Floating out is a game made with Unity and offered by Glint labs. This game is challenging in its own way where you use certain strategies to calculate the best possible way through a level to the exit. Each level is different where you could be given the option of either number of touches or a certain amount of time within which to reach the exit.

The game is available free on the play store and can be downloaded and installed easily. When you open the game, you have the option to log into Google play games or not. There are a total of 5 Chapters with 15 levels in each chapter totaling to 75 challenging levels for the player to enjoy!

On proceeding to play, the player will be presented with the screen for Chapter 1 that shows the levels for that chapter numbered 1 to 15. Depending on the number of attempts the player takes to finish each level, they are given 1, 2 or 3 stars and these are recorded under each level as the player completes each level. You can score a maximum of 45 stars in total for each chapter, i.e. 15 levels x 3 stars maximum for each level. When you initially start, you will have ‘0/45’ displayed on the screen.

The player will start from Level 1 and on entering the level will be provided with a challenge in which the player will have to guide a ball through to the exit. There will be many obstacles of different forms all along the way and the player will need to strategically guide the ball through the best possible path, avoiding the obstacles and reach the exit.

Some obstacles can instantly kill the ball and you will need to start the level again. Guiding the ball through to the portal is by touching the screen. The ball moves in the direction of touch. If you touch near the ball, it moves slower and if you touch farther away from the ball it moves faster. Both these come in handy in situations where you need to control the speed of the ball in order to avoid or escape obstacles or may be reach the exit on time.

All the 15 levels in Chapter 1 have levels where the player has to guide the ball through touch only and it is not timed. Each level has a particular number of touch provided depending on the difficulty of the level and the player needs to guide the ball to the exit by using the available touches to reach the exit. For example, level 3 has 10 touches, level 4 had 3 touches, and so on. The obstacles in each level are quite different. Some levels are pretty easy while some are highly challenging.

Chapter 2 levels are a combination of both touch only and touch + timed levels. Timed levels have a time limit within which you have to guide the ball to the exit without being killed by obstacles in between. If you need to start a level again for some reason, in the middle of playing a level, you just need to tap the ring shaped icon on the top right of the screen. Touching the menu icon on the top left (four small squares) takes you to the main page where you can see your score for each level for that chapter; for example, 1, 2 or 3 stars. You can also see the total number of stars you have scored for that particular chapter. The achievement icon on the top left of this page will take you to the achievements page where you can have a look at all your achievements / awards earned so far. There are a total of 14 achievements that the player can accomplish.

Features of the game:

• Floating out is a very simple yet powerfully challenging game that can be of interest to both children and adults. The app does not have tutorials or guidance of any kind and it is not a drawback at all as the game is pretty self explanatory.
• The game has a combination of both easy and difficult levels and some levels can be very difficult if not played strategically.
• Finishing each chapter will unlock the achievements for that chapter and also any other achievements that the player earned while playing that chapter. An example of one award is the persistent award, that is awarded if you die 20 consecutive times in one level. This can sometimes happen in very difficult levels, but the persistence to continue to finish that level without giving up earns the player that award. Yes, some levels are quite difficult and that is what makes it interesting too!
• The game is challenging in a way that it makes you want to complete each level so that you can go ahead and take on more challenges that come your way. There is a curiosity behind what awaits the next level.
• This is a kind of mind and strategic game where you use your logical skills to complete each level to reach the exit in minimal number of moves or time possible.
• There are a total of 14 awards to be accomplished. One each for completing chapters 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, one for the end, i.e. for completing all chapters, beginner award, advanced level award, expert level award, perfectionist award, ninja award, innocent award, persistent award and lightning award.
• The best part of the game is that you do not have to start all over again if you lose life, instead you can just continue from the same level that you are, which is a huge relief.

I could not see much of any negatives while playing Floating out, but there is an in-app purchase that players will need to pay for in order to continue to Chapter 3; that is after completing level 30. Although this is not a high price to pay, this may leave a few kids upset if they are refused a purchase by their parents. iPhone version is available here.