Whale Trail review (iOS / Universal)

♫ “Motion in the ocean, His air hose broke
Lots of trouble, Lots of bubble”

As usual, click the picture to view the full resolution screen image, in this case from my iPad

10 word description: Endless flyer. Power-up, smash enemies. Speed boosts. 43 achievements.

In this screen from my 4th gen iPod Touch, Willow the Whale is collecting bubbles and approaching some kind of power-up. Meanwhile, a large, spaced-out pink thing is wobbling about in the background. This is why I love videogames

10 word review: Delightful visuals and sounds; engrossing and polished gameplay. Great game.

Each run begins with Willow evading the clutches of evil Baron von Barry, that scary looking black thing at the bottom of the screen

You will like this if you enjoy: Endless runners/flyers. Similar games such as Dino Rush, Chop Chop Kicker, Dodo Fly, Tiny Wings (to a certain extent, as there’s no ground in Whale Trail).

The higher you fly, the further out the view zooms - giving you plenty of time to see what's waiting for you as you plummet back down again

The good news: Graphics, sounds, music, controls, gameplay and performance all satisfy or exceed the levels required for an endless style game like this. Beyond that, the very relaxing yet addictive experience of soaring and looping between the dark clouds works as both a fun videogame and also a compellingly hypnotic trip.

An artist's impression of Keith Richards' ashtray, circa 1973

The bad news: Whales don’t fly, so this game is very unrealistic and disappointing. Ha ha, I’m kidding. What did you you expect?

They can take his blubber, but they'll never take his freedom...

Arcadelife verdict: It’s fun, looks lovely and you’ll end up playing it for a lot longer than you expect. Videogames won’t ever solve the world’s problems but, if we let this one have a go, it would probably cheer up a few million grumpy people.

The obligatory Game Over statistics screen. This game is so much more than just seeing how far you can fly a whale

Arcadelife rating: 90/100

Version reviewed by Arcadelife is 1.0.3

Whale Trail on Facebook website link

Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:
4th gen iPod Touch (OS 5.0)
iPad (OS 5.0)