Here’s my Metro Reviews for the week of May 4th
Big Gay Ice Cream
By Bryan Petroff & Douglas Quint
Kindle/iBooks/Kobo
Anthony Bourdain, Rachel Ray, and Neil Gaiman are among the celebrities included in this joyous anthology of foolish tales and radical recipes celebrating the origins of America’s most unconventional ice cream truck. In between unicorn-adorned posters of Bea Arthur you’ll find mermaid sundaes, choinkwich creations, and Big Gay Twitter tales.
Broken Age
PC/Mac/iPad/Android/PS4/PS Vita
Rated: Ages 9+
Elijah Wood, Jack Black, and Wil Wheaton star in this eccentric and witty adventure game from Tim Schafer (Grim Fandango) who offers two otherworldly, teenage predicaments. Shay (Elijah Wood) is trapped aboard an overprotective space nursery while Vella (Masasa Moyo) is to be sacrificed to a monster.
Both must recruit the unhelpful characters around them to aid in their escape and in this concluding chapter, their two stories finally merge towards a tense, but rather heartfelt finale.
Beautiful, hand-painted visuals mix with the offbeat challenges of barfing trees, ice cream avalanches, and bird-brained cultists for a uniquely entertaining journey. I really enjoyed the tasks involved in programming happy little robots and there’s a challenge where you must tell a tree joke that is particularly inspired.
This is Schafer’s brand, entertaining you with warped dialogue while keeping you busy with activities that need you to be a little warped yourself, and Broken Age stands alongside Grim Fandango and Psychonauts as among Schafer’s best.
The Edit
iPhone/iPad
Free Subscription
Now free to download, Net-A-Porter’s weekly digital fashion mag is full of splashy photo-spreads, video interviews, and seasonal articles about life experiences, beauty techniques, and luxury shopping. There’s enough reading to pass the time and both a virtual wish list and shopping bag to help you spend too.
Lark Chat
iPhone/Apple Watch
Free
Lark is a virtual nutritionist who prompts you through text messages and notifications to have a conversation about your tracking results for sleep, diet, and exercise as gathered by your phone or fitness tracker. It’s a fun, friendly way to gather insights and useful tips.
Handpick Food
iPhone/iPad/Android
Free
Searching for recipes that match the ingredients you have at home isn’t new, but Handpick does it using a database of ten thousand ingredients across hashtags found on Pinterest, Instagram, and cooking blogs. You can filter results by dietary needs and occasion while saving your favourites as a cookbook.
