Ice Scream 3: Scary Horror

Rate it

Rod has taken Mike, and you need a new plan to get him back.

Platforms: iPhone, Android
Price: Free to play
Rated: 4.6 of 5 from 18,958 ratings on the App Store; 4.4 of 5 from 253,640 ratings on Google Play
Players: 1
Made by: Keplerians
Released: 2020

What frightens The ice cream truck's jingle is back and Rod, the masked ice cream man, has taken your best friend Mike. You follow him through dark streets and a city mall at night, hiding when he appears in a doorway and solving puzzles to free Mike before Rod catches you.
Content: cartoon violence.

The third Ice Scream game from Keplerians, free on iPhone and Android. Rod the ice cream man has captured your best friend Mike, and you follow him through the city, solving puzzles and hiding from him to set Mike free.

About Ice Scream 3: Scary Horror

Ice Scream 3 is the third game in Keplerians' Ice Scream series, released on the App Store in March 2020 and also on Google Play. The eerie sound of the ice cream truck is back, and this time Rod has kidnapped your best friend Mike. The game's own story screen adds that all your friends are missing and you will need a different plan this time.

It plays in first person on touch controls. You follow Rod through creepy places around the city, from night streets to a shopping mall, uncover his secrets and solve puzzles to reach Mike, sneaking into his van and hiding when he comes near. Each game gives you three lives, and the difficulty decides how agile Rod is and how well he hears.

There are three stories. Mike's Kidnapping is the original. The Missing Guard, Part 3 ends the what-if investigation that runs through Ice Scream 1, 2 and 3, with J. arriving at the mall to name the kidnapper. Logan's Misadventures is a newer story in which you play as Logan and learn how Rod's toy horses came to be scattered across Spokane. The Keplerians Network adds friends, leaderboards, events and skins for Rod and the kids, and a paid Premium removes the ads.

It keeps the hide-and-solve formula of Ice Scream 1 and 2 with a new friend to save and a bigger city to search, and it closes stories the earlier games started, so it is best played in order. The look is cartoon-like, closer to a spooky animated film than to gore.

How to play Ice Scream 3: Scary Horror

Pick a story, such as Mike's Kidnapping, and a difficulty; you have three lives each game.
Follow Rod through the city and search each place for items and clues.
Solve the puzzles that open the way to where Mike is held.
Hide when Rod appears and wait until he has gone.
Free Mike and escape before Rod catches you.

Screenshots

Ice Scream 3 screenshot: a boy carrying a box runs down a night street as Rod follows him past his Frosty ice cream van

Ice Scream 3 screenshot: a dark shopping mall at night with stairs and a red toy horse, touch controls on screen

Ice Scream 3 screenshot: Rod in a stained apron stands in a doorway of a wallpapered room while the player holds a device crackling with purple light

Tips

Use headphones, as the store recommends; hearing Rod first is how you avoid him.
Play Ice Scream 1 and 2 first if you want The Missing Guard to make sense: Part 3 is its last chapter.
On Hard, Rod is agile and hears well, so learn the routes on an easier setting.
Look over each area before carrying an item away; what it opens is often close by.