Chasing Yello

Dreamfab's follow-up to Saving Yello, a decidedly sinister puzzler in which a poor little goldfish is endlessly set on fire, blown up, and left out in the air to suffocate by his 7-year-old owner Mathilda, is Chasing Yello. Saving Yello saw players catapulting the poor goldfish back into his bowl to ensure he splashed cleanly back into his humble little fishbowl. And now that Yello is alive and well, he's back on the run. From Mathilda, once again. Seriously, why hasn't someone taken this poor little guy away from her and locked her up somewhere? Chasing Yello follows little Yello on his mad dash to safety from a ranting and raving Mathilda who has declared she's having fish for dinner. Ominous much?

The Good

Chasing Yello is an adorable, colorful amalgam of hits like Jetpack Joyride and all the other endless runners you've likely come across upon browsing the App Store. It's an accelerometer-controlled twitchy tapfest where your biggest concern is keeping Yello from succumbing to the malevolent Mathilda's clutches. As you race down the river, Mathilda furiously paddling along behind you, you're faced with flaming logs, hungry piranhas, and other obstacles that stand in your way to freedom.

You'll need lightning-fast reflexes to keep Yello afloat, and luckily there are plenty peppered throughout the seemingly endless rivers that keep Yello swimming quicker than his tiny body should be able to handle. Speed boosts, powerful fireworks, magnets, and various other augments act as quick aids for Yello's success, and should keep you out of the net long enough to score some sweet multipliers and bonuses for the record books.

The Bad

Getting the tiny fish to safety isn't your only concern, though. You only need to worry about keeping him out of Mathilda's reach in order to perform well, but achievements to some are where the real meat will lie. There are quite a few challenges to complete alongside keeping a steady pace, and many serve up a satisfying reward upon completion: that feeling of "Wow, I can't believe I just did that!". For instance, you might be tasked with collecting a few of one type of item for X amount of meters, or you may be forced to log an entire run without using even one of the same powerup. Completing these types of miniature challenges acts as a great way to attain progress without devoting an hour or two to try and best your previous records.

Environments are lush, cartoony, and friendly -- this would be a fantastic game for younger players who might be ready for the chaos of Jetpack Joyride or even Temple Run but need something a little more colorful and engaging to get started. Of course, Mathilda's irritating commentary as you zip down the river does begin to grate on the nerves a bit -- really, Mathilda? You just want to "play" with Yello? We saw how well that worked out in Saving Yello.

The Verdict

In the end, Chasing Yello is something we've seen before, multiple times. But it's quite polished and offers a viable alternative to the same runners you've probably been enjoying (and maxing out) for months -- for something that feels the same with some newer elements sprinkled in, give it a try. And report Mathilda for animal abuse.