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Scoop up the animal-catching silliness of Safari Rescue for free

Noah's lark

Scoop up the animal-catching silliness of Safari Rescue for free
|
iOS
| Safari Rescue

Dangling from a helicopter and attempting to catch zebras, hippos, and giraffes in a net is probably the most dangerous animal-related sport this side of grizzly bear boxing.

But, if iOS indie Safari Rescue is anything to go by, it sure is fun.

This game has you controlling a helicopter with your finger, and scooping animals in your giant net. You'll then rescue those animals by carrying (or sometimes dragging or pushing) them across to a helipad on the righthand side of the level.

What danger are you rescuing these animals from? The game doesn't care to explain such trivial matters, and that fits with Safari Rescue's madcap sensibilities.

This game is unashamedly silly, after all. A fact that is made especially apparent by developer Rad Dragon's insistence that it is the Citizen Kane of games.

Safari Rescue

A little later on there are leaping lions who say they'll eat the animals up if you don't rescue them. And those lions will (somehow) eat your helicopter too, if you get too close.

You'll start by catching monkeys, but soon you'll be attempting to lift much larger animals with your net. The elephants leap over the threshold of ridiculousness as they take over half the screen.

The extra weight of the animals also has the amusing effect of launching the helicopter into the air at rapid speed, with the only consequence being that the animal you were carrying being flung somewhere out-of-sight too.

You wouldn't be wrong in supposing that Safari Rescue would sound frustrating. But, like barmy athletics game QWOP, the clumsy and impossible-to-master physics makes it more comedic than challenging.

Safari Rescue is out now, for free, on iPhone and iPad.

Chris Priestman
Chris Priestman
Anything eccentric, macabre, or just plain weird, is what Chris is all about. He turns the spotlight on the games that fly under the radar.