One of the things we love about mobile gaming is the way it has accelerated innovation in game design. The unusual buttonless form factor of a smartphone and the sheer universality of its audience have combined to take video games in all sorts of unexpected directions, and Roia is a perfect case in point. This ingenious puzzle-adventure is the latest title to come out of Emoak, the ambitious indie studio behind Paper Climb, Machinaero, and the award-winning light-based puzzler Lyxo.
Believe it or not, Roia is about creating a river. That’s it. A stream starts at a mountain's peak, and you must carefully guide this waterfall to the sea by shaping the terrain with your finger.Emoak discloses in the press release for Roia that the game holds deep personal meaning for one of its lead designers, Tobias Sturn.
During his youth, Sturn spent time playing in the brook behind his grandparents’ home, using homemade waterwheels, bridges, and other devices built with his grandfather's assistance to investigate how water flows and accumulates.
Sturn’s grandfather passed away during Roia's development, but the impact of those joyful days by the brook is evident. The game is dedicated to him.
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Your journey will take you through several handcrafted environments, including forests, meadows, and charming villages. All the while a helpful white bird will patrol the sky, gently guiding you to make the right moves.
No doubt you’ve already glanced at the screenshots, so you’ll know that Roia belongs to the elegant, minimalist, Monument Valley school of aesthetics.
What you can’t see is that it sounds great too, with a simple, moving soundtrack. Emoak has commissioned a score from Johannes Johannson, whose previous credits include the studio’s own Lyxo.
You can check Roia out right now on the Google Play Store or the App Store. It costs $2.99.
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