iPhone App: Shivering Kittens

March 28th, 2009

= 5 stars

Shivering Kittens is a puzzle game where you manage ice blocks falling from the top of the screen (Tetris style) to unfreeze and remove unfrozen kittens from the board.

The Good

• Simple controls: swipe up to rotate the falling block. Swipe left or right to move the falling block either direction, and swipe down to push the block to the bottom of the screen more quickly.
• Sublimely addicting, because of interesting rule combination. Five or more adjacent, unfrozen cats removes them from the board. An unbroken line of ice blocks or frozen cats removes the ice blocks and unfreezes the cats. The first rule is like Bejeweled, while the second is Tetris. The end result is like playing both games simultaneously, and both goals are occasionally at odds with one another. Lastly, unlike Tetris, the blocks break apart when they hit the bottom of the screen.
• Features cats. Meow.
• One dollar of the purchase price goes to the ASPCA to help actual needy kittens.

The Bad

• I have to admit I didn’t fully get the sublime nature of this game when I first tried out the “lite” version. The rules aren’t obvious through gameplay alone, and the “lite” version only allows you to save nine cats which isn’t enough time to get a good demo. I’d recommend they up the “lite” version to one full game.
• The concept of frozen cats is odd, and I feel sorry for all the cats I couldn’t save by the end of each gaming session. I’d appreciate a last animation at game’s end, showing all the kittens being freed.

Conclusion

While at first I didn’t get this game, after really understanding the rules it won me over. I wouldn’t waste time with the “lite” version as it doesn’t fully demonstrate the addictive power. Lastly, the donation aspect of the purchase price is yet another reason to pony up for this app. Highly recommended.

iTunes Store Link: