Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage

Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage, alternatively known as Ice Breaker iOS (when it was going to only be on the iPhone/Apple platform), is a puzzle physics game released for iOS devices on June 20, 2013 and released on the Android Google Play store on May 7th 2014, with an Android Amazon Appstore release on June 12th 2014. The game's iOS version was published by Rovio. Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is the fourth installment of the Ice Breaker series, retaining its core gameplay.

On May 14, 2013, Nitrome published an article, where Rovio, a Finnish entertainment company, announced that they were going to help Nitrome publish their iOS game, Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage, by featuring it in their new mobile game publishing initiative, Rovio Stars.

The game's Amazon Appstore release was delayed due to issues with that particular app store. Nitrome has not declined the possibility of porting to the game to other devices.

Controls
Drag finger - Slice. Drag a viking (when "Finger of the Gods" God Power is active)

Double finger tap - Zoom in on screen.

Tilt device Tilts level (when "Gravity of the Gods" God Power is active)

Plot
Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage begins with the player taking part in the annual Hammerfest competition, when a cold icy wind blows all the Vikings away, save for the player and the Viking chief.

Gameplay
The objective of each level of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is to rescue all the Vikings by safely bringing them back to the Drakkar. Scattered throughout levels are coins, which can be paid to a Gate Keeper on the overworld map in order to access other levels.

Some levels contain certain interactive objects that appear only in that level - called "Set Pieces". Along with levels mostly comprising of ice, the player has to make use of other objects in the level in order to get the Vikings safely to the Drakkar. Each level of Icebreaker contains a par number. If the player completes the level with a certain number of cuts that is equal or less than the par number, they achieve par, pars going towards accessing new levels in the Hammerfest level pack.

Level navigation
Level selection will be done on an explorable map, with a boat icon as a marker for the player's selection. Tapping a location on the map causes the boat to make its way towards the selected location. Tapping the same area or the "Play" button initiates the start of the level. When a level is accessed, the name of the level is displayed along with a few indicators below.

The map is designed to be integrated into the Icebreaker gaming experience, based off map systems from 16-bit platformers such as the Super Mario Games.

Completion
If a level is locked, its icon blends in with the background of the map as a drawing. It is coloured in only when the player completes the level corresponding to that icon.

Completion of a level unlocks the level on the current path that comes after the completed level. Some paths of the map split into two separate paths that will unlock two levels simultaneously.

Completing sidequests gives a golden puzzle piece, granting access to another part of the map that is attached to that level. This part of the map is only accessible through the completion of this part of the sidequest.

Level packs
Nitrome revealed in their first Developer Diary that Ice Breaker iOS/Android will consists of level packs, each pack containing levels for the player to play. Three packs were included with the first release of the game, with more free level packs to come.

When a level is selected, the screen will transition to show the name of the level and its "indicators".

There are currently four available level packs, these being:
 * Hammerfest
 * Troll Marsh
 * Under Dwell
 * Kraken

Sidequests
Some levels have multiple objectives, called sidequests. These levels will not only have the objective of getting the Vikings back to a longboat, but also secondary objectives, such as also getting a Goat Herder's lost goats back to the Goat Herder's longboat. Completing the sidequest is not necessary to proceed to the next level, however, a golden puzzle piece will be awarded if the sidequest's alternate objective (the actual sidequest) is completed. This golden puzzle piece will only be kept if the player completes the level's sidequest and regular objective (rescue all vikings).

Some levels themselves are sidequests, though they are not presented on the map with this title. The only way the player would be able to complete the "sidequest" is to experiment with the game's given environment and "[solve] puzzles that might not initially be apparent"

Achievements
Nitrome announced on August 7 2013 that achievements would soon be added to Icebreaker A Viking Voyage. Achievements are earned by completing challenges set by a new character, the Watcher. The watcher sets challenges by placing sign posts that are scattered throughout the levels. The signs have a balloon on them and, when sliced, will reveal a ringing bell and a new challenge. This system can be used across multiple levels, or in one level alone.

The achievements will be recorded in Game Center (iOS) or Google Play Games (Android), but they are also integrated into the game. This means they will still function even if Game Center or Google Play Games is not used. The achievements will be recorded in the game by the Watcher, who operates an airship the player can visit at any time during the game and check on the list of achievements they have earned and ones they have not yet earned.

