Shadow Bug Rush Review

How many #monsters can you kill before touching ground, or worse, #spikes?

Shadow Bug Rush is a free-to-play mobile platformer, which throws you into bizarre levels filled with monsters and traps. The game requires quick thinking and good timing, as movement is based on the very same enemies which you kill.

Mid-destruction.

Touching the screen makes your character walk left or right, but any vertical movement requires you to tap on an enemy, causing you to dash through the air to kill it. You will then repeat this, jumping from monster to monster, making sure you won’t hit any spikes as you go. The action is fast and fun, and the kill animation usually gives you enough time to figure out which way to go next before having to act again. However, falling down very often means landing into spikes, which means that constant movement is necessary.

Unlockable cats? Sign me up.

While going through the areas you may collect coins, which you can then use to unlock new character models, for example. The character models are mostly black silhouettes, but still nice to look at and fun to play with. The general look of the game is very charming, and together with the stimulating soundtrack they create a setting that manages to arouse your imagination.

The game offers a good challenge very early on. The monsters reappear after a few seconds, which makes it possible to stay afloat using the same, carefully placed enemies over and over  – which the game requires you to do quite often. Many traps are only avoidable for short periods of time, and you need to predict your movement a bit in order to pass through.

Is that red a natural colour, or is it the blood of previous cats?

The enemies may move or remain still, but the hit boxes are big enough that you usually hit what you are trying to tap at. Some areas are very dark, however, which means that sometimes it may be difficult to spot the next monster in the time window you are given. Mostly this is not an issue, though, and all the different objects are usually clearly visible. The action works well even on a phone, but a tablet is much better as your fingers won’t get in the way of your vision as much.

Shadow Bug Rush comes with many different translations, which makes it playable for even the younger children. It is good, casual tapping fun with smooth action, and often makes your heartbeat speed up with clever combinations of monsters and traps.

Developer: Muro Studios

Publisher: Muro Studios

Platforms: Android, iOS

Reviewed on: Android

Release date: 2016

PEGI 7

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