Looking for a cute and fun game to play with tons of challenging levels? You’re going to want to check out Cling! on iOS. This game isn’t out yet for Android users but hopefully it will come out in the near future. Cling! was developed by First5 Games. First5 Games’ team consists of founder and CEO, Dustin Clingman, art director, Allan Alegado, and developer and designer, Mike Arlington. Their goal is to create games that can be understood in 5 seconds and loved in 5 minutes or less. This game definitely accomplishes that goal.

The story is about a kid who buys a sticky octopus toy from a vending machine for 25 cents. The toy’s name is Edgar. His container, unfortunately breaks and he ends up stuck in the machine to fend for himself. He has to now go through a multitude of dangerous obstacles to escape. Luckily, he has his sticky tentacles to grab a hold of things so he doesn’t get killed along the way. You, the player, have to aid him to the exit in every level. It’s a pretty unique story. I’ve played a good amount of games and this is the first I’ve come across a story like this. It’s creative and gives you a sense of motivation to get him out safely.

The gameplay is great because it gets increasingly difficult as you progress through the game. Easy games tend to be boring and the drive to push through is missing. The game consists of three acts, the last one being the light at the end of the tunnel. At the first few levels the game gives you a chance to get used to the controls and learn how to maneuver Edgar through the level. You can control Edgar by using the joystick icon or using your finger to guide him. You can shake your iOS device to change between the two or you can change it manually through the menu options. There are tutorials every step of the way if there are new components added to the level. If you’ve forgotten what something is or what something does, you can always go back and view the tutorials again through the menu.

You are graded on how fast you get through the level and you can either get a bronze, silver, or gold medal. At the end of the level you obtain a score and the time it took you to complete it. It even tells you what time you need to obtain in order to get to the next medal. A lot of the medals I got were bronze because a few of the levels got pretty difficult for me. After Act 1, the levels get much more challenging as the obstacles you encounter are combined in one level. If you are stuck in a bind and cannot get through the level, you can use power ups. There are three that you can buy from the Gumdrop Shop and includes Bullet Time, Power Down and Beat A Level. Bullet Time slows down all the moving objects in that level, Power Down turns off all harmful objects and Beat A Level shoots Edgar straight to the exit. In one of the levels, I could not, for the life of me, get through it. The game offers the player one Beat A Level power up if you die 20 times in one level. Yup, it was pretty bad and the game felt sorry for me. There’s even an achievement for dying in the game for 20 or more times.

There is one thing you should note about the controls. They’re sensitive and pretty receptive. Sudden movements can send Edgar flying off into oblivion. In places with no walls, keep Edgar on the pegs because if you don’t, he falls off and there is no way of getting him back. At this point, he makes an effort to desperately ask for help by holding up a “help!” sign as he is falling. Also, you should be careful to keep Edgar moving from peg to peg because if he gets stuck in a place where he just lays there motionless, a tube descends from above and sucks Egar up. At this point it’s game over.

There are gumdrops you can collect in the game which makes it easier to buy in-game items like hats or power ups. Edgar loves hats, so earning these gumdrops will surely make him happy. If you would rather buy gumdrops with actual money, you can do so in the Gumdrop shop as well.

As for the graphics, they are amazing. The game is very colorful and I loved how they had images of gears in the background to show that he is in the actual vending machine. I thought that was a nice touch. There are a lot of games that add a ton of detail in their games and this can sometimes be too much and takes away from the gameplay. This game is much more simple and that is what makes it visually pleasing. The bright and soft colors make gameplay enjoyable. The sound effects match perfectly with the action of Edgar moving. The background music while playing the game is pretty catchy. I found myself humming the tune at some point. The songs complement the gameplay and is not distracting in any way. If anything, it adds to the experience. The game definitely has great replay value. You can go through the levels again to try to beat your best times and earn gold medals in each. There are achievements to earn which include collecting 9 prizes in game, getting 30 gold medals, getting 60 gold medals and more.

Overall this is a great game and I highly recommend anyone with an iOS device to download and play it. It’s only $0.99 cents in the App Store. I think it’s worth way more than that considering the quality of the game, so $0.99 is a steal. For more information on this and other games please click on this link: First5 Games.