There have been many puzzle games out in the App Store, and Corpse Granny seems like a grain of sand in the beach. However, when there really is nothing to innovate, you can only mix and match. We have a treasure trove full of tropes to incorporate in games nowadays. In the case of Corpse Granny, there are zombies, puzzles, a physics engine, and a silly name. If you never really liked grumpy old women before, then you will surely hate one who’s a zombie, but in a good way for this game.

This game has various elements seen from other physics-based puzzle games like Cut the Rope. You basically have balls of fire hanging from magic ropes, and you have to cut them to let the fireballs kill the zombies in that level. You win by eliminating all zombies and lose if there’s even a single zombie left standing after the fireballs disappear or stop moving after you cut them loose. In the later levels, various elements and obstacles are introduced to make the gameplay even more challenging.

Once you’ve played enough levels, you then encounter the corpse granny. This zombie is not like the rest, who are mostly stationary and accepting enough of whatever fireballs you lob at them in your leisure. This decrepit looking zombie senior citizen will soon annoy you with all of her walking around and having enough intelligence to not walk into a fireball. If you don’t time things right, she might just walk away from the incoming fireball and you will have to repeat the level.

The visuals look pretty good, with sharp and clean colors and lineart to bring everything out, especially the different kinds of zombies you’ll encounter. The sound effects are pretty cartoonish, but that’s called for in such a silly game. Perhaps they’ve taken it a little bit over the top with the boink and kapow sounds, but it’s all in good fun. It’s satisfying to see the zombies go up in flames as soon as a fireball touches them ever so slightly.

What really makes this game good though is how challenging it really becomes once you get to the later levels, where you have to cut things down in sequence to get the right things to happen. It’s not just about letting objects fall down and hope it will take a zombie of two with them, but the pregression by which you can make objects fall and bump into the right spots to obtain the best results. Coupled with the different kinds of zombies and the various objects that you can make use of in the environment, you got yourself a puzzle game that neither tortures nor coddles the mind. It really does stimulate your brain, and that’s what everyone wants in a puzzle game for the iOS.

The physics engine is actually pretty consistent, which is very commendable as it also does incorporate tilt controls quite effectively in certain levels. The fact that you have a puzzle game that utilizes both touch and tilt controls, so you really become engaged with the gameplay as a result. The OpenFeint connectivity is also a nice touch, allowing you to compare scores with your friends who have the same game. There still are some concerns regarding the game’s performance though. During the course of the review, it has frozen a few times, which may be remedied with updates in the future.

If you’re a fan of puzzle games with physics mechanics, then you should definitely check out Corpse Granny by BulkyPix. This developer has been coming out with some pretty good titles, so you should give this and other BulkyPix games a try.