There are few games that let you play as a nearly naked man riding a bicycle through a frozen wonderland, but Icycle: On Thin Ice is happy to fill that niche. The latest mobile release from the developer behind Wonderputt, Icycle is a surprisingly challenging platform game with a bizarre sense of humor. The controls are simple: on screen buttons let you move left and right, and you can tap the screen to jump. You can also pull out an umbrella to slow your descent on particularly high jumps. While touchscreen platform games are typically frustrating, the controls in Icycle are delightfully tight and responsive. When you die, it’s usually because of a poorly timed jump, though the level design can lead to some annoyingly frustrating moments.
Play this: ‘Icycle: On Thin Ice’ is bizarre platforming fun on iOS
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
It's all very strange
This is particularly true of stages that throw in new gameplay elements — like mines that explode when you touch them — and essentially require you to die in order to understand how to get through to the end. Mostly though, the game is satisfyingly challenging, and the beautifully bizarre art only heightens the experience. At one moment you’ll be hopping through a series of floating houses, and the next you’ll be kissing a strange fish creature. It’s all very strange. Even the items you unlock are odd: you’ll be able to outfit your cyclist with flippers, strange new bikes, bowler hats, flowing scarves, and more. Some items are useful, but most are just visual enhancements.
You can get a taste for the game with the original Flash version, or check the full edition of Icycle out for $0.99 at the source link below.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
