iOS: INKS

[jhamdotme]

INKS isn't like most pinball games. It's undoubtedly pinball, but it's super artsy. The ball hits and rolls over paint targets, and that changes the color of the ball. When the ball has paint on it, it leaves a trail wherever it rolls, and each time you finish a level by hitting all of the paint targets, your pinball canvas is saved as an image. It's really interesting. Some will love it, and some won’t. I'm solidly in the former camp. It's really pretty, the sounds are great, and it's a neat new take on what we can do with pinball.

It just came out on the App Store, and you can pick it up for $1.99. The initial purchase gets you the first three of five table packs. There are two more for $0.99 each. All told, there are more than a hundred little tables.

Relevant links:

• App Store link
• INKS home page
• Preview at The Verge
• TouchArcade thread

 

[Kolchak357]

I picked it up. Played it for a bit, then got bored. It's not that it's terrible, but there just isn't much there. Also the ball movement isn't perfectly smooth. Maybe because I have an older device (not sure about this). Portrait only, no landscape view is also a thumbs down for me.
Not horrid for $1.99 though. I'll play it some more tomorrow and see if it grows on me.

 

[jhamdotme]

I’ve played this a little more, and here’s the review that I just left on the App Store:

I love pinball of all sorts. I think I own everything on the App Store that’s even remotely related—the good stuff and the bad, and everything in between. This here is one of the good ones.

From the screenshots alone, you might not think so, but it's a different kind of pinball. It's got flat minimal graphics that have a unique beauty when the paint starts splashing, and the sound design is perfect. And instead of a deep rule set, it's really quite simple. You just have to hit all of the paint targets. It's easy enough, and anyone can do this, but the challenge comes when you’re chasing gold stars. Those are hard to come by. To get a gold star, you'll need to play the table perfectly, with no wasted shots. In the later levels, it's pretty tough.

But if you’re not very skilled, and if you’re not interested in perfecting each level, it's still a great game. There aren’t any game over screens, and you’ll play until you finish. Your score depends on how many balls it takes, and whether you lose four balls or forty, you can’t get below a score of "black." The only tell will be how busy looking your pinball canvas is when you're finished, and with the built in sharing features, that’s sometimes better than the canvas that you get from a well-played game.

INKS is really challenging if you’re looking for a challenge, and if you’re just looking for something casual and relaxing, it fits that bill as well. It's more zen then Zen Pinball. Well done. This is one of the best games I’ve played in quite a while, pinball or otherwise.

 

[DA5ID]

I picked it up. I wasn't sold at first until the tables got tougher and I was chasing gold stars. In the options setting you can turn on a ticker showing how many shots you have taken and the minimum number for a gold star rating. There is unfortunately a micro transaction credit system for table cheats - so unless you want to make it zero challenging and zero fun they can be avoided.

 

[jhamdotme]

I just finished the three built-in level packs, with gold stars on all the levels where it's possible. There’s a bug in the app, though, that prevents us from getting 100% on the Melody pack. On level 19, the par is incorrectly set to one. They’re aware of the problem.

 

[jhamdotme]

Also, it's possible to get under par on a lot of these levels. Sometimes, by quite a bit. Here’s what I’ve done so far in the first three level packs:

Dawn pack
Level 22, par 3
Personal best: 2


Melody pack
Level 12, par 3
Personal best: 2

Level 16, par 4
Personal best: 2

Level 17, par 12
Personal best: 7

Level 22, par 4
Personal best: 3


Campfire pack
Level 5, par 4
Personal best: 2

Level 7, par 3
Personal best: 2

Level 15, par 6
Personal best: 4

Level 16, par 6
Personal best: 4

Level 22, par 11
Personal best: 5

Has anyone found any other levels where it's possible to beat the par? Hell, is anyone else even playing this game?

 

[Kolchak357]

I picked it up. I wasn't sold at first until the tables got tougher and I was chasing gold stars. In the options setting you can turn on a ticker showing how many shots you have taken and the minimum number for a gold star rating. There is unfortunately a micro transaction credit system for table cheats - so unless you want to make it zero challenging and zero fun they can be avoided.

I'm with you. The more I played it, the more I liked it.

 

[HotHamBoy]

I was excited at first, but after playing a handful of tables I lost interest. I have issues slogging through boring stuff to get to the good parts and the physics have no weight to them. Beautiful game and nice concept, but it just makes me want to play TPA or Zen.

 

[dtown8532]

Free App of The Week right now on iOS.