Solbot: Energy Rush (iOS)

NOTE: As is the nature of mobile games, it is possible this game may undergo changes to its gameplay design, monetization model, or it may include limited time events. This is a review of the game’s state as of December 18th, 2018.

 

Robots are an oddly effective vehicle for environmental messages, their ability to outlive humanity allowing for stark pictures of the consequences of wasteful living, but Solbot: Energy Rush seems to approach its mix of robots and energy conservation without dipping into the well of negative consequences. The titular Solbot has just been employed to collect orbs out in space, an apparently renewable resource it aims to bring to the people who need it. The game doesn’t really dwell on its messages either, most of its attempts to encourage careful energy use found on a screen that contains small facts about how household items use electricity and how to better reduce wasteful use. The English is a bit off at some points, but the developer’s goal is noble while avoiding feeling preachy, allowing Solbot: Energy Rush to focus primarily on its gameplay.

In Solbot: Energy Rush, your robot flies forward at a set pace, passing through regions of space filled with orbs of many different colors. Not all of these orbs are fit for collection though, the player needing to be on the look out for ones wrapped in gold rings that can be picked up. Each level has a set amount of orbs to collect before it’s complete, the number fluctuating as new elements are introduced and the difficulty is increased, but the total never really gets so high you’ll spend too long in a level. Flight is fairly simple to control, you only need to tap a side of your screen to move the robot over in that direction, with most of your movement focused on avoiding the dangerous regular orbs that will destroy the robot on contact. There are power-ups that you can pick up as well to help with this, things like little cannons that will briefly appear to blast away the bad orbs and a magnet that will suck in the good ones.

 

Admittedly, besides gradually increasing difficulty and the introduction of power-ups, many of the levels in Solbot: Energy Rush aren’t too different from each other. There is one level type though that is completely different and crops up rarely, that being a stage where lasers point down from above and you need to dodge their quick shots to stay alive. Dying isn’t too much of a concern though, it just means you have to restart from the level you’re currently on, but there are a few times in regular levels where you might see essentially a wall of orbs in front of you that can be hard to squeeze through. When you do die, an option to use a key to continue will appear, and these keys… don’t really seem too useful. Your progress and score are saved at the end of every level, meaning that if you die in a level, you only lose any progress you’ve made on that particular stage. On one hand, this does mean you don’t have to worry too much about using them since they’re not really necessary, but on the other, it makes their presence strange. You can earn extra keys by watching ads, and ads are the way this free games aims to make its money. Luckily, nothing too obtrusive gets in your way, the entire game able to be completed without having to worry about any surprise charges. Solbot: Energy Rush remains free the whole way through, but there wasn’t really much here to charge for considering its current design.

Solbot: Energy Rush’s limited amount of levels actually seems to help the game, even though it would be nice to have more to explore. The design of the game is simple but changes just enough to avoid feeling entirely repetitive. With the game being quick and reflex focused, having harder levels is a simple way to keep it going, but the game never does get prohibitively difficult either. It’s a fine game to whip out and play for a bit, but the finite amount of content does mean soon you’ve reached the end with no way to play more without uninstalling the game to clear your data and start again. An endless mode would be a great addition, allowing the player to keep going until they die and making the keys more useful as they could be more useful continues in this hypothetical addition. If Solbot: Energy Rush had continued adding more levels at its current pace though, it likely would have gotten quite dull. The time you do spend with it now is decent because it’s a smaller package that doesn’t have the time to wear out its welcome, and since the progression is clearly marked by a level counter that says how far you are out of how many total levels there are, it gives you something to shoot for that smooths over the moments where the game might otherwise feel too similar.

 

Trying to get a high score in Solbot: Energy Rush is a bit awkward though. The finite level count and the stage ending once you have enough orbs means there isn’t much wiggle room for earning extra points, but at the same time, it means the leaderboard is rather reasonable. The lack of an arcade-like endless mode does mean shooting for a high score isn’t too feasible, but having everyone on the same playing field means you can shoot for a bit better play in the hopes of getting up there. It’s almost not worth considering though because the design isn’t conducive to racking up points, some greater depth to the level goals needing to exist to better connect them to these secondary goal.

THE VERDICT: Solbot: Energy Rush is simple, straightforward, and somewhat short, but these traits seem to mostly work in the game’s favor. The orb collection is an enjoyable reflex challenge that doesn’t require too much skill to slip into, and the game’s limited level count means the minor changes to play allow it to fill its allotted space pretty well while avoiding some of the building tedium. Were it a larger or longer game it would get too repetitive, but Solbot: Energy Rush is quick and comes with a friendly message of energy conservation. It may not impress, but it can entertain with its easy controls and achievable goals. It’s a shame there’s no proper way to keep playing it on completion or a mode to really test your skill though.

 

And so, I give Solbot: Energy Rush for iOS…

An OKAY rating. Solbot: Energy Rush plays well and has a few nifty visual details like your robot changing color every level, but there’s not much to tip it over the edge. It’s nice that it’s truly free and the environmental angle adds a bit more identity to it, but it is a fairly simple game about flying through space and collecting orbs, the game needing to embrace some of its changes to play more than the light implementation they’re given at the moment. It’s quick fun with a goal to shoot for, but that speed means it leaves less of an impression as well, especially since its a bit difficult to reengage with the title after completion.

 

Solbot: Energy Rush, doesn’t quite have the energy it needs to really rope in players long term, but it’s an okay way to spend your time, with the game’s shortcomings not so much flaws as they are areas for improvement. It’s length keeps it solid enough but doesn’t let it grow much either, meaning you’re left with a serviceable reflex challenge that entertains but doesn’t really get its hooks in you.