Angry Birds Dream Blast is the latest addition to the Angry Birds franchise, combining elements of puzzle and match tile gameplay.
The concept of matching tile games have been around for centuries, far before the very idea of mobile phones ever existed.
Matching pieces based on their color to progress triggers something deeply fundamental about our monkey brains that just feels naturally fun. All manner of different franchises have been converted into this genre, so it seems only logical that Angry Birds would follow suit.
Angry Birds Dream Blast is a sequel to the 2016 Angry Birds Blast. The first iteration in this apparent series was quite simplistic, matching different pieces to create birds that would explode and clear the board for you.
Angry Birds Dream Blast changes up this dynamic by actually having a goal for each level that you need to achieve within your limited number of moves.[sc name=”quote” text=”Angry Birds Dream Blast changes up this dynamic by actually having a goal for each level that you need to achieve within your limited number of moves.”]
These goals start out as matching a certain color block together to fulfill the requirement, but then begin progressing into more difficult, somewhat arbitrary goals.
The key mechanic in Angry Birds Dream Blast is that, once you match four or more of the same color, they will form an Angry Bird. If you form two Angry Birds alongside one another or manage to get them alongside one another, then they will combine into the next tier of bird, all the way until the third purple bird.
These birds get bigger based on how many bubbles you have popped to form them and, though it doesn’t actually say it anywhere in the game, their eventual explosions scale with their size and their upgrade level.
You will start out not needing the Angry Birds to win the level, instead of allowing you to win it a bit easier, as when the bird explodes, it takes with it all the blocks in its immediate area.
However, the later levels start requiring you to actually destroy certain things with the birds, turning the game into one big chase to try and line up the Angry Birds properly, so as to achieve your objective.
The game’s difficulty scales quite well, beginning with simple objectives and gradually becoming more difficult to achieve. However, the key problem is that there isn’t really any element of hand-holding or guiding the player – you are just meant to figure it out on your own.
While it isn’t extremely difficult to do so, there is a certain element of trial and error that can develop into true frustration at not understanding why on earth these damned blocks won’t explode.[sc name=”quote” text=”While it isn’t extremely difficult to do so, there is a certain element of trial and error that can develop into true frustration at not understanding why on earth these damned blocks won’t explode.”]
Angry Birds Dream Blast is another iteration in a long-running, highly profitable series, so it might be expected to be a bit of a waste of time. However, thanks to new objective mechanics and a decent difficulty curve, Angry Birds Dream Blast offers something rather new; at least enough to keep you playing to see what other kinds of challenges the game might throw at you.
[review pros=”A well balanced difficulty curve. The introduction of a goal mechanic for each level makes the entire experience more enjoyable. ” cons=”There is an element of frustration that can’t be ignored when the game doesn’t really tell you how it works past level 5.” score=7.5]
[appbox appstore id1432579280]
[appbox googleplay com.rovio.dream]
