Gamer reviews for ULTRAFLOW

Ultra-flowing Brain Challenge in Ultraflow

Keeping the mind entertained is quite challenging nowadays. With busy schedules, sometimes sticking to a full-length game would prove to be quite the challenge. It’s a good thing, though, that there are apps that gladly provide people the quick, satisfying, and entertaining mind challenge games that people need.

Ultraflow is a minimalist puzzle game created by Thibaud Troalen of Ultrateam. It can be downloaded for free on both Android and iOS platforms. It doesn't have any microtransactions and it also doesn't have any ads. It’s perhaps a good example of a developer who just wants to get his game out there and let people have fun. No strings attached.

Ultraflow is, as mentioned previously, a minimalist puzzle game. Being a minimalist game there really isn't much to look at here. The goal of the game is getting your ball to the goal circle. Pretty straightforward if you ask me. But as you progress, the levels become more and more complex. In the beginning, you just fling your ball in the general direction of the goal. But later on, you'd have to bounce it around strategically. At later levels, obstacles will be more complex. Some of these come in the form of a moving terrain, speed boosts which fling you in the general direction to which the arrows are pointing, to areas which drastically decrease your speed once passed, and areas that sort of have their own gravity that they may repel or pull you in. Many more types of obstacles will be present in the game the further you get in the game.

Also, in the beginning of the game you can just fling the ball as fast as you can. Later on, the speed at which you fling it also comes into play. A good example of this is the slowing areas wherein you must fling real hard to get through them with enough velocity so you’d keep going after you passed them, or perhaps needing to fling slowly at just the right speed to get through some obstacles. Although quite a handful of puzzles in the game can be brute-forced to complete them. Well that is your loss if you decide to brute-force your way through them and not complete it as intended. However, using brute-force more or less won't work at the higher levels since sometimes they offer a minimal amount of bounces thus, severely limiting your chances of success by just throwing the ball around.

Ultraflow's graphics is just like its gameplay—simple with its minimal monotone colors and shapes. Nothing special here aside from how certain obstacles interact with your ball and the surroundings. There is a small particle effect that goes off when you bounce, hit stuff, break stuff, or come into contact with the goal circle. There is also a little trail that you leave everytime you bounce. Nothing big but it lives true to its theme of being a minimalist game. The sound is good too as it has a relaxing feel to it—almost zen-like I think.

Ultraflow is a good puzzle game for those who enjoy minimalist designs and have a good sense of angles to make a ball bounce around to the intended location. It has a satisfying feeling when the plan you had in mind works flawlessly and in a single try to boot. Considering it is a free game, it is definitely worth a try.