Apple Arcade review #51: Pilgrims
Pilgrims is a beautiful 2D adventure set in a fairy-tale forest that feels very Central European. The art is lovely and full of character. The puzzle mechanics are novel and clever. The music — think brass, accordion, organ — is organic, authentic and very listenable. Even the sound-effects and vocalisations are fun. There’s so much soul in this game; it’s handcrafted with love and attention to detail.
In the game, you acquire playing cards that represent characters and items, and you drag these cards into locations to enable the objects. You solve adventure-type puzzles by picking the right cards in the right order. It’s really easy to get to grips with, but difficult enough to present a decent challenge. Anyone can play this: it’s very visual and logical, yet still magical.
If you’re into classic adventures, this is a really interesting twist on the genre that stands out and stands apart from most other games. Highly recommended. My only possible caveat is that I found it a lot more playable in landscape mode on the iPad than in the (forced) portrait mode on the iPhone.