Every day I travel by train to the my university and during that time I recently only did one thing : playing a mobile game called Pokemon Magikarp Jump and today I want to tell you guys more about the game and tell you my opinion from a gamer's point of view and of course from a Game developer's point of view. Let's jump into it.
First Impressions
The game started like every other decent game. It started with a tutorial scene where the professor ( it's always a professor in Pokemon) guide you through the world of this game and I do't want to spoiler the "story" for you here so let's skip to the part where I get my first Magikarp. Soon I realized that this game is very similar to the Clicker games like Cookie Clicker . There are nearly non Game mechanics in this game. You can press a button to train your Magikarp or touch the screen to feed it. These are actually the only things you will do for the most time.
The Goal
The goal of the game is based on the only ability a Magikarp have and it is jumping. Yes you read right, the goal of the game is to train your Magikarp in jumping. You compete against other Magikarp NPC ( Non-Player Character ) in a Jump Duell. You work yourself up the leagues in there and earn badges for each League. Just like the arenas in regular Pokemon games. You do not even actively jump. Your jump height is calculated from your Jump power. The whole game is based around this value. You can level up your Pokemon to increase his JP or feed him or buy items from the shop which I will discuss later.
Replayability
You probably ask yourself why should I ever come back to this game? I asked myself the same thing but some how I always came back. The simple game mechanics and goals let you have short play session. Because of the Pokemon theme you really have a good feeling about playing this game because you are not raising a gold fish, you are raising a Magikarp and for the Pokemon fans is Magikarp one of the most popular Pokemon. Also you want to have the best Magikarp between your friends so you do not want to miss a training opportunity for your Pokemon.
Monetization
So how do this game does his main job, making money? The game has 2 Virtual currency which player can earn through game progress and achievement system. They can spend these in the shop for better food or better training methods. It also allows player mini transaction to get more of these Currencies with real money. This method is well known from games like Clash of Clans or Summoners War. This game is however no pay to win game, unless you want to be the best and make Youtube videos about your strong or athletic Magikarp.
Fun Fact :
You can buy 50 Diamonds for 1 Steem in Magikarp Jump.
Conclusion and Rating
Pokemon Magikarp Jump is a dumb yet brilliant game. The game has beautiful cartoon graphics and has a sweet and user friendly UI (User Interface). It is simple and this simplicity is working for the Pokemon company and make this game pretty addictive. Through surprise events the game has always something new for the player. The achievement system is really rewarding.
I give this game 4 out of 5 SteemStars .
This Idea is so dumb that it just works. However I wished more game mechanics where the player can actively do something. However this is the nature of a clicking game and has it's own advantages.
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