Game Reviews

Dr.Meep review - A match-stuff puzzler that tries a different route

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iOS
| Dr.Meep
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Dr.Meep review - A match-stuff puzzler that tries a different route
|
iOS
| Dr.Meep

It's always nice when a match-stuff puzzler tries something different, but the way Dr. Meep does it is even more intriguing than most.

That's because it's not the gameplay that the game shifts around. While there are some nice new additions here, it's the theme that makes Dr. Meep so interesting.

What's going on?

You're playing as a psychiatrist in a cartoon world. You need to cure your patients, and you do that by matching their psychoses and clearing them from their brain.

Rather than swapping them, here you tap to clear single icons. This makes others tumble down and, hopefully, matches them in groups of three.

Each level gives you a set number of matches to make, and the problems you clear with a tap don't count towards them. You'll also find special moves that change the way the items are cleared.

Dr.Meep iOS review screenshot - Clearing the board

As you play you get to the bottom of the problems that are hurting your patients. Each gets five levels, and they get tougher to complete as you work your way through them.

It's definitely not the easiest match-stuff puzzler on the App Store, and you're going to find yourself failing on a regular basis. That can lead to frustration. There's a lack of variety here as well, which some people are going to find annoying.

And that's a shame, because when it's working well Dr. Meep is a really engaging experience. It just feels like it could have done with a little more time in development.

Brain drain

There are sparks here, and the art-style and narrative certainly set it apart from the crowd, but when the drudge sets in, the game doesn't do enough to pull you back from the boredom abyss.

It's worth checking out, if only to see how the match-three genre can do things differently, but in the end you can't help but feel that the game is going to need a few more updates before it's actually really worth playing.

Dr.Meep review - A match-stuff puzzler that tries a different route

You're going to want to love Dr.Meep, but the game does make it rather difficult
Score
Harry Slater
Harry Slater
Harry used to be really good at Snake on the Nokia 5110. Apparently though, digital snake wrangling isn't a proper job, so now he writes words about games instead.