Flyt: Hovering when it could have soared – Review

Flyt is one of the many free-to-play arcade games on the appstore, and as a result it initially presents as little more than geometry navigating bigger geometry in its screenshots. Yet I find myself attracted to these sorts of games; both because I enjoy classic arcade games, and because I want to get in there and see the hook – the thing that sets it apart from all the others.

In Flyt‘s case, that hook is a little multi-directional dash you can do. It moves you about an inch across the screen in any direction you swipe, thus quickly evading whatever obstacle is coming your way. Regular movement involves tapping and holding the screen to ascend and releasing to descend as your little geometric ship automatically flies to the right.

Throughout the game you will dodge objects such as big, black pointy structures, blue projectiles that follow you, red projectiles that don’t, and yellow projectiles that zig-zag. The game will also go into slow-motion when you come too near a hazard, giving you an extra fraction of a second to react. Finally, you come across power-ups that make you invulnerable and allow you to plow through any and all obstacles while contributing thousands of points to your distance, ie. high score.

However, though Flyt‘s fundamental gameplay is solid, its minimalist artistic style and rough-looking particle effects do it few favours. It’s fun to play, and it would certainly take some time to master, but the lack of satisfying visuals, meaningful progression, and other game modes leaves little incentive to continue playing after the first few runs.

Thankfully the game is mercifully light on ads and loading times, only interrupting the experience once in awhile between runs if you’ve gone a reasonable distance. Unfortunately this isn’t enough to set it apart from the appstore’s other arcade offerings nor compensate for its flaws, leaving it to occupy the uncomfortable position of being an enjoyable but short-lived diversion.

I would tentatively recommend this game to arcade lovers who are looking for a free, ad-light experience… But sadly, even in that arena, Flyt does not succeed in truly distinguishing itself.