DROP'd review - Substance as well as style?
|
iOS
| DROP'd

DROP'd is an ultra-simple high score-chaser which really sticks to the genre's most basic properties.

As with one too many of these titles, I'd love to say that I found it addictive, enthralling, and ground-breaking... but I was taught never to tell lies.

Don't drop me

The general gist of the game is simple - I wasn't kidding before. Starting from the top of the screen, you've got to tap your little block to descend each platform before your time limit runs out.

You can only hit the moving ledge beneath you as all of the others are covered in spikes. If you hit any of those, you die. If you clip the edge of a platform, you die. If you miss altogether, yep you guessed it, you die.

The art style is cutesy and bright, making it a treat for the eyes as you repetitively replay the level, collecting stars and points to pull you closer to the next unlock.

This is where DROP'd quickly falls into a quirk rather typical of high score-chasers - a lack of substance.

Seriously, don't drop me

With a mixture of 20 characters to unlock - which you can do easily by use of a one-time IAP - the game feels like an uncomfortable human dangling their keys in front of a dog, cat, or baby in the hopes of providing amusement.

Whilst it makes you think 'ooh shiny' for a few moments, ultimately it's a cosmetic alteration and doesn't do anything in terms of altering gameplay. At least in games such as Disney Crossy Road a different character changes up the level as well.

Yes, there are power-ups you can jump onto and use for a brief period of time, like platform magnets and time slowers, but all of this is little more than a distraction from that slowly increasing high score bar.

You dropped me

Ultimately this is what I'd refer to as a 'toilet game' or 'travel game'. Of course, I personally leave my phone outside the lavatory, but you catch my drift. Easy to play in quick bursts and with one hand, DROP'd is a bit too simple for its own good.

It fits the bill of a high score-chaser, however there's very little to keep you coming back outside of a weak desire to best your own total. You'll enjoy it while you're playing it, but you won't remember it in a month.

DROP'd review - Substance as well as style?

DROP'd is an attractive high score-chaser but ultimately lacks content outside of beating a scattering of figures
Score
Emily Sowden
Emily Sowden
Emily is Pocket Gamer's News Editor and writes about all kinds of game-related things. She needs coffee to function and begrudgingly loves her Switch more than she lets on.