Every level has three objectives: there is the main object that you have to obtain to finish the level, multiple optional objects cleverly hidden in the level and then there is our little thief’s pet ferret who is hiding somewhere in the level and you have to locate and tap on him. The gameplay in Tiny Thief is carried out entirely by tapping at points on the screen. Depending upon the number of objects you collect, you get stars at the end for that level. Tiny Thief basically involves stealing certain objects in the level without being spotted and then exiting the level. Of course, the lawmen wouldn’t have any of that and so now we have our game. This means, although he does steal for a living, his intentions are largely noble, wherein he only steals to give back to those who deserve it. It's little details like this that really make Tiny Thief a pleasure to play through, even when its trial-and-error gameplay starts to grate.ĭespite our reservations about Tiny Thief's limited gameplay, it retains sufficient charm, polish and fun elements to make it two from two on the Rovio Stars score card.Tiny Thief is the story of a young thief who fashions himself as some sort of a Robin Hood. Get caught and he'll react in a different way depending on his environment - trying to dig his way to freedom or holding a flower in front of his face, for example. The animation is sublime, and each level is packed full of tiny little incidental details that help you form an attachment to our protagonist and his pet. Tiny Thief, like Icebreaker before it, is beautiful and distinctive to look at. If we could name two defining aspects of a Rovio Stars game this early on, it would have to be polish and character. Still, the sheer inventiveness of the scenarios and the gentle humour woven through each of Tiny Thief's levels keeps you progressing and, yes, enjoying yourself - even when the gameplay is occasionally only a notch or two above those interactive kiddy books that are in abundance on the App Store. There are additional incentives in the form of optional extras you can collect - as well as an ongoing Where's Wally?-type game with your little pet - but, again, the solutions to these vary between the obvious and the downright obtuse. We didn't find ourselves inclined to use it until the end of the third world, but it still seems like a pretty obvious shortcoming. This isn't helped by a hint system that can only be activated every four hours. The worst make little sense, and rely on trial-and-error and aimless wandering and tapping to see where our hero can affect the world. The best levels are imaginative yet logical. Stray near an object that can be used or picked up and a tappable command prompt will pop up. Puzzles are solved in a linear fashion by collecting, using, and interacting with objects in a set order. The idea is to guide a light-fingered youth around a series of simple medieval environments, pinching from mean-spirited authority figures and helping out the disadvantaged like some pint-sized Robin Hood. Tiny Thief plays like a point-and-click adventure game shrunk down and separated into standalone bite-sized challenges. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Tiny Thief doesn't manage to scale those same heights - but it's also sufficiently fresh to warrant a closer look. We recently saw the very first Rovio Stars offering, Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, which wowed us all with its supremely well-balanced brand of physics-based puzzling. The Rovio Stars publishing initiative is only one game old as Tiny Thief comes to market, but 5 Ants's game already has a formidable challenge living up to the label's high standards.
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