the aesthetic, but in the slightly slower pace of the experience, and the way sometimes things will collapse and send you tumbling the first time you come across them. You’re definitely learning from your mistakes here, and that’s never a bad thing.
You’re playing as a cute little robot who’s trying to escape from a facility. There are other robots on your trail, and plenty of crumbling infrastructure to work your way through. You’ve got jump pads, boxes to move, switches to pull and plenty more.
The puzzles don’t take that long to work out, but they’re challenging enough to give you some pause. Quick movement is sometimes the answer, but more often than not you’re shifting objects and making a path for your little robotic pal to make his way through.
The controls can be a little slippery sometimes, but since you’re never really asked to make pixel-perfect jumps, that’s not too much of a problem. You’ll gain new pieces of equipment as you play, but there’s no Metroidvania-style tracking back.
Monobot has some really bright ideas, and it’s got a charm that sets it apart from plenty of the games on the App Store. There’s plenty of puzzling entertainment here, and while it doesn’t quite hit the heights, it’s still worth checking out.