# Blast Waves — user reviews > 27 indexed App Store user reviews of Blast Waves by Kyle Barrett, rated 4.20/5 from 42 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blast-waves/id1448678847/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/blast-waves/id1448678847.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 30 · 4★ 2 · 3★ 4 · 2★ 1 · 1★ 5 ## Newest reviews (7 of 27) ### 4/5 — Fun Game *2022-06-23* But the movement scheme needs some work. Maybe allow us to have a joystick to move instead of dragging. Shooting has a joystick oddly enough. ### 4/5 — Great game! *2022-03-13* I really enjoyed this game; the music, animation and overall style of the game are amazingly old school and the gameplay is fun and challenging. I like that the soldiers you play as can be one great heroes but can still be killed by one wrong move or just bad luck, like having a tree fall over onto you. If you are a fan of retro Sci Fi tactical strategy games that you can play in short bursts on your phone then you can’t get much better than this! ### 4/5 — innovative, inspired, indie *2022-02-23* Blast Waves blasts onto your device with waves of exceptional gaming. A truly new take on the rogue like game, Blast Waves manages to squish several unruly mechanics into its portable dimensions. My favorite is the writing. Yes, yes that isn’t a mechanic but the simplistic approach of adding a little back story to the characters is much appreciated. There is a great amount of world building that’s garnished from reading the description of battles, worlds and characters. The use of time and action is prominent from the get go, the world around you only moves when you do. It’s great for anyone who is tired of the frantic pace of most games of this ilk. I want to be able to take my eyes off the screen to think without dying, in Blast waves, I can. The loop is a little short at first but I expect that will lengthen once the main character gets stronger. I have only just delved into this foray but -I’m hooked. A couple qualms: When trying to move the screen i almost always make my guy a path by mistake. I wonder if having an option for a path confirm would alleviate that. Frankly, I would love an RPG(ish) game with these movement /combat mechanics. I want to wander the world, hunt some prey, fend off some road brigands, and try different weapons and armor then sell them in different towns… Night and day? Dynamic weather? Sorry about the wishlist. From what I understand this was made by one person, no mean feat! I look forward to trying other games from this creators library. Thank you! PS i played a game about a thousand years ago called Mars Saga which parts of this remind me of. I played that for hours waaay back in the day. I think I found its spiritual successor and I look forward to delving deep into Blast Waves! **Developer response:** Thanks for the kind words! So glad you're enjoying the lore- world building was a part of the fun in making this project. I would also love to make an RPG using the systems in this game, but need to fine-tune them- the player feedback like yours has been incredibly helpful with that process. ### 5/5 — Enjoyable *2021-12-21* Really enjoying this, is quite different to a lot of arcade shooters that it gives you time to look around and check your decisions, yet still has the feel of the old style games with awesome music. Two draw backs I’ve found are that when I’m on a far wave on command, there is no way to save or come back to it at a later time. Reloading the game shows how far I’ve got but I need to start again, which isn’t ideal for a mobile game as I’m often playing on the go or in quick bursts. Another, is once you gather more weapons/items the bar at the bottom goes off the screen and there isn’t a way to use all the things you’ve collected. Hope there can be a fix for these in the near future, except that, great game. 🙌 ### 5/5 — new genre?! *2021-12-19* Love the dev, this plays unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Somehow scratches my real-time and turn-based itch at the same time. ### 5/5 — Challenging and Fun!!! *2021-12-16* Blast waves is challenging and fun. I really enjoy this game. Provides hours if entertainment without getting bored! ### 5/5 — Amazing! *2021-12-16* This developer is great! I love the art and effects! So satisfying to take out targets! Really great storyline and world yielding. Every character you play as, has a unique backstory. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Controls -_- *2024-04-07* The controls for this game are atrocious. Avoid this game at all costs. ### 1/5 — Artificially Pumped on AppStore Rankings *2022-06-24* I got duped into thinking this may be good because it was pumped up on the AppStore rankings to top 2(!) of paid games. The clip in the ad looks great, but it plays really badly. It drops you in a rogue like play through with literally no tutorial, and the gameplay is slow, lacking fine control. I was thinking it would be turn based, but you get a time-stop superhot type thing. But the game is so shallow and clunky there’s no way to really outplay the enemy with your extra time to think. It’s easier to accidentally drag too far and walk straight into every bullet. Come on, these rankings are being manipulated. ### 1/5 — Nostalgia Undelivered *2022-02-03* While the game does well in channeling the look and feel of the early turn based games on an Apple II, the game lacks a training mode and instead relies