Parents' Guide to The Impossible Game 2

Kids try to leap over triangular shapes, spinning wheels that slide up and down poles, and other obstacles at a fast pace that makes the game feel almost too challenging. The Impossible Game 2's graphics are relatively simple -- although that isn't an indication the game will be. Generally, gravity does some of the work. You direct the yellow square icon to jump by tapping on the screen, but otherwise, it steadily moves forward and will cascade down gradients in the course without your help. Many objects you're trying to avoid are also simple shapes, such as rows of triangles -- although nuanced versions can appear, such as a triangle hanging upside down from a row of squares above you, which you might accidentally hit while trying to jump over items in your path.

While there's plenty of peppy music to accompany the various levels, the app is light on instruction. As a result, it's unclear what benefit some elements -- such as the vertical arrows and glowing flags that are sometimes present -- may offer. That's unfortunate, because kids may feel that any assistance would be welcome. Jumps have to be timed just right so that you clear -- and don't collide with -- nearby objects. Gaps that appear in the line of squares you're traveling on top of pose additional threats periodically, and individual floating squares require a decent amount of coordination to jump on and off of. The speed and object placement makes even the early portion of the game difficult. Kids will likely need more than one try to get it right. The game restarts quickly if you slam into something, though, and will pick up part of the way through the course, instead of requiring kids to start over again from the beginning. That may help convince kids The Impossible Game 2 is downright doable. Still, given how often they may need to retry levels, the overall experience can ultimately feel somewhat frustrating.