Help the old fellow along

Old Man’s Journey is a puzzle game presented in beautiful graphics that look hand-painted, like children’s books. But there’s nothing child-like about the gameplay, which delves into a layered, complex world.
Developer and publisher Broken Rules released it in mid-2017 and the Apple Store editors named it iPad game of the year.
The objective is simple – keep the old man of the title moving through the two-dimensional landscape. The game’s only main character keeps getting stuck, so you have to look for ways to get him going again, clicking around for clues.

To solve the series of puzzles that ensue, you’re mostly required to figure out how to move ridges and slopes in the background by clicking on them and lining them up to create a path forward. If the old man comes to rest atop a hill, the hill can’t be moved, so you have to move him somewhere else before you can line up the path.
The story begins with the old man receiving a letter at home. He appears very concerned about the contents and sets off on a long journey, taking with him a large backpack and a walking stick.
There is no tutorial or textual description. Whenever you get stuck, you just need to point and click around, looking for a solution to the puzzle. When you find something that looks promising, click on it and maybe you’ll be rewarded with a lovely sound or cheerful animation.

The puzzles sometimes get quite complex. In certain scenes, for example, you might have to send large wheels crashing down the steep hills to bulldoze away stone walls blocking the man’s progress.
The game’s appeal in the way it keeps players engaged by tossing up surprises every time a hill or mountain is moved.
When you finally get the old man to the end of each chapter or the final location of the game, he’ll take a rest and relate a memory of his past, as told through lovely, colourful images.
I played the game on a new iPad 9.7-inch tablet computer and it ran smoothly, with gorgeous graphics all the way through.
The Old Man's Journey can be purchased from the App Store for Bt69.

KEY FACTS

- Version: 1.8
- Require: iOS 10.0 or later
- Publisher-developer: Broken Rules
- Size: 657.3MB
- Category: Games, puzzles
- Age rating: Four and up