We see a lot of puzzlers on the app stores that are perfectly good games but can’t really stand out among the crowd and 70 Seconds bucks this trend by being infinitely simple yet enjoyable, making it accessible to even the most casual players.
In terms of gameplay, 70 Seconds prefers to keep the overall mechanics easy and instead focuses on devilishly crafted scenarios to test your mind and reflexes. The game comprises 26 levels, which feels a little low considering each one only takes 70 seconds to complete. You’ll earn coins for completing a level, which can then be used to purchase later levels. The prices for later levels are pretty high but honestly, you never feel short changed. In-app purchases are available to unlock levels faster but they don’t directly effect the progression of the game. This is something we’re big fans of.
That said, the variety of scenarios on offer means that you’ll be replaying them over and over again, so it somewhat balances out. Tests range from something simple like catching a circle to quickly tapping numbers on-screen from smallest to largest. On paper they all sound ridiculously easy, but with the addition of a 70 second time limit things suddenly become more difficult.
The inclusion of leaderboards is a nice touch and always welcome in games of this type. The urge to beat your friends high score is quite hard to ignore and you’ll end up getting sucked in if a few friends join in the fun too.
More importantly, the title nails what makes a mobile game the perfect companion for commutes. With a comfortable pick-up-and-play style, you can easily dip into it for five minutes and then put of down until lunch.
Graphically, it’s fairly simplistic, with a colourful art style that never really borders on overkill. The user interface is very flat in design, with bright colours and quirky animations giving most of the visual appeal. We played the Android version and there’s a definite hint of iOS in some of the menu designs; whether you like this or not is really down to personal opinion.
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