Set Pieces
Set Pieces are placed within levels as a sometimes crucial part of the game. These are essentially a type of interactive object designed for use in a single level.

Due to the word choice, there was some misunderstanding of the words' definition. Nitrome said that in the fourth update, set pieces demonstrate their ability to make puzzles more engaging to players with the use of graphics designed specifically for each stage.

Bosses
Icebreaker A Viking Voyage will feature bosses found at the end of each map pack. Bosses will appear in a level, and have to be defeated in order to complete the level, as the level is usually configured in such a way that the rescue of a Viking is tied to the defeat of the boss.

The Mountain Troll is the boss of Troll Marsh, while the Serpent is the boss of Under Dwell.

God Powers

 * Main article: God Powers

God Powers are a premium feature of Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage that allows the player to manipulate levels in unnatural way. They can be bought as an in-app purchase from the Shopkeeper with monetary value. Currently, three gods powers are known: Finger of the Gods, Magnet of the Gods, and Gravity of the Gods.

Interactive objects
This is a list of all the currently known interactive objects in Icebreaker A Viking Voyage.


 * Troll snot - an object that debuts in Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage. Troll snot is a slimy object that attaches itself to ice. Ice that passes this will cause a gooey strand of the snot to attach to the ice, this strand being able to be cut
 * Cannons - objects that fire spherical objects that come in contact with it - including Vikings. Two types of cannons exist, although it isn't apparent what is different between the two
 * Chains - holds on to objects
 * Goats - does absolutely nothing, but dies if exposed to hazardous objects. Goats can be returned to the Goat Herder's Longboat in order to complete a sidequest
 * Crows - holds up objects
 * Gondolas - objects for a Viking to sit in. These structures are sometimes used by the player for traversal, and sometimes held up by crows
 * Ice bombs - explode when cut, can kill Trolls and destroy some structures
 * Pressurized stone - causes actions proportional to how much weight is on the stone
 * Chicken eggs - although probably no use to the player, chicken eggs will kill Trolls upon impacting them

Hazards
This is a list of known hazards in Ice Breaker: A Viking Voyage.
 * Fist blocks - spiked blocks that punch down and can kill Vikings via this move. Fist blocks are operated by chains
 * Runes - deadly ground that kills a Viking on contact
 * Giant head - giant faces cut out of rocks that are capable of opening their mouths.
 * Spiked objects - objects that have spikes on them. These objects are harmful to the player and kill a Viking on contact.

Enemies

 * Trolls - stationary enemies that kill Vikings on contact. Trolls can be killed via being caught in the blast of an ice bomb, crushed to death, or by chicken eggs
 * Cave Trolls - Enemies with the ability to move and fly

Publishing opportunities
Nitrome was working with Rovio on Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage since January 2013. Although several other publishers were previously interested in publishing, Nitrome did not wish to have a publisher of the game at the time. They later settled on Rovio because of Rovio's already widespread audience.

Nitrome later highlighted on their May 15 2013 blog post that on the App store, being noticed by people other than the developer's fanbase is hard due to recognition on the App store being mainly through getting up on "charts". Due to games on the App store being generally considerably cheap, a profit is made once a substantial amount of copies of the game being sold are sold. At the same time this was announced, the Rovio trailer for Icebreaker iOS was released.

In app purchases
The only known in-app purchases are God Powers, which cost money outside of the game. They can either be bought in a single pack with a certain number of one type of God Power to use, or in a pack with a certain number of all three god powers.

In order for all Nitromians to test out the God Powers, a level in the game for each God Power has been created, with the option of testing out the given power for free.

Game versions
For iOS, Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was released in two versions: a regular version and an HD version. Nitrome has denied the possibility of making a free version of the game that had fewer levels and just ads, explaining how a demo version like this would have to get a very large amount of downloads ("100-1000 free downloads with ads" ) in order to get the revenue of one paid download , and also the demo version would harm paid downloads.

Nitrome also highlighted their opinion on how people would gladly buy an app, but when presented with a demo version will not finish it and stay satisfied with the game's demo version.

iOS
The iOS version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was released in two versions: a regular version and an HD version. The regular version is the regular version of the game, while the HD version contains more detailed sprites.

On April 8th 2014, Nitrome updated the HD version to to be Universal, allowing the game to be playable on non-iPad iOS devices and also transferable to other iOS devices.

Android
Android on both Google Play and the Amazon Appstore has one version.

