Five to Try: Causality is a twisting time-travel challenge, Blin.gy drops you into music videos

BY GreenBot Staff

Published 24 Feb 2017

Need some fresh Android apps games to keep you company this weekend beyond? You’re in luck: our latest Five to Try column spotlights the ay Store’s most enticing new releases, this week’s stack is led by Causality, a tricky logic puzzler than finds you dabbling with astronauts time travel.

Other picks this week include Blin.gy, an app that superimposes your image atop popular music video clips, Tap – Chat Stories, a free app with stories told via faux SMS morsels. And if you need further gaming options, Isl Delta blends puzzle solving with precise action ( a gravity gun), while Gunman Taco Truck is a weird wild post-apocalyptic pick.

Causality

fivetotry feb24 causality ju

This isn’t even one of the later stages it’s already perplexing.

oking for a really complex challenging puzzler to pick away at? Be sure to give the newly-released Causality ($2) a strong look. It’s a game about guiding little astronauts to their destinations across alien worlds, but there’s so much more to it once the various wrinkles are exposed. First it’s one astronaut, then multiple astronauts… then time travel comes into play, meaning you’ll guide not only the explorers, but also their past selves. 

It’ll prod your brain to say the least, but Causality actually works really well on mobile. You’ll tap the little floor panels to change the direction of your astronauts, while downward upward swipes move time forward backward. It’s also a really beautiful-looking game, with striking, vivid backdrops charming 3D models. This is one you can really noodle over, especially with 60 increasingly-difficult stages included.

Blin.gy

fivetotry feb24 blingy Blin.gy

Music videos… Saturday Night ve clips? Sure.

Given the incredible popularity of Musical.ly—an app that lets you create share your own lip-synced videos set to hit songs—it’s no surprise that the next evolution is actually putting yourself into real music videos. Or rather, atop music videos. That’s what Blin.gy offers, as you can essentially green-screen yourself onto a clip from a real music video then share the results as you please.

It’s pretty easy to use: just plop yourself in front of a plain backdrop, use your selfie cam, record. You can record at normal speed or in a slowed-down mode, which then plays as a frantic, sped-up finished product. The results aren’t especially clean-looking, but as a goofy social sharing app, Blin.gy seems to be hot with the kids… because all of the public videos in the app are from teens (or younger).

Isl Delta

fivetotry feb24 isldelta Noodlecake

Use the gravity gun to hover heave items— enemies too.

Intrigued by the puzzle-solving of Causality, but want something a bit more action-packed? Isl Delta ($3) might do the trick. This top-down adventure lets you wield a gravity gun—not unlike the one popularized by legend, Half-fe 2—which you’ll use to work your way through more than 30 levels filled with traps, angry robots, other hazards. 

Using the gun is extremely simple: you’ll tap something to levitate it with the device, then tap elsewhere to then toss that item. You can pick up batteries to activate security panels, snag wooden crates to solve puzzles, or even launch enemies into walls to smash them to bits. Isl Delta is an attractive game, while not as punishing as Causality, it seems to find a nice balance between brains brawn.

Tap – Chat Stories

fivetotry feb24 tapchat ttpad

I laughed really hard at that bird line.

ll the next great storytelling medium be… text message conversations? I’m inclined to say no, but ttpad’s Tap – Chat Stories is here to try prove me wrong. These bite-sized stories are designed to be speedy reads, you’ll get through each by tapping repeatedly to bring up each new exchange between characters. 

Amazon has something along these lines with the kid-centric Rapids subscription service, or you can think of it as a not-really-interactive version of a game like feline. In any case, the first horror story it flung my way was pretty terrible, as was the one told from the perspective of Beyoncé’s unborn twins. Maybe you’ll find something better in the mix. Tap is free to download use, although once you use a certain number of taps, you’ll apparently have to wait for more (or pay).

Gunman Taco Truck

fivetotry feb24 gunmantaco Romero Games

True story: this was made by the son of Doom co-creator Romero.

If both of those earlier games seem far too taxing on your brain, maybe Gunman Taco Truck will be more up your alley. This silly simulation finds you manning an armored food truck across a post-apocalyptic America, attempting to blast your way through the mutants until you reach the safe haven of nnipeg, Canada. And yes, you’ll stop feed the starving survivors along the way. 

Gunman Taco Truck splits its action between side-scrolling shooting sequences, in which you’ll gun down strange creatures ( cows) for ingredients, as well as food prep moments— yes, your bullet-riddled roadkill does apparently make a mighty fine taco filling. It’s brash silly, although note that you’ll be prompted to buy the full game within after a free early stretch.