These sorts of mechanics have been well established for years now, but a still enjoyable, even if you’ve already seen them a thousand times. It’s no secret that lots of folks love Candy Crush, but wouldn’t it be nice to sometimes have a bit of a story to go alongside it? Enter Guildmaster Story, a humorously critical take on right-wing capitalism and individual enterprise, all while still being a pretty intuitive puzzle game.
The core gameplay revolves around matching two or more blocks of the same color together to get them to disappear. If the game was only this, it would get pretty boring fast. Thankfully, each level has its own objectives, requiring you to hit a certain number of different colors, or having to overcome specific problems.
[sc name=”quote” text=”Thankfully, each level has its own objectives, requiring you to hit a certain number of different colors, or having to overcome specific problems.”]
For example, sometimes blocks are coated in glass, rendering you unable to actually tap them, meaning you can only get them by matching blocks linked to the glass ones. Or, you need to break apart blocks that can only be destroyed by matching next to them. This endless progression of different block types and gameplay styles means that the each puzzle is consistently fresh. It’s all follows along the story of an enterprising young man out to seek his fortune.
Actually, no, it focuses on a rich son who wastes away his family’s money while playing mobile games. Sound familiar?
The story itself is pretty funny, with a nice amount of humor between each level as your main character whiles away his existence as terrible things happen around him. It’s packed with surprisingly good jokes, as well as a pretty scathing political satire, such as the idea of being opposed to a social safety net. Who knew it was possible to cram in so much social commentary into an ostensibly familiar puzzle game format?
[sc name=”quote” text=” Guildmaster Story‘s funny, clever, and relaxing – filled with just the right amount of challenge.”]
Though the base gameplay is essentially the same regardless of what happens, the fact that there are enough different objectives to achieve, with multiple funny scenes in-between each level to break up the pace, ensures Guildmaster Story‘s a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It isn’t exactly a revolutionary step into new, uncharted waters for the world of mobile phone gameplay, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Guildmaster Story‘s funny, clever, and relaxing – filled with just the right amount of challenge. Guildmaster Story manages to combine its basic game elements with an intriguing and funny story, all the while upping the gameplay requirements as you play and making it more and more difficult, while not overly frustrating.
[review pros=”Simplistic gameplay interwoven with scathing social commentary. Surprisingly decent level variation as you progress through the game.” cons=”The gameplay, while different from level to level with regard to objectives, stays basically the same throughout.” score=8]
[appbox appstore id1440099620]
[appbox googleplay id=com.WZOGI.guildmasterstory&hl=en_US]
