And the iPhone games keep coming – Zen Bound Review
Philosophers and many-a-wise-men have suggested to us that Zen is a moment reached where one loses himself in an action, unaware of time or any other distraction, focusing only on the action itself. So when one hears of a game by the title Zen Bound, one would expect to find at least a moment of such concentration while playing this game. And one certainly does.
Developed by Secret Exit and published (once again) by Chillingo, Zen Bound is not just a game, it is a wonderful escape from the stresses of everyday life. I kid you not, you might find yourself feeling happier, dare I say ‘peaceful,’ after playing a round or two of Zen Bound. The objective is beautifully simple. Select and wrap a wooden animal figure in rope to colour it. You can rotate and spin the figure using your fingers as you please, and adjust the slack on the rope by tilting your iPhone of iPod Touch left and right. Sound interesting to you? Watch this brief clip:
So far, Secret Exit has really impressed me as a developer. The attention to detail with which they create is incredible; from the cherry blossom tree-based menu, to the modern eastern ambient soundtrack, right down to the articulate control scheme. I don’t think anything about this game could have been more stylish, or any better conceived. This game demonstrates polish and a sense of completion seldom found in mobile gaming, let alone gaming itself, and I genuinely appreciate all the effort put in to make this game what it is. It has instantly become one of my favourite Apps (see the other two here). Zen Bound is new on the App Store, and can be found here:
Also, when they say this game was designed for headphones, do yourself a favour, and put on headphones.
