Spider: the Secret of Bryce Manor is a unique game that really took me by surprise. In the game, you, a lone spider, travel the depths of an abandoned mansion while preying on dozens of tasty insects.

The first thing you’ll notice about the game is the creative art style and the calming music. Being extremely arachnophobic, I imagined this game would creep me out; however, the style kept it relaxing and enjoyable.

The main goal of this game is to eat insects that you can only capture through the webs you spin. You will do so through a series of tapping and swiping gestures. Tapping right of the spider makes him crawl right and tapping left of the spider – you guessed it – takes him left. To jump, simply swipe your finger from the spider to the desired object and watch your spider fly. Tapping the spider before take-off creates a strand of silk from where you start to where you end. Connect three or more of these to form a web that traps the insects while you victoriously munch on their flesh and gain points. The controls seemed a bit shaky at first, but after some practice, they felt very natural.

Four game modes are included in the main menu. Adventure takes you through the mansion to collect a certain number of bugs before a portal opens to take you to the next level. Although you can gain more silk with the more bugs you eat, you only have a limited amount, so use it wisely! Feeding Frenzy gives you three minutes to devour as many delicious bugs as you can. The Hunger mode gives you a life meter that drops consistently unless you eat some insects, and then it increases. Last but not least, Precision mode gives your spider less silk and shorter threads of it.

I really don’t have any complaints about this game. The controls are a little bumpy at first, but you’ll be mastering them before you know it. The menus and online leader boards are easy to use, the art and animation are well-developed and original, and the game is just plain fun. If what you seek is a relaxing game that you can play for hours on end – or just minutes at a time – then look no further.