App Store Hidden Gem and Newly Released Android Puzzle Game: Hives

02/24/2019 Comments Off on App Store Hidden Gem and Newly Released Android Puzzle Game: Hives Android App Reviews, Android Apps Like

I’m an avid user of Reddit and I find myself there often just browsing for fun. I read the dad jokes and look at the meme’s. I get involved with a bunch of different threads. I do this as a leisure activity and I normally don’t think of writing an article when there, but recently I came across a newly released Android puzzle game that I just felt the urge to write about.

I ended up on a thread about a new mobile game called Hives. The thread was just started 2 days ago (as I write this) and the description of the game was enticing. I felt an instant urge to download and try this new Android game out. I’m so glad I came across this hidden gem. From the small conversation I had with the app developer you can tell he really enjoyed creating this game.

The developer goes by the name Loner Cat. He also has another game that was released back in June of 2018. The game was titled “Infinity Ripple”. Loner Cat is open about how that game didn’t do so well, it suffered from counter intuitive controls and frustrating gameplay. Loner Cat accepts this as it was simply made as an experiment. It was created as away to get comfortable with game design for mobile devices.

Loner Cat is actually a student who graduated in psychology in 2018. In his free time after gaining his degree he decided to learn some coding which is something he wanted to learn for a long time. He had some basic knowledge as he did mess around a bit with game maker as a child. Loner Cat wanted to dive in more with learning how to develop mobile apps.

Loner Cat got the idea for “Hives” a few weeks after “Infinity Ripple”. He read something about bees and how they make their hive’s cells in a hexagonal order to maximize the internal area to boundary ratio. The ratio increases as you increase the number of sides of a 2D geometrical form, but any form with more than 6 sides is not repeatable. Loner Cat stated that the idea fascinated him and he then decided to make a game with this hexagonal gameplay, thus “Hives” was born.

Hives has a great number of levels due to the many puzzles you can create using hexagons. This gives the player plenty of time to feed the addiction that may come with this game. The core of “Hives” was ready for months but Loner Cat had to take some time away to focus on other important things going on in his life. He came back to work on it 2 months ago finishing up the levels and some artwork.

This Game is fun and relaxing with some difficulty thrown in. It’s simple yet challenging. You are required to move through the hexagons in very few moves. Trust me, in some cases that is easier said then done. I’m currently on level 12 and levels that low are considered easy. The game is free to download and does have some in app-purchases in it. The gameplay is a simple concept and so is the art but at the same time you can see the great artistry that has gone into the game.

As with any app or game I write about I encourage you to leave feedback for the developer(s). I especially urge you to when it comes to this one. This game is great in my opinion and has a fantastic gameplay for you to enjoy. So please give your feedback so Loner Cat can continue to improve on this game and hopefully release more Android games in the future!