Bubble Voyager is a 2D side-scrolling shooter in which you guide your character through a landscape filled with obstacles, lasers, and angry squid. You do this through light taps, which propel you upwards and forwards, and firm taps, which fire missiles. The goal is to get as far as you can before dying. It's probably the weakest of the five modes, because the gameplay and environments have little going for them, visually or otherwise. Though you encounter several weapons and enemies along the way, the gameplay feels repetitive and mundane almost immediately.
Finally, there's the surreal Visualizer mode. In the first iteration of this mode, you begin by drawing patterns in four different themes: fireworks, water, paint, and ink. You can tap away to create random brushstrokes with light, medium, or firm taps, or draw out specific shapes by tapping out the right pattern, such as a smiley-shaped firework, a sumi-e drawn cat, or a painted dandelion. There's no scoring involved; it's more of an exercise in tranquility and zen, and is not without charm. This charm does wear thin pretty rapidly, though, because the four themes are visually simple and contain no incentive for discovering new patterns. The second Visualizer variation does offer some challenge, however. It requires you to tap balls into containers, and you progress by tapping three of the same colour into a single container. Doing this unlocks new ball colours, and you can eventually complete the game by replacing all of the balls with the highest-ranked colour. While enjoyable at first, it also lacks any long-term appeal.
With the exception of Visualizer, each game has a multiplayer variant you and up to three friends can indulge in. Tap Runner, Rhythm Tap, Silent Blocks, and Bubble Voyage are rewarding to play alongside mates due to their competitive nature, and all that rapid tapping can make things feel amusingly frantic at times. The variety of obstacles that Tap Runner throws at you, and the pace at which you have to bash out your commands, makes it the highlight of Let's Tap's multiplayer experience, and it's easy to play race after race to try to best one another's times. Bubble Voyager's multiplayer mode is quite different from its single-player experience because the side-scrolling environment has been replaced with a 2D battle arena. You spin continuously in 360 degrees; a light tap propels you in whatever direction you're currently facing, and a firm tap fires missiles. The aim is to eliminate the other players with your missiles and various upgrades--such as a faster rate of fire or homing missiles--while avoiding obstacles. Bubble Voyager's multiplayer mode is more fun than its single-player mode, but it's not as compelling as the other multiplayer modes.
Bubble Voyager is even less fun than it looks.
Let's Tap has an interesting art style and is populated with colourful semitranslucent isometric shapes and abstract backgrounds that are somewhat reminiscent of the visuals in games like Darwinia and Rez, and the movie Tron. Tap Runner's world consists of a track floating in space with planetary bodies in the background, while the other modes are presented in much more abstract environments. There are some occasional abnormalities, such as clipping and slowdown, but for the most part the visual style looks great and matches the zany gameplay. The soundtrack is mostly made up of ambient electronic music that fits well with the style and gameplay. The sound effects in Let's Tap are well suited to the action.
Let's Tap certainly offers a different way to play, but the games don't completely mesh with the control scheme and, with the exception of Rhythm Tap, could have worked every bit as well with a more conventional control setup. It's still an interesting collection of games, and while it would benefit from more variety and a more solid rhythm mode, it's generally fun to tap along to, especially with companions. Combine that with the budget price, and Let's Tap is a good value for the money, thanks to its amusing premise, striking visuals, and stimulating multiplayer action.
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