The Unity engine is the most widely used third-party game development software worldwide, and we at IGN Southeast Asia are proud to partner up with Unity to introduce "Made With Unity Spotlight". The objective of this new feature column is simple, which is to showcase outstanding Made With Unity games, explore hidden gems, as well as behind the scene stories featuring some of the best developers and artists in the gaming world.
One of my favorite past times is to scour through the near endless list of games available on the Play Store, hoping to come upon the next hidden gem. While I don't patronize the paid titles as often as I should, the simple and charming trailer for Florence by Annapurna Interactive had all signs pointing to yes for me.
Florence is an interactive visual novel that tells the tale of love found, lost and rediscovered. What really peaked my interest to get this game was it's pleasant art style combined with a beautifully moving soundtrack that perfectly marries the two art forms together, culminating into a story that is equal parts sweet, bitter and uplifting.
The gameplay is done very cleverly to further draw you into the life of Florence, from her daily activities like brushing her teeth, where you move her toothbrush back and forth till a meter fills up or doing a light jigsaw puzzle to fill her speech bubble as she forms her sentences during a conversation.
Each of these activities aren't anywhere near challenging, but they fit to serve the purpose of telling the story where words are hardly used. I was delighted to notice Florence was progressing with her relationship because the speech bubble jigsaws became easier and faster to solve, showing that it was easy to talk to her new partner.
Made with the Unity engine, the entire game can be completed in one sitting, spanning just more than half-an-hour, although you may find yourself lingering at certain frames just to enjoy it's many wonderful instrumental pieces by Kevin Penkin.
Florence is available on the App Store and Google Play Store right now for $2.99 USD and as of writing holds a very positive 4.8 Play Store rating.
For more mobile game news, check out the latest crossover for Final Fantasy Brave Exvius with Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and check out the endless runner, Bendy in Nightmare Run. And don't forget to check out our brand new Made with Unity channel, bringing you everything Unity.
Calvin Khan is the Sub-Editor for IGN SEA and can be found scrolling through the Play Store for games as often as he walks through a book store for a good book. Follow him on Twitter @CalvinKhan89
