When we reviewed indie brick breaking game Inflexiball a couple of months ago, our resident Brazilian reader Guilherme quickly noticed that the game was not available in the Brazilian Windows Phone Store. We gave publisher Renatus Media a shout to find out why the game skipped over good ol’ Brazil. No, it wasn’t due to riots or Angry Birds attacks!
As it turns out, Inflexiball didn’t release in Brazil for the same reason every other game passes over the South American nation: Brazil’s strict and somewhat confusing software ratings requirements. It just so happens that we published a guide to releasing software in Brazil a few months back. Renatus put it to use and Inflexiball has just launched there at last.
Brazilian Inflexiball fans aren’t the only ones with occasion to celebrate today. Renatus has also just released a new update to the game that doubles it length! Details and impressions after the break.
Inflexiball version 1.1 release notes
- 14 new levels (15-28)
- new bricks and bosses added
- new quests and items
- new background
The game launched with 14 levels, so this update pushes it up to 28 total levels. The new quests are basically objectives that must be completed on top of destroying all of a level’s bricks, such as collecting a specific item hidden within one of the bricks. You can beat a level but fail the quest, which is sort of the equivalent of failing to 3-star a level in other games.
The new bosses tend to be combinations of large and small steampunk aircraft. They fire shots that will cause players to lose a life if they hit their paddles. Boss levels are tricky because you still have to break an arrangement of bricks on top of dodging and attacking the bosses. You’ll probably have to retry some boss levels several times before your paddle emerges victorious.
Ball buster
Inflexiball is a brick breaking game with steampunk elements, somewhat reminiscent of Xbox Windows Phone game IonballEX. The main difference – besides this game’s brighter visual style – is its free to play nature. Since it doesn’t cost anything outright, the developers monetize the game with an energy mechanic.
Each time you play a level, it depletes part of an energy meter. Run out of energy and you’ll need to either purchase more with the in-game gold currency or wait a while for it to refill. You can earn gold by collecting it during levels, so you’re not really forced to make In-App Purchases. My only issue with that is that failing a level and choosing to retry it still costs energy, whereas I’d prefer to spend the energy once and have as many tries as needed to beat it.
Retrying becomes an issue because Inflexiball can be surprisingly difficult at times. Bricks often appear very low on the screen and the ball moves slightly too fast in general, making it tough for players to react in time. The ball, bricks, and especially boss projectiles are also a bit smaller than necessary.
Vamos celebrar!
Those criticisms aside, I love the game’s setting, and you can never have too many quality brick breakers. Considering that the Windows Phone version of Inflexiball has been downloaded over 10,000 times since its release, players seem to agree… And now Brazilians can get in on that action as well. Learn more at publisher Renatus Media's website.
Inflexiball – Windows Phone 8 – 44 MB – Free – Store Link
Update: The game finally showed up on the Brazilian Store, a bit later than we originally reported it.