heavily on trial and error. Combined with the clunky controls and the frustration at not having a trial version and instead paying to support what resembles a college CS term project just isn’t what is expected from a seasoned developer. ### 1/5 — Unbalanced game *2022-01-25* I love this game and the potential it has! I love the personalized touches of the back story for each character and the uniqueness of the effects and equipment. My one issue with the game is though… it is severely unbalanced there are some weapon combos or enemy wave choices that destroy you with 0 chances of winning especially early in the runs. This ruins the game as you cannot use all the uniqueness this game has to offer due to dying just like that. I sure hope they balance it in the future as it is still very new! ### 1/5 — Poorly Executed Cash Grab *2022-01-24* Do not buy this game. It’s unbelievably low-effort garbage, from the half-baked concept to the clunky controls, this game gets low marks across the board. There’s nothing resembling precision to the controls, which completely defeats the concept of progressing time only when the player moves. All of the levels are roughly the same. There is a serious lack of care in designing the interface. This is just a shameless, quick and dirty cash grab banking on an idea with lots of potential. They could have turned the basic concept behind this game into something truly worthwhile, but were too lazy and greedy to do so. What a waste! **Developer response:** So just to correct the misinformation here for people who may actually be considering trying my game: 1) Indie premium games on the app store do not make “cash grab” amounts of money 2) There is no “they”. It’s just me making indie games in my free time. 3) There’s actually been a decent amount of thought + effort put into the interface and controls. If you do have specific points of feedback, please do feel free to email me/reach out and I’ll be happy to take and look and see how I can improve the game. ### 2/5 — It’s okay *2021-12-16* I was excited to see a new title come out from Kyle Berrett, because I very much enjoyed his previous title, Immortal Rogue. I still play it today. I love the end game content that was added to that game, bringing endless fun to the Vampire Roguelike. I enjoy how it plays and would love to see more like it or expanded upon. With Blast Waves, I was hoping for something fresh, built on top of what made Immortal Rogue so great. The sci-fi theme, suit and weapon upgrades/unlocks, various planets and locations you can travel to, 2 different play modes, I think are great new ideas that drew me in to pick this title up. However, the problems mostly become apparent in the UI system and control scheme. I play on an iPhone 12 mini so, out the gate, I’m already playing on a smaller screen, which makes the UI look a bit convoluted. There are a lot of options you can click through but everything, from the typesetting to the icons, are rather tiny. Even smaller than Immortal Rogue’s UI. It’s definitely less intuitive from my perspective. Then there is the control scheme. I honestly wish it was in real time, and wish the game played more like Immortal Rogue when it comes to controlling your character and attacking. I understand that Kyle was going for a tactical approach, but it feels like it’s dragging down the fun factor imo. Playing the game makes you want take actions in real time, but it feels more like a crawl. Especially when you’re trying to move your character to another position. You have to be careful not to fat finger your waypoint or your character will run in circles before it commits to the path you initially meant to lay out. Painting the waypoint feels hectic even though the game pauses while trying to make the action. I had to switch to the “joystick” option for shooting weapons. It works better for aiming. It also helps with dialing in the distance of your shot (by moving the crosshair along the aim line before letting go to shoot), but that alone is part of a learning curve since you won’t know how far the projectile will go until you see it in action. This can waste ammo for weapons/items that require it. These are my current thoughts on the game. Overall, it has some great ideas, combined with mechanics taken from previous titles. I also love the theme/genre, but the UI and control scheme needs improvement. IMO, if this was more like Immortal Rogue, a “hack n’ shoot” maybe, it could be more fun. But that’s not what Kyle was probably going for. **Developer response:** Hey sorry this one wasn't to your tastes, but thanks for giving it a try! Beyond improving this project, I should have something more real-timey coming out this year as well. ### 3/5 — Great game major problem *2025-01-10* Game would be 5 stars it is so fun but the command mode only saves the first 42 characters you beat the game with so you’re stuck without any of the fully Upgraded characters you beat it with later ### 3/5 — Control mechanics *2022-07-07* Concept is good, but the control is too clunky. Why not give us a virtual joystick to control moving, and an emergency fire button to shoot the closest enemy. ### 3/5 — Let's talk! *2022-06-26* The game is overall good. The only thing that needs to be fixed is the camera control. Every time I try to love the camera it doesn't move and I die and it's extremely frustrating. **Developer response:** Thanks for your feedback! I'll take a look at the camera controls. Can