Mobile Monday: Totally Reliable Delivery Service

Also Legend of the Skyfish 2

One of the things I enjoy most about mobile game is it allows me to experiment with titles that I couldn’t see myself paying full price for on Steam or console. Like Goat Simulator. I got that for my Android five years ago for a buck and considered it at the time to be the best dollar I’d ever spent on mobile. Because while Goat Simulator is not a good game, it’s certainly a worthy distraction, a time waster elevated above the rest.

It’s the same for the recently released Totally Reliable Delivery Service. Based on trailers and gameplay video, it’s not something I’m particularly interested in paying $15 to play on Switch and even though it’s free on Epic Games Store, I just don’t see myself sitting down at my computer to boot it up. It just makes more sense to me to play it on mobile, even if the final product is often exasperating.

Totally Reliable Delivery Service
Developer: We’re Five Games
Available On: Android, iOS

I brought up Goat Simulator in the lede of this Mobile Monday because it and Totally Reliable Delivery Service share a common bit of DNA. Both titles exude goofy, chaotic charm thanks to their liberal use of comedic physics. In Goat, it was the titular creature’s tongue that catapulted it across each stage, often reaching ridiculous heights. In Totally Reliable Delivery Service, it’s the crazy momentum of your mover that will lead to hi-jinx.

Movement in TRDS reminds me of those old arcade games where everything was controlled by a trackball. It’s a weird feeling and can take a few moments to get used to, especially on mobile. Movement is controlled on the left side of the screen while actions such as jumping, diving, and grabbing are controlled on the right. The object of the game is to make deliveries that range from something as simple as “drop a package in a box” to “deliver this fish to the restaurant.” To grab an item, you’ll need to press the individual hand buttons on the right side of the screen and lift it with the arm buttons.

Some items are too heavy to be picked up by hand. When you get one of these deliveries, a vehicle will pop up next to you to help with the task. Just like with a package, you have to use the hand controls to manually take control of the vehicle. Some are simple to get the hang of, such as the forklift and helicopter. I had less success flying the plane or working the fish launcher.

I only got to experience the free version, which limits you to just a handful of delivery missions and a single area of the final game, but it did enough to get me interested in seeing the full product pending some improvement. The movement in certain situations can be infuriating and your mover’s inconsistent jump heights resulted in a lot of trial and error. There are also a lot of pieces of geometry to get stuck on. Finally, this is the first game I’ve downloaded to my Google Pixel 3A that frequently runs poorly with a framerate that needs to be sorted out. Get all that fixed and I can see making it my new distraction for when I’m at the office.

Totally Reliable Delivery Service is available as a free-to-start title on mobile with the full game available for $4.99. A deluxe bundle costing $9.99 is also available that will unlock all the DLC as it’s released.

Legend of the Skyfish 2
Developer: Mother Gaia
Available On: iOS

A few years ago, as I sat waiting for the arrival of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I reviewed a little game called Legend of the Skyfish. It was an inoffensive little game, one that hooked onto a gameplay concept and stretched it into a three-hour adventure. I didn’t think much of it and figured most people would feel the same. However, it must have done well enough for the developers because now there’s a sequel that’s exclusive to Apple Arcade.

The original Skyfish utilized a fishing pole and its hook for combat and puzzle-solving, basically acting as Link’s sword and hookshot combined into a single tool. In Skyfish 2, it’s more of the same. Not much has changed since the last outing into this world, but there are some small improvements to be found. You can craft new armor and weapons that vary up the combat slightly. Different lures can be purchased that change the function of your fishing pole. Traps are more plentiful this time around and the improved 2D art direction, particularly in the characters, is certainly a step-up from the last go. 

The world is also more fun to venture through this time around, even if your journey is overly linear. One of my complaints with the last game was the similarity between locations and the developers have gone out of their way to make this adventure far more varied than before.

Unfortunately, the improvements end right about there. Combat is still braindead simple as are the boss encounters. While it’s fun to lure in an enemy and smack them to death, something that feels second nature when playing with a controller, within an hour I’d had my fill of just about everything. Also, my iPad nearly died as running this thing at the highest graphics setting devours the battery. Still, it’s not the worst way to kill an afternoon.

Legend of the Skyfish 2 is available on iOS through the Apple Arcade subscription service.

_{(Premium priced games featured in Mobile Monday were provided by the developer. Free-to-play games were downloaded directly from the App Store or Google Play.)}