Game Reviews

They Need To Be Fed 3

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iOS
| They Need To Be Fed 3
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They Need To Be Fed 3
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iOS
| They Need To Be Fed 3

They Need To Be Fed 3 is a game that's just as full of swear-out-loud moments as its predecessors. But this time around it's had a little play around with the formula that made the original duo so entertaining.

A mini metroidvania adventure mode sees you legging it through interconnected bite-sized levels, grabbing keys on one side of the map to use in locks on the other.

Even the core gem-collecting arcade mode shakes things up a little. The plants you need to feed are that much bigger, and some of the enemies you're trying to keep away from don't behave like they used to.

There aren't enough changes to entice naysayers to give the series a go, but fans will be pleasantly surprised to find something that feels much more like a sequel than They Need To Be Fed 2 did.

It's not a revolution, but there's enough forward-thinking evolution here that you can't really complain.

Here comes the aeroplane

Once again you're controlling a little black critter, and once again you're trying to feed some giant plants. Unfortunately you're the only food they want, so you need to leap into their mouths to stop those stomachs rumbling.

To get to the gaping maws you need to traverse a series of gravity-enabled blocks. You can walk all the way around each of these, and you need to find the perfect place to jump from one to the next.

There are spikes, laser sentries, moving platforms, and pointy creatures standing between you and your goal, and your only defence is how quickly you respawn after one of them's killed you.

The simple controls let you rotate around the platform you're stood on, and jump at the tap of a button.

Realising the movement buttons don't just push you left and right, but switch about depending which side of a platform you're stood on.

Om nom and so on

So far so similar, but They Need To Be Fed 3 is a good stride away from the simple purity of They Need To Be Fed. It piles on new ideas and obstacles, sometimes a little too thickly, and moves the whole series a little closer to the hardcore end of the spectrum.

Sometimes these new additions work. The first time you get chased from platform to platform by a spiky demon you can't help but let out a slightly frustrated squeal of delight. It's the game dropping something you didn't expect, and that feels good.

But then there are mis-steps and ideas that don't quite work. They're not as numerous as the successes, but you'll know then when you see them all the same.

Good food guide?

They Need To Be Fed 3 builds well on the foundations its forebears laid down, and the adventure mode is an intriguing but occasionally annoying addition that shows the series still has places to go.

This isn't iOS platforming at its best, and there are niggles enough to keep it from the shinier awards, but it's good enough that you'll spend most of your time with it with a smile on your face.

They Need To Be Fed 3

It might not capture the brilliance of the first game, but They Need To Be Fed 3 has enough new ideas that it's still worth a go
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.