Rain can be a destructive force, whether it's flash floods decimating crops, acid rain ruining an entire ecosystem, or a light drizzle canceling your afternoon jog. The new physics puzzle game Cover Orange introduces us to a whole new threat: spiky ball rain, which could threaten citrus fruit everywhere.

The goal of the game is to keep your orange (or oranges) safe from malicious clouds that rain down spiked balls. To do this, you are given a number of wheels and blocks you can use to push or cover your oranges. You can also shift various elements of the environment. Each object must be dropped from the top half of the screen, so there is a fair amount of precision and timing required to get everything to land exactly where you want it to. Once you have used the objects the spike rain rolls in. If just one hits an orange, the level ends and you have to try again. Points are awarded for how quickly you can complete each level, although this is largely superfluous as you can merely devise a strategy, press the reset button, and complete it as quickly as you can.

As with most games that require you to drop objects from the top of the screen, there is a mixture of skill and luck involved here. What fails one time might work on your next try, which can lead to some frustrating moments. Fortunately, the physics are consistent and fairly predictable throughout the game, so these instances of bad luck are brought down to a minimum. Aside from that, the only other flaw in this game is with the length. With only 20 levels that never get too difficult, it can be completed in a fairly short amount of time.

What this game lacks in length, however, it makes up for in style. The animations and sound effects are all very adorable, and I'm not one to use the word "adorable" lightly. But it fits perfectly here. Even the way the oranges turn black and disintegrate upon contact with the spikes is done in a way that is extremely cute and not at all as horrifying as it sounds. Even though it's over far too quickly, Cover Orange is a cute, entertaining game to fill a lunch break or an empty afternoon.

Play Cover Orange