Stone Miner

 

Greetings mechanics and tinkerers!

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Today the steam-rollers are loaded up with: Stone Miner

Today I have a fast and quick blog for you. Today is a very simple game where you control a steam-roller and have to chop away rocks. There is no title screen as this game sends you straight into the game. You have to clear away most of the level to get 3 stars. The further away the stones are from the dock, the harder it is to break the rock. Overall, this game is very chill and relaxing.

Once your cart is full you have to drive back and sell the stones. You use these coins to upgrade the vehicle to be stronger or faster. If you want you could potentially upgrade everything with out actually playing the game by watching videos. I wouldn't recommend doing this as this game is so easy. At some points on the map you will find a mine cart that you can load up and it sells for you but you must use emeralds to buy it or watch a video. As you progress you unlock more buildings. A pet shop allows you to buy and upgrade pets that give you some buffs. These pets use emeralds to upgrade as well. Lastly is a factory which I have not open up yet.

There are about 20 some maps right now. You can work to get 3 stars and these will be used later on. There are rarely some events as well that show up, currently is halloween and it has a time-limit of how long you can play in the levels to earn pumpkins. (No screenshots for this event, sorry.)

Now you may be wondering what all these stars do; They allow you to buy buildings on your own personal island. You can then earn emeralds that are used to buy cosmetics for your vehicle. These are a premium currency but it's nice to see its farmable. Oh and you can choose a color for your building after you place it. You can only change the color of the last building placed though.

Lastly, a quick shot of the shop. Daily you get 3 free emeralds for just playing. This game is very generous for being a F2P with microtransactions. This is a nice game that removes a lot of the toxicity around this genre of game.

Overall:

 4 of 5 cogs.

This is a nice and relaxing game where there is no pressure at all. Once you get everything completed in the main game it looks like the events are pushovers. This is a great F2P game that you can easily play anytime you have a few minutes. It can be played offline but progress doesn't save properly.

Story:

 0 of 5 cogs.

Your story is on another island.

Amount of ads:

 many

The one downside is the number of ads you see or have to view. There is a banner ad on the bottom of the screen that displays all the time. You have many optional ads you can watch and sometimes you get a forced video ad during certain parts of the game. Other than that, the ads are fairly tame compared to most games like this. It is chill about trying to force you to spend money and it is refreshing to see that.

Accurate Advertising?:

💯%

Yup, the videos for this game is straightforward and no clickbait here. 

Graphics:

 4 of 5 cogs.

The graphics are very simplistic and only flat colored 3d objects. Some of the cosmetics are better looking than other games in this genra.

Gameplay:

 4 of 5 cogs.

A simple game that anyone can easily play and complete. This game is relaxing to play at any pace.

Free play:

💯%

No need to throw your hard earned cogs around for this one. The game is very generous to you and you can earn everything in a fairly short time of play.

Fun factor:

🏭 contstuctful.

Are you an indy programmer or game dev?

If so, you can leave a comment or contact me on social media for a chance to have an interview with you posted to my blog. I am looking for many devs that focus on mobile programming. If you have a cross-platform game, that is fine too as long as it's on mobile.

Thank You for reading my blog. Please consider donating to the tip jar as these are tough times and every bit helps. You can get updates by joining my newsletter. If you enjoy these reviews please show others this blog by retweeting or liking my posts on social media.

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Dice Merge: Matchingdom Puzzle

 

Greetings mechanics and tinkerers!

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Time to roll the dice with: Dice Merge: Matchingdom Puzzle

Today I is a very quick game called Dice Merge. It is a very simple game that is harder than it looks. You get a random combination of either a single die or a dual set like a domino. You will have to rotate the dice around to fit into any free spots.

The main playfield only has 25 spots. A die will only increase if it matching numbers are placed together. This allows you to make combos that can trigger all the way up. Once you combined 2 six dot dice they disappear from the board. There are a few powerups that you can use along the way 

In this game, there is nothing to unlock. There are 3 sets of themes you can choose from the very beginning of the game. It is nice to have everything available to choose from at the start for a change.

