The constraints that building an app for something like a smartphone provide often push developers to come up with something far more innovative. Apps can be like little addictive oddities, often forcing you to ask how exactly someone could come up with the idea for it. 

The Show Must Go On is most definitely that. Combining a unique art style, clever gameplay mechanics and an addictive score based structure, it is everything a gaming app should be. Easy to pick at, surprising when you play it and above all fun. 

The Show Must Go On

Format

iOS

Price

£0.69

Where

iTunes

The idea behind The Show Must Go On is that you are in charge of putting on some sort of performance, each varies in what it requires you to do. Problem is that every single person working on the performance appears to have an issue of sorts, be it actors missing or pages of music disappeared. It is up to you to put things right, sit back and then watch your performance, which more often than not is carried out by a dog. 

The concept sets you up perfectly for a set of highly inventive mini games, from things like building sets under a timer by using your finger to drive a forklift, or remembering  what props go where. Each one is great fun and depending on how well you do, will contribute to the final performance you watch at the end. 

The 'hub world' you use to select games is like the backstage of a theatre. You scroll to different characters and then choose a game to play. Some are of course better than others, but it is the variety and the end result that counts. It makes us think slightly of South Park, Chef's Luv Shack, back on the N64. 

The audio and art direction deserves particular special mention. Characters look great and each has their own sort of 8 bit stereotype theatre goer look. Similarly the background noises used for when you are backstage sound great, as does the full blown soundtrack that hurries you on through each mini game. It makes for a rather tidy package and one of the best we have seen in the 69p price range.