Blackbox vs Skyhook

So you think you understand this thing you’re holding? Think again. Stop tapping. Stop swiping. In fact, stop touching the screen at all. To crack Blackbox’s puzzles you’ll need to find solitude and stillness, climb mountains, call on friends, get in tune with the cosmos, and think outside the box. Minimalistic visual clues make for incredibly satisfying “Aha!” moments, while sonic interfaces provide an extra level of guidance and nuance that makes Blackbox accessible with or without vision. Thoughtful haptic feedback, Easter eggs on Easter eggs, and solutions that can’t be found beneath the glass of your screen redefine what a puzzle can be. You’ll never see your device the same way again. Think you’re clever? Prove it. (Blackbox is a living game under active development by Ryan McLeod. When not eating burritos or drinking coffee, he’s busy designing and developing new Blackbox challenges.) ■

Wait for the perfect moment. Tap to let go. Skyhook is a space arcade game about timing, momentum, and finding your way through the dark. Launch from orbit, catch a rotating skyhook, and line up your next leap toward a distant planet. Simple controls leave room for clever routes. Tap open space to leave orbit. Hold your current planet or skyhook to speed up its rotation. During flight, tap left or right to spend a limited burst and adjust your course. Take the direct shot, or visit every skyhook to collect the stardust along the way. A SMALL UNIVERSE TO MASTER • Handcrafted levels across three distinct worlds. • Moving skyhooks, shifting destinations, asteroid fields, and dangerous black holes. • Stardust to collect and keep, even after a crash. • Medals for arriving, taking fewer launches, and collecting each level's stardust. • Earn new ships with extra bursts, then unlock Aurora's automatic asteroid-clearing laser. MADE FOR A QUIETER KIND OF ARCADE Art deco ships and celestial machinery drift through deep, atmospheric space. A dark, cinematic soundtrack accompanies each journey. Adjust music and effects independently, or mute the game and keep listening to your own audio. Learn with a short automatic demo, replay unlocked levels, and return whenever you like. Progress saves on your device. Gameplay works offline, and no Skyhook account is required. Free to play, with occasional ads between completed levels. An optional one-time Remove Ads purchase removes in-game advertising. All levels and ship unlocks are earned through play.