Lili is one of those games you want to like, desperately. Offering a gorgeous, heavily-stylized world with adorable characters and a fantastically endearing protagonist, it's a shame what's under the hood doesn't match the glowing exterior. Lili is at once charming and boring; enchanting and frustrating. In essence, it's a great example of a well-developed narrative dragged down by flat gameplay.
Lili takes advantage of Unreal Engine 3 on iOS like few games outside of Infinity Blade have managed. From the moment the geeky-strong protagonist lands on the shores of the mysterious island Geos, the beautifully appointed environments draw you into its world of adorable wooden villagers, or Constructs. But what starts out as a whimsical journey to collect flowers – satisfyingly plucking them with your touch screen – soon turns into an aggravating march to complete an otherwise great story.
Flowers are currency on Geos. You'll use them to purchase helpful items and upgrades on Lili's quest to free the island from the oppressive Mayor and his army of Spirits (which look awfully similar to No-Face from Spirited Away). Combatting the Spirits, which makes up the core of Lili, is an unfortunately irritating affair.
Spirits are defeated by chasing down the earthy humanoids and jumping on their backs. A set number of flowers are plucked from the Spirit's back to win, but grip-killing thorns and bombs will try to throw your protagonist to the ground. Unfortunately, removing bombs with a swipe sometimes feels like pulling gum out of hair. The first few times you ride a Spirit, it's great; the 12th time – and after a ridiculous difficulty spike – it's just annoying. Role-playing game elements do help to change things up a bit, and the game's sense of humor is fantastic; the letter-puking mailman is a personal favorite.
The bottom line. Lili is a quirky journey to an island filled with memorable characters, but grueling combat may have you looking for your boat ticket.
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 4.0 or later
Charming characters. Inviting, explorable world.
Monotonous gameplay. Obnoxious difficulty spike. Frustrating combat controls.