Free downloadable content
Nitrome has stated that they will be able to release free content for players of Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage, if they get enough money from sales of the game. Nitrome has stated that this "free content" will be extra level packs, more achievements (which have not yet been revealed), and "any other cool stuff we [Nitrome] can think of".

The following content was released for free to buyers of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage for iOS, and included for free in the Android version.
 * Achievements
 * Kraken level pack

Avatars
Eight Icebreaker related avatars were included in the Kraken pack update on May 7, 2014 as an appreciation gift to fans who have purchased the game. An option to receive the avatars is on the main navigation screen after the Kraken option. This icon shows a Viking avatar emerging from a pink gift box. By selecting the icon, the device's browser will load, displaying a screen with the profiles module. The user can then log into their account to receive the eight avatars. Only users with access to the app can obtain the avatars.

Sale
The release of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage for Android on May 7th was celebrated with the game being on sale for an undetermined amount of time, this sale meant to allow Nitrome to appear on charts that track app sales and for people to impulse buy. The very next day, Nitrome put the iOS HD version on sale as well.

The Amazon appstore version was also put on sale.

Tablet versions
Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is available on both iPhone and Android.

iPhone version
The iPhone version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was the version that Nitrome is currently building the game around, and also the platform Nitrome started developing Icebreaker for in the first place. This version was released on June 20th 2013, and was released in two versions: a regular version, and an HD version.

The regular version is with iPhones and iPod Touch's, compatible with iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and also and iPod Touch 5th Generation, iPod Touch 4th Generation, and iPod Touch 3rd Generation. The HD version is meant for iPads, and compatible with iPad 1, iPad 2, and the New iPad.

The differences between each version is only the price. Achievements for the game are connected to Game Center.

Version 1.0.0
Version 1.0 is the first version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, this version released on June 20th 2013 (the day the game was released for iPhone). This version contains the game's first three maps (Hammerfest, Troll Marsh, and Under Dwell), and ninety five levels.

Version 1.1.0
Released on October 15th 2013, this version adds Achievements to the game. Along with this, during start of level or end of level dialogue, the skip button completely skips all dialogue for that part of the level.

Version 1.2.0
This version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was released on May 7th 2014. Released in this update was the Kraken level pack, eight avatars which can be unlocked in the player's Nitrome account, and bug fixes. Cloud saving was also added, but only for the HD version.

Android version
The Android version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is a port of the iPhone version, this version compatible with a large array of Android devices. The game's achievements are connected to Google Play Games.

Purchase
With the exception of the Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, and Kindle Fire HDX, Icebreaker A Viking Voyage is purchasable on the Google Play Store. For the Kindle Fire version of the game, it will be purchasable from the Amazon App store.

Compatibility
In order for the Android version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage to run, the Android device that runs it has to have three things. These specifications were spoken about by Nitrome in a blog post on the Nitrome blog. These specifications are: Icebreaker A Viking Voyage will work on the following devices, and has been tested by Nitrome to work on the following devices:
 * The device has to have a screen resolution of 480 x 320 pixels or higher. A device with smaller dimensions than this will not be able to run Icebreaker A Viking Voyage.
 * The device has to have an Arm7 processor. A device that does not have this will not be able to run Icebreaker A Viking Voyage.
 * The device has to have Android version 2.3 (Gingerbread) or higher . A device that does not have this will be unable to run Icebreaker A Viking Voyage.
 * LG E610
 * Samsung Galaxy s2+
 * Samsung Galaxy s2
 * Samsung Galaxy s3
 * Samsung Galaxy s3 Mini
 * Samsung Galaxy s4
 * Nook HD
 * Nook HD+
 * Kindle Fire
 * Kindle Fire HD
 * Kindle Fire HDX
 * Nexus 4
 * Nexus 7 (2012)
 * Nexus 7 (2013)
 * Nexus 10

Version 1.0.0
This version was released on May 7th 2014, and will be the version all Android versions of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage will have. It will contain the map packs Hammerfest, Troll Marsh, Under Dwell, and Kraken, along with achievements and the ability for those who have the game to get eight avatars in their Nitrome account.

