Submitted by Marshall Walker on
Have you ever wondered how a vending machine works? It's not as simple as you think. Vending machines are actually a complex system of obstacles, traps, platforms and even elevators. That's why humanity invented Vending-Robos. A Vending-Robo is a small robot whose job is to navigate tricky vending machines and deliver cans of soda. In Micro Vendor Adventures you take control of a Vending-Robo to help it navigate around obstacles and deliver cans to waiting customers.
Micro Vendor Adventures is an 8-bit puzzle/platform game where your goal is to move a can of soda from point A to point B. To transport a can, you must lift it with a tiny robot and use the on-screen controls to navigate through the vending machine. The game only has 3 controls: move left, move right and lift. You must use these simple controls to solve puzzles, work around obstacles and avoid traps.
I was a bit confused by the tutorial, and it took me a few tries to figure out what I was supposed to do when I first started the game. Some of the puzzles involve moving blocks. You do this by tapping a block to store it. You can then place any of your stored blocks on any of the designated slots to create steps or a path across hazards. You can also tap away blocks to move down a level or to clear a path. This is easy to do once you understand the mechanics, but I didn't understand at first. I kept trying to the swipe blocks to move them and this would cause me to die or be confused as to why they disappeared. Perhaps this is why the game has earned it's only 1 negative review (as of 11/9/18).
Once you have mastered the controls, Micro Vendor Adventures is a cute and challenging puzzle game. Other obstacles include tricky elevators, springboards, deadly spikes to avoid and boss battles.
You can also collect 3 coins on each level. You don't need to do this to complete a level, but you do need to collect coins to unlock some levels. For example, you need 7 coins to unlock level 4. Collecting the coins is also like a 3-star system giving the game replay value.
Micro Vendor Adventures is free to download from the App Store. It is ad-supported so there are no IAPS, time limits or timers.