You unlock some bonuses for completing different achievements. The only thing you really get here is just some of the powerups that you can use in the main game.

Once a day you can spin a wheel that gives you free power-ups. I do not remember if you can watch ads that allow you to spin more.

There is a lot of microtransactions for the powerups. This doesn't feel like any tangible value at all in this game. 

Lastly there are daily challenges. I did not get a chance to try out any of these apparent mini-games. Sadly this is something you must find and experiment for yourselves when you get bored of the main dice merge.

Overall:

3 of 5 cogs.

This game doesn't have too much going for it. The concept of merging dice is nice and all but there is nothing else to it. I've featured a couple of dice merging games that offer a lot to do or some unique mechanic, where as this game is just lackluster. 

Story:

 0 of 5 cogs.

Sorry, roll again.

Amount of ads:

 

Many

You get a lot of ads. You have a constant bar at the bottom of the screen and you get a forced video ad between rounds.

Accurate Advertising?:

50%

Graphics:

 5 of 5 cogs.

The graphics are clean and fancy. They add to the game a little but is not really enough to hold interest for very long.

Gameplay:

 3 of 5 cogs.

Easy but very repetitive. This game seems to be fairly bug free but the concept is very limited and does not offer much variety to it. This game just falls short of something I feel I would want to continue to play.

Free play:

💯%

This game is very much easy to play without paying for it. There are no paywalls despite the very silly microtransactions in this game. I feel this game really goes for the low hanging fruit.

Fun factor:

😐 Mediocre.

Are you an indy programmer or game dev?

If so, you can leave a comment or contact me on social media for a chance to have an interview with you posted to my blog. I am looking for many devs that focus on mobile programming. If you have a cross-platform game, that is fine too as long as it's on mobile.

Thank You for reading my blog. Please consider donating to the tip jar as these are tough times and every bit helps. You can get updates by joining my newsletter. If you enjoy these reviews please show others this blog by retweeting or liking my posts on social media. All tips will help me financially to keep producing these reviews.

Throw a cog(tip using PayPal) to your blogger.

Flop Rocket

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Today's game is: Flop Rocket

Today I bring you a sci-fi game from the Butterscotch Shenanigans universe. The game is very simple. You play a lunar lander clone but the goal is to reach space. The problem: you start in a cave.

I've been following the Butterscotch games for some time. This game is the second mobile game the team of brothers released.

The title screen is simple. You can log into Butterscotch's system to save progress or unlock special achievements that give bonuses in other games by this team. You can optionally give a one-time premium purchase to unlock access to all upgrades.

As you play and complete random missions you get coins to upgrade your spaceship. Each one makes it easier to reach space.

The simple gameplay uses touch to increase velocity. The bar on the left changes the angle.

You get special missions and have 3 tries to complete it. You earn juice That allows you to buy one-time powerups to help you along.  Coins are earned by distance. If you butter-up, you earn double the coins. Easy and simple fight against physics.

Overall :

 5 of 5 cogs.

This may be a simple game but it's fun. It is very challenging and takes a lot of skill to progress.

Story:

 4 of 5 cogs

There is a little bit of story at the start and I think when you reach space. Butterscotch Shenanigans have a very interesting sense of humor. Each game loosely links to the others to form a lively universe.

Amount of ads:

None! That's all there is to say.

Advertised as seen:

💯%

The brothers will not mislead you. Everything is very straightforward.

Graphics:

 5 of 5 cogs.

Sam has a very lively style of art that has defined Butterscotch. The art is unique and you will not find any other place.

Audio:

 4 of 5 cogs

The audio for this game was outsourced but it is snappy and fitting to the game. It doesn't get repetitive as you play.

Gameplay:

 5 of 5 cogs.

Very simple and easy gameplay. It will take a little time to get used to the game. This is a skill based game but you also need a lot of luck.

Free play:

💯% you can play without buttering-up but this is one game I recommend paying to upgrade to support an indy company.

Fun factor:

🍿 Buttery smooth.

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