It could be described as a fusion between Eliss and Pinch 'n Pop (see what we did there?), but the product is simpler, more delicate and less about frantic arcade action. Indeed, the interaction is a lot more serene, as you’re instead tasked with clearing the cells from the screen. No hinderance of a time limit or complicated interface—just two buttons, the heart menu in the top right and an undo button in the bottom left. This allows you to concentrate solely on solving the puzzles presented.

Although the concept is simple, the execution has to be admired. It transforms an otherwise mundane task into an intriguing evolutionary journery, where pairing cells of different sizes and colours results in an organism that grows as you progress through the game. Simply tap a cell to select it and tap another to pair them together. Results vary depending on colour and size; similar coloured cells of different sizes will become two more similar sized cells, the same sized cells of different colours will disappear on contact, and similar coloured cells of the same size will be merged together to form a superior sized cell.

It takes a bit of time to figure out the various combinations and trial and error will play a larger part than you might think in solving each puzzle. Fortunately this is offset with a system that has unlimited undo without penalty. The only thing you can’t do is skip a level that may be troubling. It is also true that whilst Cell & Love doesn’t freeze your puzzle if you get interrupted, the levels are focused enough so that a reset isn’t particularly painful. However, when most App Store games have this feature it is a shame not to have it here.

As hinted at, the minimalistic presentation of the game is really one of its strongest features. The backgrounds in particular are exceptional and look even better in motion, with a rich particle density. They are a stark contrast to the gradient and reflection filled menu screens, perhaps someone’s missed a trick there. But the piano backing really does instil a haunting texture to this title, adding a great deal of presentational depth.

Certainly, Cell & Love is a slickly presented and overall enjoyable experience but we’d question its longevity. The levels don’t provide enough gameplay variance to hold your interest, and getting stuck can lead to just giving up on the game. Furthermore, even if you do get stuck and eventually figure it out, you’ll notice the next few levels seem easier—the difficulty doesn’t feel balanced like it should be. One way to solve this problem is to use a non-linear path so that you could attempt any puzzle at any time, or use a system similar to World of Goo—provide a means to skip any level you like, but only have a limited number of skips. If these issues wouldn’t bother you, and you’ve checked out this gameplay video below, then we’d say that it was worth its £1.19 price point.

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