WELCOME TO THE VAMPIRE'S LAIR

Vampire Vladmir von Splatter introduces young users of this app to some ghoulish features in his castle.

The vampire’s castle is in the “pleasantly dark and stormy realm of Darkonia,” and it is aptly rendered here with plenty of inky shadows and murky corners, but also with its share of bold color and terrific sound effects—Vincent Price would be proud. The app is very friendly to use, responding quickly to the touch, which is typically accompanied by a scream or a howl. There are seven separate screens involved, each with multiple features and often involving a game as users poke about in the castle. On one screen, coffins are laid out on a stage and can be played like a piano; on another, a candy-striped Venus flytrap takes huge bites when touched; another breaks the Mona Lisa up into a puzzle—upon reassembly, she screams and her eyes fall out of her head. Its devilish fun, but it also has to be said that the staying power of this app has got to be limited. Once readers have figured out the puzzle, there is not much more to discover. Still, the theatrics and the sheer visual power of the app might well keep users coming back time and again.

Vampires rarely come amiss, and von Splatter has a high time amusing and spooking users while it lasts