The Amazon Appstore version was delayed due to technical problems with the said store.

iOS
On June 20th 2013, Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was released for iOS. When players first went onto the Nitrome site that day, a message would pop up in the middle of the screen and turn the rest of the site dark. The message was labeled "Special Announcement." In the announcement was a picture of many of the game characters, and then the Icebreaker A Viking Voyage logo above them. On the top-left corner of the announcement was a golden ribbon with a seal that said "Out Now!". On the right side were two buttons, made to look like wood. One button said "Watch the Trailer," and would transform the announcement box into a Youtube video player when clicked. The video player would play the. The second button read "Visit the Website," and when clicked on, would take the player to the Icebreaker iOS website.

Below the picture were three more golden/golden-brown buttons in a row. The first button said "No Thanks," and would close the special announcement permanently. The second button said "Remind me later," and would close the special announcement, but would have it pop back up later. The third button, which read "Get it Now!", would make the three buttons disappear, and replace them with two options to download the iPhone/iPod Touch version, or the HD iPad version. Both choices showed the Icebreaker A Viking Voyage logo, and a list of which iOS devices would be compatible to download. Clicking on wither choice would link the clicker to the iTunes site for purchase and download.

Underneath the buttons, in fine print, were the words "Unless you click "remind me", we will not show you this message again." The

Android
The Android version was released on May 7th 2014, and was celebrated with the release of the Kraken skin. Along with this, a pop up image very similar to the one in the iOS version appeared for those who accessed Nitrome.com. This image remained mostly the same as the iOS version, only with art from the Kraken level pack, links to the game's Google Play and Amazon Appstore page, and a slightly green coloured ribbon and medal.

To celebrate the game's Android release, Nitrome put the Android version on sale for $0.99 US instead of the regular price of $2.99. Due to technical problems with the Amazon Appstore, the Amazon Appstore release was delayed. Similar to the days leading up the iOS release, the upper left advertisement spot of the site sometimes displayed an advertisement that featured the Android robot, with a number stating how many days are left until the game is released.

The Amazon Appstore version was released on June 12th 2014, and despite this release of the heavily delayed Kindle version, there was no update whatsoever from Nitrome about its release.

Previews
"Main article: Ice Breaker iOS website"

Throughout the course of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage' development, Nitrome has revealed various features as well as screenshots through entries on their site specifically created for A Viking Voyage. Each of these are logged in two categories: Developer Diaries and Updates.

Previewed levels
The levels showcased in the two trailers for Icebreaker are the following:

Hammerfest (Nitrome trailer)

 * Cinematic 1 - 0:05
 * Level 4: Mind the Gap - 1:04

Hammerfest (Rovio Stars trailer)

 * Level 5: The Cutting Master - 0:24
 * Level P3: Between the Lines - 0:27

Troll Marsh (Nitrome trailer)

 * Level 18: Checking In - 0:19, 0:53
 * Level 1: Troll Cave - 0:22
 * Level 6: Do the Barrel Roll - 0:24
 * Level 13B: Crow's Nest - 0:25
 * Level 5: Cliffhanger - 0:26
 * Level 4: The Big Sneeze - 0:28
 * Level 15: Big Boned - 0:32
 * Level 21B: Skywire - 0:40
 * Level 23: The Chicken Coop - 0:43
 * Level 3: Chip off the Old Block - 0:49
 * Level S1 The Secret Path - 0:50
 * Level 16: The Sacrifice - 0:58
 * Level 24: The Mountain Troll - 0:59
 * Level S3: Afterparty - 1:01
 * Level 11: Cutting Master Returns - 1:02
 * Level 20B: Boulderdash - 1:02
 * Level 9: Swingers - 1:04
 * Level G4: The Wicker Goat - 1:12

Troll Marsh (Rovio Stars trailer)

 * Level 7: Isle of the Goat - 0:25
 * Level 16: The Sacrifice - 0:37
 * Level 23: Chicken Coop - 0:47
 * Level 24: The Mountain Troll - 0:49

Under Dwell (Nitrome trailer)

 * Level 19: Da Bomb - 0:34
 * Level 16: A Link to the Blast - 0:35, 0:56
 * Level 7C: Hot Air Joyride - 0:37
 * Level 9: Sounds of the Sea - 0:42
 * Level 10: Power Up - 0:47
 * Level 7B: Love Triangle - 0:52
 * Level 15: Troll Nest - 0:54
 * Level 22: Squash Blocks - 0:55
 * Level T2: The Fortress - 0:57
 * Level 13B: Kill a Troll - 1:00
 * Level 17: Ready the Cannons - 1:01

Under Dwell (Rovio Stars trailer)

