A mobile version of a popular puzzle game has proved divisive.
Critters, which was heavily inspired by the legendary Lemmings games, had a good run on PC and various consoles in the early 2000s. It’s now gotten a long awaited mobile release.
While it’s free to download, the creators’ desire to wring as much money as possible from the ‘freemium’ model has been criticised online.
The levels have been simplified to fit the smaller devices, but the big issues is the fixed energy bar (with every action assigned energy points), which means players can only play for 20 minutes at a time and it can only be extended by paying the expensive VIP subscription.
“This game is BS!” said an anonymous user on the r/Critters Reddit page. “I can live with the simpler levels, but deliberately limiting play time with that stupid energy bar is madness! I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been stuck on a level and had to wait forever to get enough energy to continue. I’ve already uninstalled this piece of garbage! Way to tarnish the game’s legacy!”
It’s also been criticised for a lot of ads (used whenever there’s a break in play or you fail a level) – with many of them repetitive and unable to be muted.
“I like to play when I listen to podcasts at work and it’s annoying to have to turn down the sound when the ads come on full blast!” said another Reddit user.
The creators of the mobile game put a post on their Instagram page to explain their choices: “The Freemium model was used to take advantage of the flexibility of mobile gaming. While you don’t have to spend money to play our game, your experience is greatly enhanced if you do. If you play every day, then we encourage you to become a VIP subscriber so you get the most out of the game. We promise it’s worth every cent.”
