Just what I need
Mon Jan 07 2019 onetimesoneState of Play comes up with some real unique and beautiful games. Relaxing but challenging at the same time. Meditative in a way, if I can use that. I’ve had KAMI for years and every time I upgrade phones and the game resets, I’m learning it again (though not all over again). Just found out about this game, Inks, and it fits the same bill. Very pretty. Nonjudgmental (i.e. no timer, *I* set the pace; you can reset and try again). I just scanned a long review where someone thought this was boring. (People write movie reviews like that, too. They see a picture about real life and then bash it when it’s not like Star Wars.) Anyway if you’re looking for the game equivalent of “get it done or you’re dead” then, yeah, it is “boring.” But there are tons of games out there that will make you sweat. I don’t need that or I don’t always need that. Sometimes I just need to **be**, and this is a great game for that. I appreciate it for the game it is. Thanks for designing it.
Gorgeous w/odd gameplay loop
Wed Oct 19 2022 BSR95First off, I love that this comes at a reasonable price, with zero ads and no content locked behind microtransactions (aside from consumables, iirc). That right there is 5-star worthy these days… Otherwise, it’s absolutely gorgeous, aesthetically plays well to the strengths of a digital medium, and is easy to pick up wherever, whenever; it’s also sufficiently tricky, while being flexible towards more relaxed styles of play. I’m docking one star, however, for two shortcomings in particular: 1.) each table is treated as an isolated puzzle, which is fine, but given there’s no way to seamlessly continue playing (painting?) once a table is “completed”, and no way to progress to the next puzzle without backing out into a menu first, the flow is just… all wrong, not at all what one would want for a pinball game. 2.) There's zero customization available, leaving you with the same cardboard brown + primary colors throughout the game, which gets repetitive and uninspiring far too quickly for a game that sells itself on its artistic merit. If those two issues were fixed, this would be an easy 5 stars. Nevertheless, it’s certainly still an easy recommendation.
Elegant & Beautiful!
Fri Sep 15 2017 WallysWorldCo-ReviewsThis game is beautifully designed, and incredibly colorful and enjoyable! It's hard to find a digital pinball game that is actually worth playing over a real pinball machine, but this app offers a unique twist with splashes of color and simple but addictive "power-ups" that make the game feel fresh and enticing with each new level unlocked. Though not an incredibly complex game in concept or mechanics, the pinball boards do get more challenging and unique as one plays through the levels and the music and colors are meditative and relaxing!
At the time of writing this review, this is a free app of the week - so it's definitely worth a try! It also somehow feels like the perfect Fall game - simple, relaxing, and colorful - so I applaud Apple on their choice for this September week for free game app of the week! 👏🏻👏🏻
Has a few programmers pitfalls.
Tue Sep 19 2017 BubbaBaeronWhile the game is lovely to play, it has two issues with its programming.
One of which means it's child sharing unfriendly.
The first is that not every color panel can be hit when a ball rolls past them. I've seen a few levels where the ball is rolling along a rim and one panel simply won't activate reliably. The panel in front of it and all of those behind get hit, but that single panel won't respond.
(Dawn 12, topmost orange panel is an example)
The second issue is that the powerups are permanently limited in number. Once they are used... they're gone. Not only can they be lost but their purpose can be nullified.
This essentially means of you let a child play they will consume all of the powerups and potentially hit the purchase button repeatedly ( which is also why you can turn off in-app purchases).
Bluntly put, you can't share this app. Which makes it pointless as a game of you can't give others the opportunity to try it.
The only alternative is to 💵buy the unlimited booster points. Which makes the levels trivial as you can then use as many powerups as you want.
A middle ground would have been if the booster purchase kept that unlock free, only for that stage (so you could turn it on or off if wanted.) So if you messed up, you'd still be able to get value out of it. Or if you completed all of the levels with gold the boosters became free in that segment.
