Game Reviews

Bouncy Hoops review - An easy to pick up basketball experience

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iOS
| Bouncy Hoops
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Bouncy Hoops review - An easy to pick up basketball experience
|
iOS
| Bouncy Hoops

There's something a little bit moreish about Bouncy Hoops. It's a simple game that mixes together ideas from some of the finest arcade experiences available on mobile, then wraps them all up in pretty SNES-era graphics.

And it works remarkably well. It's got a compulsion loop that pushes you on to chase your high scores, and while there are a few niggles here and there, you'll still find yourself heading back to its courts time and time again.

Slam dunk the funk

The game is all about scoring baskets. Your ball moves towards the hoop automatically, and you need to give it height by tapping on the screen. Imagine Flappy Bird but on the basketball court and you're part of the way there.

The hoops move their position every time you score. It'll swap to the other side of the screen, and change its height as well. Score a point, and repeat. That's the basic rhythm of the experience.

There are ways to combo together your shots. Bouncing in from the backboard, beating the buzzer, scoring a clean shot, or smashing the rock in from a great height all extend your combo.

And if you get over a 5x combo, your ball sets on fire and you'll get even more points. It's a slick mechanic that makes you want to perfect your skills so you can get the most points.

There are coins to collect as well and you can spend these on new balls. Unlock a certain number of balls and you'll get a new background to play on.

It's very much a game of rinse and repeat, and one of the main criticisms here is that things don't unlock quickly enough. It'll take you a good few games, videos, and free gifts to get enough coins to buy your first new ball.

Court short

But these are small problems with what's an exciting and engaging experience. It might not have the depth of more intricate basketball games, but that's really not the point.

This is a game you'll slip into over and over again, and it's likely to become your go-to sports game for those brief gaming moments that mobile is perfect for.

Bouncy Hoops review - An easy to pick up basketball experience

A slick and easy to pick up basketball game that doesn't overstay its welcome
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.