Understanding the Theory of Evolution is tricky for some people. If only there was a mobile game that made it all easier to comprehend? Unfortunately, there still isn’t; Evolution: The Game is not something that inherently teaches you about evolution, except that plant eaters need to eat, and carnivores need to eat them. However, that doesn’t stop it from being a pretty good game. At its core, Evolution is a card management game. You’ll create species of plant eaters and assign them traits, increase their population, and get them to feed once per turn. The winner is the player with the most food at the end of the game, representing your group of species being the ones that have survived the test of time.
This is an adaption of the board game Evolution and plays pretty similarly to it, albeit with a bit more focus on the cards. The rather nature-themed aesthetic is a nice touch, replete with dirt and water to give an overall prehistoric feel, but it’s very cluttered, wearing on your eyes after staring at it for too long.
[sc name=”quote” text=”The rather nature-themed ascetic is a nice touch, replete with dirt and water to give an overall prehistoric feel, but it’s very cluttered, wearing on your eyes after staring at it for too long.”]
Despite this overabundance of color, however, the base mechanics of Evolution: The Game are intrinsically fun. You need to make sure that you not only make a strong species that is able to eat the food from the watering hold before your enemy, you also need to assign traits to them based on a random deck of cards. These same cards serve as both the food to add to the watering hole, new traits to make your species stronger or less susceptible to damage, or to increase your species’ body size or their actual population, which itself is what controls how much food you can eat per turn, with your food counting as your score.
All these mechanics all combine into one consistent, if hard to master, card game. There is a real sense of frustration and challenge in attempting to overcome your enemy, as well as a genuine depth of strategy, both in your traits and your decision making every single turn. Though the visual aesthetic is cluttered, leaving you with a feeling wary of length play sessions, the gameplay and overall strategic elements of Evolution: The Game are incredibly solid.
[sc name=”quote” text=”Though the visual aesthetic is cluttered, leaving you with a feeling wary of length play sessions, the gameplay and overall strategic elements of Evolution: The Game are incredibly solid.”]
You will feel annoyed, challenged, overwhelmed, and defeated, yet exuberant at your eventual victory when you finally master using carnivores to diminish your enemy and achieve triumphant victory. Considering this is a port of a board game, it’s a solid experience with deep, intricate mechanics that will leave you desperate to play even more.
[review pros=”An extremely intricate, strategically rich gameplay experience. An adaption of board games that actually works.” cons=”The visual scope of the game is far too cluttered.” score=9]
[appbox appstore id1112610493?mt=8]
[appbox googleplay id=com.northstargames.evolutiongame&hl=en_US]