 * Level 7C: Hot Air Joyride - 0:29
 * Level 1: My First Cannon - 0:32
 * Level 19: Da Bomb - 0:35
 * Level 22: Squash Blocks - 0:39
 * Level T2: The Fortress - 0:42
 * Level 16: A Link to the Blast - 0:44

Differences from the Flash series
Nitrome revealed in Update 6 on the Ice Breaker iOS website the transitions they had to make from the flash series to the mobile Icebreaker game. Changes include:
 * The ice breaker in Icebreaker A Viking Voyage holding the hammer end in his left hand instead of in his right hand
 * The noticeable difference in graphics, mainly due to Martin Wörister handling the game's graphics instead of Markus Heinel
 * Sprites given more detail, such as the helmet of certain Vikings appearing more shiny
 * The classic Rat being replaced with a Troll
 * The addition of more background objects
 * The game's levels navigated via a map instead of a level select screen
 * A Viking Voyage features green water instead of the blue water found in the flash Ice Breaker series

Graphics
In terms of graphics, Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage features graphics superior to that of regular Nitrome games.

Resolution
As covered in update 3, the resolution of the game differs from Apple tablet used. iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 4th Generation, iPad 1, iPad 2, and iPad 3 all have retina display.

Older iPhones will not support retina display, and neither will the older iPhone 3S and iPhone 3rd Generation.

The iPhone's with retina display (iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPod Touch 4th Generation, iPod Touch 5th Generation, iPad 1, iPad 2, and iPad 3 ) will display detailed sprites for characters and images, and shows sprites at 1 to 1 pixel ratio. The iPad's considerably larger screen allows for more of the screen to be seen.

The game's levels are viewed in landscape mode when played on the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch 5.

The iPhone's lacking retina display (older iPhones, iPhone 3s and iPhone 3rd Generation) will show the game with the less detailed sprites than the retina supporting versions (sprites such as scenery, characters, etc.). These sprites will be scaled down for the non-retina iPhones. As some sprites did not look very good scaled, Nitrome has "purposely redrawn" some of the sprites for the scaled down tablets.

The sprites used for the "scale down" tablets are used on the map of the game, regardless of what Apple tablet is is played on. This is because smaller sprites are needed for the map icons. It is not known if there are any sprite changes for the Android version.

Art
Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage features much greater art than the previous three games in the series. The art is noticeably more detailed and shaded, and introduces elements such as shiny helmets. Update 6 on the Ice Breaker iOS website was about the transition Nitrome made. Nitrome talked about they first tried to develop an art style that was based off the existing Ice Breaker game (Ice Breaker, Red Clan, Gathering).

Nitromes early on aimed at trying to make characters and objects a certain size as to not affect the gameplay and environment, as these sprites would eventually make it into the game, where they may be go through tight areas. Along with this, they tried to keep the sprites interesting without becoming distracting.

As seen from concept art of the game, some objects went through many iterations, while others only a few. Notably the skull bird creature went through many different designs, evolving from a horned rock shaped beast to a Cave Troll.

Despite Nitrome's attempt to use all the characters they converted from their flash version to the mobile Icebreaker version, some characters that were converted were not able to make it into the game. An example is the Valkyrie, who, although being given a new look, was cut from the game.

Development
Development of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage started in 2012 for about eighteen months at a time when Nitrome.com was getting less revenue from advertisements. The game was created as an attempt for Nitrome to combat piracy of their own games, particularly illegal ports being uploaded to the App Store. The earlier stated Super Feed Me was taking a very long time, and starting a new project which Nitrome would be more focused on would allow them to more quickly get a game out on to the App Store. Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was unveiled to the Nitrome community on July 12th 2012, where it was 80% complete. Icebreaker reached 85% completeness on August 17th 2012, reaching 90% completeness sometime in December 2012.

Although Nitrome had originally decided to publish the game themselves and not rely on a publisher - and even turned down offers from other publishers beforehand - Nitrome accepted Rovio's publishing offer based off Rovio's reputation. This new partnership was established around a year into the game's development, and was publicly announced on May 14th 2013. On June 17th 2013, Nitrome announced that Icebreaker A Viking Voyage had been submitted to the iTunes App store and had been approved, and was scheduled for release on June 20th 2013. .

Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage was released for iOS a day early in the Finish app store (June 19th), for the purpose of checking for bugs. Upon the worldwide release of Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage, the site was updated with a new skin - Icebreaker.

