Barrier

Barrier is a super fast avoid-‘em-up arcade game, which was created by a two man team, and using the Unity 3D engine. It is available on Android or free-to-play on your browser, provided you have Unity Web Player installed. It is basically a hardcore, arcade game, with only one simple objective; survive for a measly 30 seconds, easy, right?  Well, that is what anyone would say at a glance and on the first few levels.




Barrier is very easy to just pick up and play, there being virtually no loading screens from the main menu to the actual game, making it all the better. The controls are very easy to get a grip on, tap left or tap right on the screen for Android, or arrow keys for your browser. So only survive for 30 seconds, easy enough, if you play perfectly, you can pass the entire game in an amazing 3 minutes and 30 seconds (but I doubt it, a lot). Each level is completed by surviving 30 seconds or more and you select different levels by pressing the individual letters in the words: B-A-R-R-I-E-R in the main menu, or C-R-A-S-H-E-D if you have died in game (which you will see a lot).

So what is it that makes this game "hardcore" and challenging? The pure difficulty of the last 3 letters and the awesome soundtrack that comes with it. The first 4 levels are very simple, they are just there to introduce the various challenges and obstacles that are found in Barrier. There are 6 different obstacles in the game, which you will find all very annoying when they are all in play at the same time.

 The Obstacles:

Speed; you will find this to be the most annoying in the final levels, not a bother at all in the other ones.

Barriers (red paths); the basic object to avoid in game. The difficulty with this one depends on what your speed is and the frequency of these barriers depends on your selected level.

Blue arrows; nothing of major difficulty, just bad timing. Arrows that appear in your lane that tell you to move in a certain direction, if you don't, you crash into a barrier, if you move the opposite direction, you are blocked, and when you obey the arrow, you could just end up hitting a nearby barrier if you're unlucky.

Green Paths; not that hard, but annoying due to almost constant blocking from the next obstacle. This is just a simple barrier you have to crash into or you will be blocked.

The NPC; a flying craft, like yours, that plans to annoy you and then destroy you. All it does is just force you out of a lane or you will die, which in turn, forces you to just generally avoid the majority of the green path barriers.

The Blocking; instant loss or something you never notice. Blocking restricts you from moving, so you WILL crash into a barrier or get blown up by the NPC, BUT, it is simply avoidable by either holding one side and tapping the other on Android, or just pressing space on your keyboard. This will make your craft shoot, which disables the block on your craft and can be also used to momentarily destroy the NPC (I personally prefer to use mine as fireworks). So with enough practice and playing, you will perfectly time these shots so you will never be blocked.

I guess I should include one more challenge you will face, the 15 second mark. Every 15 seconds of a level, so 15, 30, 45 etc. the game will go into temporary slow-motion, signaling; you have gone 15 seconds without crashing (congratulations!) and something will change on your current run. Usually the speed increases, or in certain levels, the NPC invades or other obstacles that are not present in your current level.

Conclusion:

Many, many hours of fun and hard times to be had with this little game, and one of the best games I've played that is available on Android  for a seriously cheap amount or just on your browser HERE. I recommend to at least give it a try.