Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker - Wave Based Auto Ball Shooter With Roguelike Elements - iPhone Friday

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker, from #cookapps, on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

The game's App Store page listed it as a Roguelite Pinball Defense game, but from the screenshots i wasn't so sure as it reminded me more of Monster Strike. either way, i did like the art style and i was curious about it so i decided to give it a go.

Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker isn't a pinball game, but i can understand why the developers might have picked that as it's hard to describe what genre of game this is. there are elements of Puzzle Bobble, for example, too. it's an auto shooter where our character could just as easily be a turret. waves of enemies are approaching us and we have to fight back with balls.

we start with normal balls. when we defeat an enemy we get experience and after a certain amount we level up. this grants us access to a power-up which is either an active skill like different balls to attack with or something passive. there is a limit of to each at first but there are other upgrades which enable us to fuse balls together into something new, but critically that free's up a space for a new ball to be used. 

It's easy to play and i did most of this video with one hand. the only tricky part is that the game expects you to touch where you want the ball to go. but there's also the ability to touch and drag for more accurate aiming. but that initial press on the screen could be wildly off if you're not careful.

the rogue element of Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker is very generous. in a run we collect money and ball scrolls. with enough of each you can upgrade your balls. by the end of the video i was approaching the point where i would need to grind a little to get the resources needed to level up, so i could make progress.

With the simple mechanics, controls, and a fairly decent tutorial, Bounce Defense: Brick Breaker is a very approachable mobile game. the graphics are nice, the music is a bit repetitive, but overall i enjoyed it and will be keeping it on my phone.

Version 1.0.10 Played

Mobile Friday - Fortress Saga: AFK RPG - One of This Year’s Best Idle Games

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Fortress Saga: AFK RPG on my iPhone 14 Pro. This game from CookAppsGames  is also out on #Android. 

Fortress Saga: AFK RPG has risen to the top of the gaming charts on #iOS so i was keen to see what it was about the game that was so popular. i cam away from this hour with the game very impressed with it. the team at  CookAppsGames  have created a highly accessible game, one with a great soundtrack, and even managed to combine the tutorial into building how the world works. Fortress Saga: AFK RPG also makes smart use of the phone's screen, making sure to not only avoid the dynamic island but also the curves at each of the four edges.

(Version 1.3.02 Played)

Mobile Friday - Tailed Demon Slayer: RISE - Cleverly Tries To Hide The Grind

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Tailed Demon Slayer: RISE on my iPhone 14 Pro. This game from CookApps is also out on Android. i haven't played the original Tailed Demon Slayer so this was my first time playing in this game world.

The start of this game is great but also a little weird. It's great because it does a good job of telling a story, putting the game and the game world into context. it's simple approach to world building is effective. so much so that i was waiting for more all throughout this video. and that's the weird thing about this game, so much effort is put into creating context, telling a story, and then the game does nothing else with it. Early on, i was always expecting the game to slow, or even stop, to tell more about the story. but once i realised that it wasn't going to, i was a bit disappointed.

That's kinda true for other aspects of the game. there are times when so much effort has clearly been spent on something and then it stops. the tutorial is a good example of this. the start of the game does a good job slowly introducing the game right up until it stops doing that and as this video goes on i found myself asking more questions. For those who have watched my Mobile Friday videos, you'll know that i appreciate games that slowly introduce themselves even if it means stopping players from accessing parts of the game. and whilst this game did a good job of that, i was able to get clothes and equip them long before the game's clothes tutorial. there's also an instance later of the game starting a tutorial, then showing an advert for said item in the store, then finishing the tutorial. putting an advert half way through the tutorial made no sense.

Ultimately, this aren't huge complaints. they only stick out because of how well the rest of the game is designed. This is one of the better autobattler RPGs i have ever played. having a good start of the story helps, as does a good tutorial, but one of the smartest things the developers did was trying to hide the grind. it took around 45-50 minutes before the grind became noticeable and i applaud all the clever ways they designed the game to try and hide the grind. There is the main "story" battle, then there are dungeons, there's also improving the stats of your character, there's summoning equipment, and then improving your current equipment. there are also quests to aim for, and when you do you can collect the earned items. But if you want more rewards, you can watch adverts. you can also earn things from the Battle Pass, Season Pass, 7 day missions, Quests, Album, and the Advance System. all the while, the game is still progressing, you're still earning money and experience. Essentially, the game is grinding in the background but it's hidden by everything else there is to do in the game.  

It was a little much at the start, but once i realized what was happening and that there's no rush to do things it did become easier. For example,  the Repeat Quest keeps track of your progress. so if you've completed a quest a few times, you'll still get the correct amount of reward. By the end of this video, i still had a lot left to unlock so there could be other ways the developers have tried to hide the grind.

The core gameplay is good, the graphics are good, the music is good, and the tutorials are good. there is a lot to like in this game. it also doesn't force adverts upon us, nor where there any additional downloads before we could start playing. Oh, the music is also good too. there's soo much to like about this game that it's easy for me to recommend this game to fans of the genre, to those curious, and to those looking for a new game to play.

(Version 1.3.02 Played)