Puzzle games are a dime a dozen on the App Store and most offer only slightly different iterations of the same ideas. Once in a while, though, you get some innovative puzzle games that introduce some intriguing ways of interaction, and Jason Roberts' Gorogoa [$4.99] is definitely one of those special games. Gorogoa gives players the ability to manipulate four panels, but the ways those panels can be manipulated are very clever and offer some surprises that I really enjoyed. I knew Gorogoa gave players the ability to interact with the overlays of the various illustrations, but I didn't expect it to do so in such inventive ways. Add to those smart interactions some truly gorgeous, hand-drawn art, and a mystical story, and you have a puzzle game that everyone who enjoys the genre should definitely grab. And if you have friends who like to debate whether video games are art, send them Gorogoa just to add more fuel to the fire.
Gorogoa is the work of a single person, Jason Roberts, and tells an intriguing story of a young boy who seeks to gather five items associated with what looks like a South American deity that appeared outside his window. Gorogoa's story is tricky to explain because it is as vague as it is mystical. It's definitely the kind of story you can interpret in many ways, and that's part of the game's magic, at least to me. Left to its own devices, my imagination was constantly going into all kinds of directions, interpreting and reinterpreting the game's visuals....