Cordy

Silvertree Media's Cordy doesn't really offer you very much that's original.

It's a 2.5D platform game where the main character, a happy little robot out to turn the power back on in every level, needs to collect all six shiny things scattered around the place before he can open the exit.

You stand on switches to open doors, break through barriers, and perform half-a-dozen other actions you've seen countless times before.

But while Cordy may be old skool, nearly every aspect of the game is so polished, not to mention downright charming, it's hard to resist taking it for a spin.

Cordy gives you two worlds divided into 11 levels, which you can skip between whenever you like.

Every level has three possible awards: one for finishing it, one for finding all the collectibles, and one for beating the target time.

The touchscreen controls let you move left or right and jump, with other actions appearing as needed to let you grapple certain ledges, and pick up or drag objects.

The buttons are fixed, so devices with multitouch problems will have the occasional glitch, but they're well-placed, largely responsive, and easy to use.

But while the basic game is solid enough, it's the production values that close the deal.

Cordy represents much more than just touching up an uninspired piece of design. It's a gorgeous take on the kind of toybox minimalism seen in LittleBigPlanet or ilomilo, and quite simply it's one of the most visually appealing Android releases going.

The two worlds are full of enchanting little details, like the storybook backdrops with swaying cartoon clouds and slowly turning windmills or the other robots you have to upend to use as springboards, bouncing off each one as they lie helplessly kicking their legs in the air.

There are gripes. Cordy wants a fairly recent handset, so an HTC Desire or equivalent mid-range device will find the HD graphics setting close to unplayable in the later levels.

The basic, free level packs won't take long to get through and there are some annoyances, like the way you have to get every collectible on one run with no backtracking, which can prove needlessly difficult.

But the game's just so much fun, so cheerily positive, it's hard to get too worked up about any of this. It's still incredibly gratifying just to play around with Cordy himself, running from left to right and speeding over the jumps.

With in-app purchasing going live on Android it's worth mentioning Cordy is no longer entirely free.

Some of the DLC is disturbingly opportunist: $9.99 to turn him silver is madness, to be honest, but you don't have to buy these things and thankfully the first new level pack offers far more value.

Despite a few minor flaws, Cordy is an absolute gem, something Google ought to be making much more of a fuss about. Any Android fan with a phone that can run Cordy should go and download it as soon as possible.