Full Review

Monoloco has a pretty funny premise presented through its intro movie if nothing else. So in the zoo, there is this super intelligent simian kept behind glass. For some reason he is extremely annoyed at all the passers by who are nose deep in their mobile phones. Perhaps they should be paying attention to him. He breaks free, and what follows in an endless runner with an attack button, where you have to flee the zoo as well as kick as many people as possible so they will drop their phones and break them. Yes, the currency of this game is shattered smart phones.

Controls are pretty standard. There's a jump button and the aforementioned attack button. Either attacking or jumping on the people you encounter will cause them to drop their phones, and did I mention that your attack consists of a swift kick to the crotch? You have three pieces of health, and smacking into any phone wielding human will deplete that health, and of course falling into a crevice will end the level right then and there. There are power-ups as you play such as a yo-yo for ranged attacks or a shopping cart that allows you to plow right through everyone, but they're only fun diversions that can't mask the main issue present.

See as an endless runner, Monoloco kind of just plods along at a slow pace. There's plenty of time to react and aside from the zookeepers who capture you in their nets, there is no challenge from anything the game throws at you. This looks bad enough, but then add in the prices in the store for new levels, accessories and upgrades and the whole thing starts to get painful. Monoloco is a free game, and yes, In-App Purchases are a great way for developers to fund their games while getting them out to as many people as possible, but the key is balance in pricing. Make the player want to spend money, but don't punish them if they decide not to.

Perhaps it's unfair to unload on this game about the problems so many other titles have with the in-app purchase model, but often in entertainment, being excellent or horrendous is fine, it's being average and mediocre that's unforgivable, and even with its solid cartoon visuals, as an endless runner Monoloco is quite average indeed. There's potential here, and that just makes it all the more tragic.

App Store Info