2D puzzle game Astro Mined: Galactic Bombsquad has landed! Published by MakeGamesWithUs, a boutique micro-publisher focused on new talent, Astro Mined delivers a healthy mix of Minesweeper and Sokoban-style gameplay to unsuspecting mobile gamers. The game’s cartoony art style and puzzle-fueled planetary exploration will charm players into submission only a few levels in.
Created by ex-Googler and programmer extraordinaire Aleksander Fedorynski, Astro Mined focuses on deceptively simple puzzles and space-themed locations to keep puzzle fans buzzing. The full game ships with more than 50 levels distributed across a number of different planets and celestial bodies—including fan favorites such as the Moon, Mars, and Europa.
Astro Mined: Galactic Bombsquad was the winning entry in MakeGamesWithUs’ 2013 iOS Game Competition.
“I love the simple-yet-beautiful gameplay of Minesweeper,” says Aleksander Fedorynski, lead developer and creator of Astro Mined. “I always end up wanting more from the core gameplay, though. Instead of pure puzzle-solving, I wanted an adventure. Instead of merely avoiding mines, I wanted to disable them. Astro Mined is the game I had in mind – and I decided to build it myself after realizing that a Sokoban/Minesweeper hybrid simply didn’t exist.”
In Astro Mined, players are responsible for the safety of a charming astronaut miner. Each step toward the exit is fraught with peril; all it takes is one exploding mine to send the astronaut back to the starting point. To avoid turning into cosmic dust, players can either avoid mines by navigating around them or make use of boulders that destroy mines—allowing the astronaut to advance. Boulders are not indestructible, however: After a few hits, they will break into tiny little pieces.
Astro Mined is the third game developed by Aleksander Fedorynski and his brother Jacek. The two brothers quit their jobs at the same time to make games together. Their previous games were Blackjack Instructor (iOS) and the well-received Busy Beaver (Android).
Key Features
· 54 levels of adventure and danger: Enough variety for a lifetime stranded in space.
· Sokoban meets Minesweeper: A bite-sized explosion of original puzzle gameplay.
· Delightful sound effects and music: Proprietary tech allows Astro Mined to play music and effects in a vacuum!
· Intellectually stimulating gameplay: Makes you smarter, wiser . . . a citizen of the stars!
· Adorable cartoon space miner: A space mime wasn’t as popular among the staff, so we decided to scrap the Astro Mime idea and stick with Astro Mined.
· Explore the Solar System: 3 planets to solve . . . just like “worlds” in a puzzle game 😉
· Collect coins for bonus points: No in-game currency. No crypto-currency. Just coins. Plain, good old fashioned, shiny gold coins.
Astro Mined: Galactic Bombsquad can be downloaded. If players wish to progress past level 18, the full game can be unlocked for only $1.99.