Blackbar 9+
Mrgan LLC
Designed for iPad
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- £2.99
Screenshots
Description
"Blackbar is a brilliant game." —Ron Gilbert
"Its allegories are smart, and its approach to story-telling on touch-devices is just as well. 4.5/5" —TouchArcade
"Taut and intelligent. 8/10" —Eurogamer
"A political statement—a super fun one. I _______ love this _______ game." —Loren Brichter
"Awesome and totally unexpected." —Shaun Inman
Blackbar is a text game: a sci-fi story of a dystopian future told through the medium of word puzzles. Reminiscent of text adventures and interactive fiction, it has a unique mechanic centered around the concept of censorship. Censorship is frustrating, but the human spirit can beat that frustration by turning it into a game.
You'll pick up Blackbar instantly; however, its challenges will keep you searching, thinking, and trying for days.
"An ingenious puzzle game that critiques censorship" —Fast Company
"The humor is black, the puzzles go from simple to truly challenging, and the story is top-notch." —Gamemoir
"Playing Blackbar is Like High School English Class, And I Love It." —Kotaku
"Wonderfully written and does a fantastic job of pulling you into a not entirely unrealistic tale." —Gizmodo
"Well-written and entertaining, with just a touch of a deeper message to hit a few concepts home. Just plain awesome." —JayIsGames
What’s New
Version 1.2.2
• Fixed a bug preventing the solution of one page
Ratings and Reviews
Not Sure About Value
The game was fun and so loved the premise. I loved the simplicity of it and how it was all text-driven. For £2.99, I did expect more than 30 minutes of gameplay and more of a story. Not sure what justifies the price here (not that 2.99 is a lot at all, just comparing to other games that offer much more). Would love to play more games like this from this developer- very creative and dystopian-centric, which I love, but fell a tad short of expectations
Tedious
In a word, this 'game' was tedious.
I don't like to rate things 1 star.. I think almost a bad attempt at something is worth more than that. But this... I really can't bring myself to say two star.
It was tedious. Labourious. There was no joy. No humour. No sound, no imagery, no design... it was just text. Not interesting text, no story... just text, for you to solve. Puzzles of any sort were very infrequent and not satisfying. Some of the textual puzzles I had to Google the answer for because I would never have got them. Some just because they were American and some because they were obscure.
And the page that listed all the text and answers I just found myself wanting to read it and not deal with the 'game', because it would have been a lot easier.
I think there are other games out there which provide so much more value. I bought 80 Days on the same weekend... and when you look at the sound, graphics and extensive text that it offers - Blackbar feels like very bad value.
I like to find redeeming values in anything I try, particularly if the developer is trying something new. But with this... I just can't.
Thought provoking, unusual but way too short
I loved this game! The concept is great (though as other reviewers comment far too short) and I loved the story. A lot of the puzzles are easily guessable but some your really have to work for. This is the first game I’ve played that has really made me think and search elsewhere for answers. It can be frustrating - but that’s because you can’t get every answer straight away! No constant instant gratification with this I’m afraid. However, persevere and the wait is worth it.
This is a game that will stay with me.
App Privacy
The developer, Mrgan LLC, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary based on, for example, the features you use or your age. Learn More
Information
- Provider
- Mrgan LLC
- Size
- 3.1 MB
- Category
- Games
- Compatibility
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- iPhone
- Requires iOS 14.7 or later.
- iPad
- Requires iPadOS 14.7 or later.
- iPod touch
- Requires iOS 14.7 or later.
- Mac
- Requires macOS 11.5 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- Apple Vision
- Requires visionOS 1.0 or later.
- Languages
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English, German
- Age Rating
- 9+ Infrequent/Mild Horror/Fear Themes Infrequent/Mild Profanity or Crude Humour
- Copyright
- © 2013 Neven Mrgan & James Moore
- Price
- £2.99
Supports
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Family Sharing
Up to six family members can use this app with Family Sharing enabled.