Pick-up-and-play mobile games are a treasure for people who want something to make time pass faster while they commute or wait in line somewhere. They are often easy to learn, yet difficult to master.
Simple yet addictive mechanics
Helix Jump is a prime example of this phenomenon. It is a simple Android game where you rotate the scene to allow the ball to fall downwards. The only thing you need to avoid are the oddly-colored platforms.
Falling through many sets of obstacles at once grants you bonus points and eventually accelerates the ball, making it immune to obstacles for a while. Reaching the bottom of the scene finishes the level and advances you to the next one.
The game is addictive to say the least, and it just runs so smoothly, which is definitely something enjoyable. After you fail, you can either start from the beginning or watch a video to get a second chance.
Navigating frequent interruptions
The game could use a social aspect to compare your high score among friends. If you don't want to pay for the ad-free version, we advise playing with your Internet connection turned off because the ads can be quite annoying, interrupting you almost each time you fail a level.
Since some levels can be failed quite quickly, you will have to watch ads almost as much as you are actually playing. Because the game doesn't need an active Internet connection to do anything, going offline lets you really enjoy the experience. Still, you will probably find that it gets quite dull after a while as the levels and gameplay don't really change much throughout the game.
Vedin Klovo
App tester and reviewer
★★★★★
★★★★★
Pros
Fun to play and difficult to put down
Ideal to spend a couple minutes of your daily commute
The motion of the ball and the scene is satisfyingly smooth
No complicated item collecting, crafting, or in-game currencies