It isn’t every day you stumble upon a game that kills you within the first 0.5 seconds of gameplay… For reference, it feels like this: “You hit play and instantly GAME OVER!” + maybe a “5 to 10 second Ad” if you’re lucky…😉
(For Developers) Shape Escape! (by tastypill) is a game we’re not quite sure if we can actually recommend. That being said, please don’t take this review as us simply bashing a game we don’t exactly love, but rather as a reference of what not to do if you want your players to actually enjoy playing your games…
Looking at only the core game mechanics, Shape Escape! is actually a pretty cool little game. For starters, the concept is simple and easy to follow – escape out of a hole cut into a rotating shape and land on a tray at the bottom of your screen – how much simpler could that possibly get? And, in case you were wondering, the controls are just as simple and easy to use – simply tap on the screen of your device in order to jump – once again, it is as simple as you can get.
In fact, even the graphics are simple! Primarily made up of 3 colors, black, white, and a monochrome background that switches color every few levels, there really isn’t a lot you could do to this game to make it any simpler. Which is probably why it feels so damn annoying when you die just 0.5 seconds into the game!
3 out of the first 5 levels require the player to tap on the screen pretty much the moment the game begins in order to NOT DIE! (Level 5 being the worst!) This in itself is annoying, but every 2-3 games you play, you will be required to watch a 5-10 second Ad in order to continue playing!? We probably spent more time watching Ads during the first 5 minutes of gameplay than we did actually playing the game!
Sure this probably makes the developer money, but in a market where most of the Ads within games are for other games you could be playing instead of the game you are currently playing, Shape Escape! does a great job of making other games look really fun! …perhaps it has something to do with the fact we aren’t having fun…
But who knows, perhaps this is also part of the plan? In most cases, the developer makes more money when players actually click on an Ad and download something so it is possible?
Although it is technically possible, looking at the games previously released by tastypill we doubt that it was done on purpose. It is probably just a mistake that slipped through testing and ended up catching our attention in the way it did. If you’re an indie developer, just remember that no-one is going to be as good at your game as you are, so be careful not to make it too difficult or else people will probably hate on you.😅
The Conclusion
Would we recommend you download Shape Escape! in its current form? “NO!” However, indie games are continually updated, so when tastypill sees this article, hopefully, they will decide to make it just a little easier for players like us…
That being said, if you can’t wait until then and want to give Shape Escape! a try right now! – we’re not stopping you.
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