Features

App Army Assemble: Ruins Ahead

Twisty Road

App Army Assemble: Ruins Ahead
|
iOS
| Ruins Ahead

Ruins Ahead is a tappy high score chaser in a similar vein to Crossy Road, but with a twist. And that twist is literal, as you have to spin the path your character is travelling across to avoid obstacles. Do you see what I did there?

If our review is anything to go by, it seems to breathe a well-desired breath of fresh air into a genre that was in danger of going a little stale.

That's not to say it ignores it altogether though. You're still chasing down a bigger high score like a madman, and spending gold you collect to unlock new characters. Put simply, if you like these sort of games, you're unlikely to be disappointed.

But, as ever, don't just take our word for it. Read on to learn what our hardened community of mobile gaming experts in the App Army thought.

Tom Clark

Wow. It's like Indiana Jones meets Crossy Road - very nice and poses a great challenge. Now I've just got to keep myself from tapping one too many times.

I'll be wasting loads of time on this one. Very nicely done Robot Cake!

Edward Davis

This is a very addictive game, and the controls are good. There's no rush to go through the game, but you feel the need to keep on playing. It has a very Crossy Road feel.

Kainen Ryan

I thought the pace was quite slow at first as I breezed through collecting items and taking a ride on a cart.

Then I realised that the platform behind me was collapsing! Loving this game.

It's all the best bits of Crossy Road with a side helping of Indiana Jones. It's just mindless fun.

Chase Geier

It's a fun endless runner that's not too hard but good to put a few minutes into every once in a while.

Oksana Ryan

Hard to stop playing this game. I have a feeling there's going to be a few hours spent on it over the weekend.

I love this quirky running or, perhaps more accurately, hopping game. As you hop along there are walls and traps, and to avoid these you have to slide your finger on the screen to rotate the path.

Along the way you pick up coins that you can spend on new characters (of which there are loads). There's also a very handy cart that zooms you through the obstacles and helps to rack up your score.

And as if rocket launchers, spinning blades, and walls aren't fun enough, the blocks behind you begin to fall away. So if you're too slow you'll plunge to your death.

The whole game is total fun and I'm not ashamed to say that I've spent more than a few hours playing it.

Erik Choong

Been at it the whole weekend. It's like Temple Run meets Crossy Road with a twist - I had to say it!

It's quite addictive, and a welcome change from the usual fare. Collecting all the artifacts unlocks Gold Rush, which helps you earn more coins. It's rather stressful since you have to stay alive as long as possible to maximise coin earnings.

There are plenty of characters to collect, though they're just for cosmetic purposes.

Ruins Ahead is a nice game to play in short bursts when you've got free time - and will keep completionists occupied for a while as they try to unlock all the cutesy characters.

Quincy Jones

It's a fun ride for sure. There's a lot to love as you dodge rockets, ride mining carts, and collect ancient treasures. There's a certain amount of strategy involved but mostly it's simple, albeit fun, gameplay.

As with most of the games that are influenced by Crossy Road, there are a lot of characters to unlock and that's where the game fails in a big way. They're just cosmetic and add nothing new to gameplay. It's a missed opportunity to add tons of replay value.

Still, it's good for short bursts of fun and there's always a market for that.

The App Army is Pocket Gamer's very own community of mobile game experts. Each week, we provide them with a bunch of free codes and early access to the hottest upcoming games so they can provide their thoughts in features like this. We also host regular community-driven events with them in mind, like the Mobcrush stream, tournaments, and multiplayer evenings. To join, simply follow this link to the page on Facebook and request access. We'll get you in right away!
Chris James
Chris James
A footy game fanatic and experienced editor of numerous computing and game titles, lively Chris is up for anything - including running Steel Media! (Madman!)