It's not uncommon for popular apps to roll out an update for Christmas, a special festive version to see you into the holidays with a bit of gaming cheer. They don't always make for the best apps, but when they're free, you can't complain too much.

Of course, when the free Xmas Edition is so much fun, even if it is only about 20 mins of game play, you've got what is effectively a killer tool for promoting your proper app. For this reason we've bundled together Beyond Ynth HD with the Xmas Edition for our App of the Day because that's exactly how these apps sit together.

Beyond Ynth HD and Beyond Ynth Xmas Edition

Platform

Android

Price

£2.40/Free

Where

Android Market

Beyond Ynth is the story of Kribl, an intrepid bug on his quest to restore light to the Kingdom of Kriblonia. The game itself has been on the iPad for some time, recently making the move over the Android. We tested it on the Motorola Xoom.

The first things to say is that Beyond Ynth looks stunning, with nice sharp graphics and simple game play. This is a puzzle platform game weaved into an adventure story, so you have tasks to complete along the way. 

The game play revolves around navigating levels and collecting either the crystals or the presents that Santa has dropped along the way. It's nicely put together and adding the story makes this feel slightly more complete than something like Cut the Rope.

Kribl is incredibly cute and responds well to the on-screen controls as you set off on your adventures. Navigation basically consists of moving, jumping and rolling obstacles.

Kribl may be small, be he certainly is mighty, as he can roll over some of the structures that make up the levels. Often this is simply a case of rolling it over to help you move up to a ledge, but there is enough variety to keep the game interesting. 

We also like the fact that this isn't all there is too it. Move into the snow environment of the Xmas Edition and you can only survive so long outside exposed to the elements. In many cases, solving the puzzle to complete the level means thinking ahead. You can find yourself trapped and unable to continue, if you don't think several step ahead.

There are 80 levels on offer in Beyond Ynth HD, which the developers FDG Entertainment tell us should give you about 15 hours of gaming. For some the price of £2.49 might be a little steep considering how many levels some rival free puzzlers will offer you, but the polish on the game is excellent and well worth paying for.

As we said at the beginning the Xmas Edition is free, giving you five levels, so you can see if you want to pay for more and enjoy the Christmas storyline. We're pretty sure you will want more, though, as it's a great game and looks especially good on big screen devices.