With the release and success of the iPhone version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, Nitrome later announced on July 23rd 2013 that an Android port of the game was in development. The start of an Android port caused Nitrome to form two teams for development of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage - one team (called the "iOS team" ) that would work on new features for the game, the game's level packs , and the iOS version of the game , and another team which would work on the Android version (called the "Android team" ), this team working on making the iOS version of the game and the game's features compatible with Android, coupled with working on the Android port of the game. Along with this, Nitrome hired a proper testing team to test the various builds of the Android port of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage for bugs

The Android port of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage took around 9 months to make, Nitrome having to deal with various problems the game would have across many type of Android tablets, some of these problems being adjusting the game to the various resolutions and screen sizes of Android, as the original iOS build of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage had only two levels of scaling, which would be insufficient for the large variety of Android tablets. Along with the game planned to be compatible with a wealth of devices that use the Google Play store, Nitrome also planned a version of the game for the Amazon App store that will be compatible with Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, and Kindle Fire HDX , this version released on the same day as the Google Play version. August 7th 2013 saw the announcing of Achievements and that development of the next level pack had started, more information about the level pack announced the next day. These Achievements were released on October 17th 2013 in the 1.1 update for the iOS Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, this update fixing a few bugs present in the original game.

Nitrome announced on December 27th 2013 their plans for a simultaneous release of both the upcoming 1.2 update for the iOS version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage and the Android version. This update for the iOS version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage would contain the new level pack (Kraken), new missions for Achievements, and would also be released simultaneously alongside the Android version of the game , which would also include Achievements and all the content included in the iOS update. Along with this, the iOS version would be updated to support cloud saving (the Android version, due to being released at the same time, also having this cloud saving ). In April 2014, a decision was made between Nitrome and Rovio to transfer Icebreaker A Viking Voyage from the Rovio Stars' account to Nitrome's account, this allowing Nitrome to maintain and update the game at their leisure.

Transfer of the HD version of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was successful, and around this time Nitrome also made the HD version Universal, removing its iPad exclusivity and allowing iPhones and iPod Touches to download the game. Despite success transferring the HD version, technical problems were encountered with the iPhone version. Because one of the in-app purchase IDs in the Icebreaker A Viking Voyage game conflicted with an in-app purchase ID of the same name on Nitrome's account, the transfer for the iPhone version failed and inadvertently caused in-app purchases for the iPhone version to not be purchasable. Despite Nitrome's attempts to remedy the situation, they eventually had to reach out to Apple for help. During this unfortunate event, the Android build of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was completed and ready for submission to Google Play and the Amazon App store, along with the update for the iOS versions ready for submission to Apple.

Due to the current transfer problem, the iOS update would not be received by current owners of the game if Nitrome decided to upload a new build of the game to their iTunes account instead of waiting for the game to transfer. Because of this, and Nitrome still wanting to have a simultaneous release for both the iOS update and Android version, the Android version was deliberately held back from submission to Google Play and the Amazon App Store until the transfer problem was solved. Fortunately, this problem with transferring the game was resolved on April 17th 2014, and it was on this same day that Nitrome submitted the Android version of the game to Google Play and the Amazon App Store and the iOS update to the iTunes store. Both the Android version and iOS update were approved by April 25th, on this day Nitrome announcing the Android version and iOS update were scheduled for a May 7th release. The May 7th release saw Nitrome successfully releasing the Android version on Google Play, but due to technical difficulties with the Amazon Appstore, having to delay the release on this appstore.

Beta elements
"Main article: Beta elements (Ice Breaker: A Viking Voyage)" Ice Breaker A Viking Voyage contains an enormous amount of content that did not make it into the final game. Most of this is usually content relating to early images of a level, although sometimes complete characters were renamed, unused, or taken out of the game.

Reviews
Icebreaker A Viking Voyage has received positive to universal acclaim, garnering on Metacritic an average "Critic Score" (average score determined by several professional reviews) of 87. John Bardinelli of Jay is Games described the game as "polished and easy to play" and "an absolute juggernaut of a game", praising the game's dialogue, art, and level diversity.

Rob Rich of 148 Apps awarded the game an "Editor's Choice" award, also praising the game's humour and art, along with the diverse gameplay and clever level design, awarding the game an overall score of 4.5 out of 5, concluding his review stating "I’m not entirely sure that I could be any happier with Icebreaker. It’s an incredibly fun, incredibly diverse, and incredibly clever physics puzzler."

