I was told there was an indie game with a retro feel that I should check out.. a very addictive game, a game that has you using your thumbs to chop down a tree, then chop it some more, and then some more.  “Chop down a tree you say? How can that be addictive? .. in fact, how can that be playable? It sound’s rubbish!”

So out of curiosity I check it out, and quickly realise that this game, “Timberman” by Digital Melody is crack cocaine in app form.  My eyes are glued to the screen as I take in it’s beautiful pixelated graphics which transport me back to my youth, and my ears are purring as they take in the analogue saws and sines that would feel just right shooting from the tweeters of an 1980’s arcade machine or a Nintendo Entertainment System at Christmas in 1985.  This is the most fun you will ever have chopping down a tree with your thumbs, guaranteed!

In the same vein as the popular (not to mention over-saturated, over-cloned, and in my opinion just plain crap) Flappy Bird; this game will have you playing on the bus, at the dinner table and on the toilet, just to beat your last score.  Each game that is started, although not too varied in game play, will vary in playing time and frustration, as one time you may play for 3 seconds (this sound’s like me on Flappy Bird), and the very next game you may play for 3 minutes, only to play for 1 second the next time.  It’s those damn branches you see…

Timberman has only one life, and he knows how to live it to the fullest!  Forget debauchery and indulgence;  he’s spending it doing what he was born to do, that being relentlessly swiping his axe at a huge endless trunk and the only way he’s stopping is if he dies.  As the largest tree on the planet (approximately Infinity feet high) is being chopped down; instead of jumping out of the way or going for a tea break, our hero will increasingly make it more difficult for himself by sticking around to continue his chopping as branch after branch will descend toward his head with each firm slash.. one hard bonk on his noggin or an accidental stumble against one, and it’s game over for this eager lumberjack.  He died doing what he loved, though.  When death comes, you are presented with your score which of course will have you stay that little bit longer on the toilet to in order to beat it.

If you are used to playing Flappy Bird, then the control system of Timberman may have you a little confused.  Because, in Flappy Bird you tap the screen once and only once, but in this game total panic will set in as you have to tap the left side of the screen… or tap the right side of the screen… that’s TWO places you have to tap!  The very thought of it has me flummoxed.  But of course I’m joking; the control’s are super simple to use (as long as you have a thumb on each hand, otherwise you’ll have to get accustomed to moving your finger as well as tapping with it – but that will require a certain amount of skill that people with two thumb’s don’t speak of).

Just as in another (quite famous) game which sees it’s portrait style playing field vertically receiving new stuff for the player to contend with from the top of the screen (you guessed it, I’m talking about Tetris); the action does not end as you advance to each level, but rather it keeps you in the thick of it without a break.  With each tap of your thumb / chop of your pixel axe, the excitement builds and the music becomes more frantic.  All throughout this, though, Timberman seemingly remains calm and gets on with his job.

With lots of variable environments, and 18 different playable characters to unlock (so far); Timberman will have you coming back again and again, with an intense need to chop away yesterday’s best score and get that number higher, and then just a little higher again.  If you loved Flappy Bird (or even if you thought it was crap like I did), and if you love a challenging yet simplistic game, with retro graphics and music to give you back those nostalgic feelings we all miss then you should check out Timberman right now!

 Timberman is available now for Android & iOS, either free with ads, or add free for $0.99 / 69p

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