Online Saturday - Squad Busters - Trying The Transformers Crossover Event

Squad Busters got some big changes and a crossover event in the latest app update so i wanted to try them out. i haven't played a game since the June video where i played it for the first time, https://youtu.be/91HK5li0Agg.

Like that video, i played 10 games but unlike that video i only managed to win 1 game. it was clear whilst playing it that the level of players has increased, which is good to know that there is a player base still playing it enough to have developed stronger squads and tactics. some aspects of the game also felt different. in the video i commented that i thought cutting trees was faster and whilst i played it i thought that the base movement speed was slower than i remembered. 

But i was here for the Transformers crossover event. i've been a fan of Transformers since i was a kid, i even have the movie across VHS, UMD, DVD, BluRay, and Digital. But i only knew of this event from the game's update page on the App Store. going in, i hadn't seen any trailers nor had i seen any social media updates. i make it clear from the start that i'm looking for the game to tell me about this cross over and to lead the way. unfortunately, it doesn't. i spend a while at the start of this video lost, unable to work out what i need to do or where it is.

I started the app, and there's nothing. after the first game i deal with the awards and chests i've unlocked and there's still nothing about this crossover. I checked the Squad News section and it was a copy paste of a press release. it just said what it brings to the game, not where it is or how it works. it wasn't until after the third game, which was Transformers themed, that i got information about it. Maybe it was explained in trailers and on social media, but like i said that's not how i found out about this. i left it up to the game and it failed.

Then came the fourth game and there was no Unicron and i didn't know if i was still doing Transformer stuff or not. thankfully it was quickly clear that i was as i earned some Energon at the start and i understood that i can collect Energon, to help with Transformer specific unlocks like Optimus Prime, in every level and Unicron is a level modifier that can be selected randomly like all the other level modifiers. 

I hope this video makes it clear how this crossover works. once things got going i was back to having a lot of fun. when i played the game in June i said it's a Game of the Year contender and coming back and playing it cemented that. Squad Busters is a lot of fun and Supercell  have done a fantastic job at making the gameplay accessible, balanced, and competitive. i rarely felt like i never had a chance and on a couple of occasions worked my way back up near to the top. Squad Busters is a must play and this Transformers event has been tied into the game very well and is well worth checking out. it appears that what ever characters you unlock from this event are kept once the event ends!

Version 7.301.3 played

Mobile Friday - Match and Rogue: Pixel RPG - The Roguelike Needs A Little Tweaking, But It's Good

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Match and Rogue: Pixel RPG, from Another Jay, on my iPhone 14 Pro.

It's a combination of a Match 4 game and a Roguelike and going in i was very curious how it would be balanced. the Match 4 gameplay style is similar to the famous mobile game 10000000, and it's later sequel You Must Build A Boat. so i was familiar with that gameplay style, but the game also does well with it's tutorial in not only explaining but also showing how it works.

With the tutorial being so strong for one aspect of the game, i was disappointed in how it stops with the other aspect of the game. Match and Rogue: Pixel RPG has been developed clearly with mobile in mind, it's playable with one hand and is welcoming to new players. so it's hard to understand why the developer decided to stop being so welcoming when it came to the Roguelike aspect of gameplay. There's no tutorial and the game doesn't even push the player to that aspect of the game. it's entirely possible to play Match and Rogue: Pixel RPG and never interact with it's Roguelike half when you first play it.

clearly, the game needs to either hold the players hand and take them directly to this section so they can spend the ability points gained from levelling up, or change the labels to make it clear that you can quit and upgrade. As for the Roguelike aspect of the game, i learned that you do not keep any in-game upgrades you obtain. Nor do you keep money. but you do gain XP and when you level up you gain Skill Points. these are permeant and you can spend these points on the home screen in the Skill Tree section. 

But i felt that this section also needs a little work. i didn't feel like i gained anything useful from the first 2 upgrades. i feel the start of this Skill Tree needs some tweaking, some rebalancing, to help make the first step a noticeable change for the player. gaining a secondary weapon did little to nothing in the first stage as my first weapon was able to kill most things in one hit anyway and was more powerful than the secondary skill i could equip. I think moving the third skill, a new Grid Power block, down to first and then having Grid Power Weapons spawn in the level, or after a boss, would be a better way of introducing the mechanic but also showing how it can make you stronger.

The music in Match and Rogue: Pixel RPG is fantastic and i'm glad there are separate tunes for bosses in the levels. a little more fanfare on levelling up would've been nice, and helped draw attention to unlocked skill points, but what's there is great and i would like the soundtrack.

Even as it currently is, Match and Rogue: Pixel RPG is a good and well worth downloading. It's one i'm going to play in my free time and i will keep a look out for updates to it as there's a solid base to work from. 

Version 0.3.3 Played.