Good FREE game
Mon Sep 18 2017 TrendaLeeIt's great for relaxing or if you're just bored waiting for the bus stop or something like that. The sound effects are relaxing, the colors are pretty neat, and it's over all an artistic concept. This app is great but not worth buying for it. I'm sure a lot of work was put into it, hence the purchase requirement they placed on it, but it's WAY too simple to put a price on it. A plus on it being an app you purchase is that it doesn't become an ad frenzy when you try to enjoy a simple game. That's something to consider as well for their reason on putting a price on this. Left flipper could use some work, at times it doesn't register my clicks, but so does a regular pin ball machine at an arcade at times. The struggle never ends!!! Haha
Not sure what I was expecting...
Tue Sep 26 2017 Rew711Now, don't get me wrong, it's a nice game but it's lacking.
Now, I may be somewhat tired of same formula where you "do this so-so times to get max points" but I also feel that this game lacks something else.
Not like I was hoping for it but the mechanics would had been amazing to see in a more pinball styled game that took you somewhere as you played, leaving lines of color and wonder as you continued through pre-rendered levels that make up each chapter. The game might had been shorter but the impact would had been much greater.
I might be envisioning something bigger or grander but that's just it, pinball has already reached such heights of expectation that I feel this game is lack luster.
Each level is either short or irritating (and poorly designed if trying to be a 1-shot challenge) that it feels like you either chose to just try and enjoy playing a level or try to get a gold star. Some are easy, some are impossible, and some just aren't worth it. What's the point of having the ball paint lines if your goal is to have few if not none to see in the end?
The game is great in terms of design but lacks what makes angry birds or cut the rope as fun as they were. Inks is bland, lacks impact, and is downright forgettable. Glad it got the good reviews but I'll be honest, I'm let down and happy I didn't have to pay for this...
Happy way to waste time
Wed Sep 20 2017 TestofwilzThe colors and simplicity make this a relaxing distraction. I didn't even notice the power-ups, coins or purchase aspects so I can't speak to those things but I really enjoy the game. I agree with another reviewer that it would be nice to incorporate a few more classic pinball features because these levels aren't a big challenge for seasoned pinball players. I don't think I would pay for this app in its current version but if it got a bit more challenging or did incorporate the classic elements I definitely would.
Fun but buggy.
Fri Sep 22 2017 scobleVery nice and well designed game. Love the idea and objective. Big problem I have is there is a bug cause huge resources to be used. After less then 5 minutes the phone will get really hot and the frame rate will drop horribly low. This is not a heavy graphical game so having such a drain on resources is a huge problem. Needs to be fixed. Also, it down not remember what sound setting you left it at even though the slider indicates correctly. I have to go move the slider to low every time I open the game. And because of the previous big I have to constantly close the app just to ply the he longer than 5 minutes. Please fix the app.
Ew ppl
Fri Jul 09 2021 greenTeaFrappuccinoWhy did you guys expect an’exciting’ thing about this game. Cant you clearly see in the photos that this is supposed to be an artistic and calm pinball game you just have on your phone mindlessly for years. This game is perfect guys. If you are not satisfied that this game is a pinball game about splashing beautiful colors, you shouldnt have bought it in thw first place. The only complaint i have is that this game sometimes quits on my iphone xr :/ but other than that this is a great game >< 11/10
Beautiful but fails to fulfill its promise
Tue Jul 23 2019 mmmpieThis is a beautiful toy. I love the interaction of the ball and the ink. For that I give it 4 stars.
However...
The puzzles aren’t hard enough, I was able to randomly pick out a few from every pack and complete them. None of the mechanics added to later tables presented a significant challenge.
The pinball doesn’t really exist. There is no table which allows for sustained play. The ink panels are one shots. Once triggered they don’t reset. There is no score, and there are no sequences or complex interactions.
In addition the paddles are not reliable. Perhaps the touch region is too small, or accidental touch rejection isn’t turned off. At any rate it isn’t very important, as there isn’t much in the game to lose as a consequence.
The toy doesn’t explore the scope of play. None of the tables ‘paint’ a picture, there are no opportunities to experiment with drawing. I actually had the most fun on the title screen, using the ball to draw lines and play with the ink.
