Tasty Planet Review

Simplicity is sometimes all that's needed to produce an enjoyable game. Tasty Planet taps into this, focusing on one very specific aim - to eat lots - and turning into an addictive few hours of gaming.

You'd think it wouldn't be that addictive immediately. It's so simple that surely it should get boring, right? Wrong. While all you do is glide around the screen collecting up dirt and bacteria, getting bigger and bigger in a nod to the Katamari series of games. It's still compelling. Four different control methods exist to ensure that you enjoy the experience the best you can. Tilt controls are easy to calibrate and seem to work the most appropriately, however tapping or using the virtual d-pad works nearly as well too. Trackpad controls exist but I found they disrupted me from being able to see the screen fully on the iPhone.

That's mostly all there is to it. There's 60 levels in all to entice you, each with a different theme. Some of these levels comprise of simple puzzles, such as working your way around the screen to collect up puzzle pieces. Other levels simply want you to collect up 300 of the same creature, again mixing things up a bit.

There's also a loose story about how this little grey goo started out as a bathroom cleaner before slowly but surely ruling the world by eating everything from dirt to cats to the galaxy. GameCenter leaderboards and achievements add to the experience, giving you a bit more purpose. Ultimately though, it's down to the oddly compelling nature of eating everything in your wake. Tasty Planet is a soothing experience with limited threat meaning you don't have to feel rushed, unless you're in it for the best times.

It turns out that sometimes the simplest of ideas really are the most fun. I was impressed to see just how fast time went once I got into Tasty Planet and found myself working my way through each level. My only complaint is that it might be a little too easy as there's a definite lack of peril here, bar larger things being able to reduce your size.