by With a subtitle like “The Next Generation Slicing Game,” KingHunt invites comparison to other titles in this done-to-death genre. Most slicing games — the definitive example being Halfbrick’s Fruit Ninja — are ostensibly endless: you’re free to keep playing as long as possible without failing. KingHunt’s hook is that it features all of the trappings of more traditional action games, like power-ups, life bars, distinct levels, and enemy bosses.
The basic setup is familiar: as knights, stools, bread loaves, vampire bats, and 200 other pieces of miscellany bounce, rappel, or float into view, a quick finger swipe will dice them into bits. The inclusion of a life bar creates new opportunities for KingHunt, too; accidentally slicing a bomb no longer means game over, and some enemies will attack if you’re not quick on the draw. Conversely, certain items actually refill your life bar, and you can afford to take calculated risks to get after score multipliers or damage boosts.
At times, these seem like useful and fun additions, but they mostly get swallowed up in KingHunt’s rush to fill the screen with enemies and items. KingHunt lacks the timing and restraint to keep from feeling mindlessly chaotic, and you can slice and dice with careless abandon without any real danger. Developer Mountain Sheep has a signature visual style, and cramming dozens of puppet vampires onto an iPhone screen is technically impressive, but the clutter doesn’t make for interesting dynamics. KingHunt’s levels are too short and too messy to really build tension, and the result is that it’s not as compulsively playable as its endless counterparts.
Elsewhere, KingHunt is equally aimless and busy. Each level has a high score to chase and a star rating to improve, though neither system is ever explained. A bonus level is periodically unlocked, but the utility of its reward — one of 100 collectible gems — is unclear.
The bottom line. Mountain Sheep’s stylish art direction and new ideas are promising, but in execution KingHunt is perfunctory and unfocused, relying too heavily on high scores to the detriment of its pacing and rhythm.
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