Icebreaker A Viking Voyage has been praised for its graphics, Andrew Koziara of Appolicious describing it as "fantastic, with a muted color palate and a somewhat pixelated look that adds a retro feel to the otherwise modern 2-D visuals." , John Bardinelli of Jay is Games commenting how the pixel art "looks gorgeous on an iPhone/iPad's screen.". A few reviewers have likened the game's graphics to looking similar to that of graphics on Nintendo's SNES.

The game has also been praised for its humour, Slide To Play stating in its conclusion how the game can be "uproariously funny at times", Pocket Gamer also highlighting game's humour as being "Not occasionally-laugh-out-loud funny, but constant-smirk-on-your-face funny.". The most praised part of Icebreaker has been its gameplay, which has consistently been praised for its diversity as well as it managing to fit so much into a single game mechanic.

Criticism of the game has been mainly aimed at the game's occasional inconsistent physics, Trevor Sheridan of Apple'N'Apps describing this as "many levels miss fine tuning to the point that boulders can get stuck, ice can fall through gaps, and Vikings can slow down on a slide...you have to replay a level with the same technique, and just hope one of these stumbles doesn’t happen". Erik Carlson of Slide To Play called the physics "a tricky widget to overcome sometimes", citing how a single strategy for a level can be drastically altered by one's finger being off by a very short distance, and also how one's finger can "very easily cover up what you’re supposed to be doing in order to be successful".

Another criticism of the game was two finger scrolling, Nadia Oxford of Gamezebo calling it "very awkward at times" and Rob Rich of 148 apps stating that it was "problematic at times" when trying to avoid going over par.

Sales
Icebreaker A Viking Voyage was the #1 iPhone app in the US and UK on June 20th 2013, along with the #1 iPad app in the UK, and #2 iPad app in the US, along with being the #1 app in many other territories.

Porting to other devices
Nitrome has not declined the possibility of porting Icebreaker A Viking Voyage to other devices. Nitrome has stated that the sales of the game from the Android version will influence whether the game gets ported to other devices, as poor sales of the Android version will severely hinder the game being ported to other devices.

Porting the game has been made difficult, as early on when the game was in development for iPhone, Nitrome did not anticipate they would be porting it to other devices. When porting the game to another device, much work has to be done to get the game working on a different screen size. New game assets have to be made, and some coding for the game needs to be rewritten entirely in order for it to work on that device , such as how the edges of ice are rendered.

PC
A computer version of the game in the form of a paid download will be considered in the future, though Nitrome has declined the possibility of making a free flash/HTML5 version of the game. Nitrome has previously stated that if making a port of the game, a PC/Mac port would next.

Other mobile phones
Although Nitrome will be considering porting the game to other phone devices, they have not specified which.

Nintendo 3DS
For a Nintendo 3DS port of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage, a lot of new content for already existing content would have to be made, such as having to resize the game's art for the Nintendo 3DS screen and reprogram the dimensions for both art and levels , as the Nintendo 3DS's screen has vastly different ratios than iPhone , along with a smaller screen.

A new way for scrolling through levels would have to be found, as the Nintendo 3DS has a resistive touch screen capable of only registering a single touch at a time, unlike the iPhone which can register multiple touches at a time. Another problem for a Nintendo 3DS port would be what the top screen would be used for, as the bottom screen would have to be used for the ice slicing.

In-game advertisements
One criticism of Icebreaker A Viking Voyage for iOS was the advertisements that appeared in the pause menu of the game. When pausing the game, to the left of the pause menu would be two advertisements. Nitrome has stated that their "comments about their being no ads" meant that there would be no "content unrelated to any party making the game" (Nitrome's definitions of ads ), and that what was considered "ads" by fans are actually "promotions".

Nitrome has also implied that they have allowed these promotions in the game in exchange for promotions (called by fans as "ads") in the iOS game Angry Birds. The Android version, and presumably the iOS version too, do not display Rovio ads anymore due to upkeep of the game being transferred from Rovio to Nitrome, and instead Nitrome related ads being displayed.

Trivia

 * Many level names are a reference to other types of media, such as:
 * The Hammerfest level Bridge Too Far is a reference to the movie A Bridge Too Far
 * The Under Dwell level "A Link To the Blast" is a reference to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.