you please email me what control scheme you are using along w/ any other details or suggestions? foolishmortalstudios@gmail.com ### 4/5 — 9/10 *2023-07-17* Fun game I do like the wave styles gameplay but do wish for more content ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Better one so far *2026-07-13* I have played your Ultima Blade and enjoyed a lot. It’s supposed to be the top game of your career. But this game made me review that opinion. Blade Waves is the best one so far. It turn based is more enjoyable than the fast paced of Ultima Blade. If I’m super picky, the health bar could be better positioned, since some iPhones place their front cameras where the health bar is. Other than that, it’s a perfect game. ### 5/5 — Incredible Offline Game *2025-07-31* Takes a minute to get the hang of the controls/cadence, but once you do, the challenge becomes addictive. I limit myself to one phone game at a time, requirements being no in game ads / no internet required. This didn’t just fit the profile, this game exceeded my expectations in almost every way. Great work, KB. Recommendations are as follows: make more games! ### 5/5 — Yes *2025-01-11* It’s so perfect ### 5/5 — The Update Deserves Another Star From Me! *2023-02-24* I was happily surprised by the new update and thought it was crazy how close it came out to the release of Ultra Blade! I have been enjoying the added weapons and Gorrian home world level! Already said it before but this is a great and unique game, and Kyle Barret is an amazing dev! If you like this game check out his other stuff, especially the first one I played by him, a century spanning vampire rogue-like called Rogue Immortal! **Developer response:** Thanks so much for playing! ### 5/5 — A new game from Kyle Barrett? Shut up and take my money! *2023-01-02* Kyle Barrett is a solo developer who is passionate about the games he makes. He literally makes the games he wants to play, and wow, I want to play them too! Every one of his games is a gem. Here’s to many more Kyle Barrett games! I am in my first playthrough now, and I am loving the game. I am using the default controls Kyle created, and I find them intuitive and fun. Just gotta get used to not starting on your character when you want to move the camera, and always starting on your character when you do want to move. The backstory of my character is cool, and it is fun to see his impressive list of accomplishments grow. I always love unlockables, and Blast Waves has tons of them! Going rogue now. Get the game and have a Blast! **Developer response:** Thanks for the kind words! It's always exciting to see someone digging into and enjoying one of these projects. I appreciate your feedback on the controls as well. I'm looking for ways to improve this system- both for Blast Waves and any other future games that may use it. ### 5/5 — Great game *2022-11-26* This is a great game and it has lots of potential. I do think that there should be more to the survival story than just ending with command mode. I think there should be like a campaign of some sort where you can continue to grow and conquer worlds and win battles. There should be some kind of end goal. Maybe you could make a mode where you are actually fighting a war and have to liberate the planets and continue fighting and liberating planets until your commander dies. The commander mode has no weight to it, you just endlessly fight until you die and then do it all over again. There should be other modes and other campaign style elements just to give the game a lil more spice. I do think that it’s a pretty good game though. Will there be any updates in the future? ### 5/5 — It’s amazing *2022-06-24* It’s a great game with amazing action and strategy it’s like FTL on the ground! ### 5/5 — Blast *2022-02-01* One of the best games I played on mobile. I think command mode should be a bit more complex but that is pretty much my only complaint. ### 5/5 — Best game of the new year *2022-01-11* This game is soo good I don’t know we’re to start wish there was a way this could be multiplayer also it would be nice to have like a amory to see what weapons I need to unlock still and more starting weapons would be cool too but yeah overall this game has me hooked ### 5/5 — Something new and tasty *2022-01-11* I like this a lot and it keeps getting better as i try new strategy/moving styles. It’s a turn based shooter with level perks and if you get a charachter to complete 5 levels you can then clone/play him in the Squad mode….which seems like a difficult version of the main game but you can purchase soldiers/ammo drops, you have movement control of any purchased soldiers and the character you chose starts with all the weapons they’ve unlocked. I’ve managed to get 4 characters to squad level but have only beaten a couple of those levels. Also as a roguelike you spend found gems on new equipment that becomes available and new armor sets that have perks like loot magnet, faster movement etc. it’s not easy And if u don’t watch your moves games can be super fast. …meaning you die…but it’s easy to put in a few games real quick as even completing a level successfully only takes a few minutes, maybe 5. Highly recommend! Different, fun, quick like a shooter yet you can stop and plan your move as action stops until you move or shoot, like a turn based. Awesomeness!!! Support devs like this and Keep up the awesome work brother!!! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-26.*