Cloudbreakers

Made by a former Disney Mobile level designer, Cloudbreakers is developer Jan Tomasik's attempt to break through the murky smog of IAP-fuelled nastiness that some feel threatens to choke the industry.

This is a sharp, sweet palate-cleanser of a game that harks back to a time not so long ago where you would pay a little up front and get something humble yet tasty in return.

That the game doesn't quite see its sound concept through to its natural conclusion is a bit of shame, but this is almost beside the point.

Think of Cloudbreakers as a Doodle Jump-style perpetual climber with a swing mechanic, some lovely cartoon visuals, and a solid sense of progression.

Pressing the game's single virtual button causes your little action figure to hook onto a nearby platform and swing around, building momentum until released into the air. This simple manoeuvre is extremely satisfying to pull off - especially when everything aligns and you make fluid Tarzan-like progress.

And that's how the game goes. You simply have to keep ascending, collecting coins and avoiding a drop through the clouds, collecting parts for new figures with additional powers (extra lives, higher swings, etc.).

From time to time you'll burst through to a new level (there are seven in all), with a new theme and a fresh set of obstacles and tools. There are height-boosting goats, moving platforms, and crumbling platforms.

As the levels scroll by, the going gets a lot tougher, with scarcer and more elusive platforms. This is actually where the game's limitations start to become apparent.

Leaning your game on such a simple swing mechanic is fine, but when you fall to the bottom of the screen through a simple lack of platforms to hook onto on your natural flight path, it can be rather frustrating. I was left helplessly grasping at air a few too many times for my liking.

The other key weakness is a lack of competitive high score chasing. Just adding Game Center or even Facebook support would rectify this in one go, but it's something that would improve such a simple score-based game immeasurably. Just ask Flappy Bird players.

As it is, Cloudbreakers feels like a promising prototype, a well-drawn sketch of a game that needs to be properly coloured in to really impress.