Devolver Tumble Time is the latest mobile title from indie publisher Devolver Digital. It’s a unique match3 game with physics elements. Players match at least three icons (toys) based on Devolver’s character catalog, and add extra bonuses to increase their score and meet the goal. Get stuck in And you can “drop” the toys to try and make new matches. It’s simple, addictive and fast. With nice, simplistic graphics and cheerful music, it’s the perfect match3 game.
So what makes it different? Mainly his “satirical” take on the mobile genre. The jokes come easy and fast when Devolver’s CFO “Fork Parker,” a fictional board member, sends you humorous messages such as requiring you to complete challenges to pay for a “special project” (which turns out to be buying him a solid new gold couch).
Sarcastic comments in descriptions and more abound, including the game’s gacha mechanic listing the most basic tier as a literal “trash haul.” The last message I received called me “valued customer” before giving me one loose sock, one of the game’s six currencies.
The perceived attacks on sneaky monetization techniques are commendable. Also, the excavations in many elements of modern mobile games such as gacha, weeklies, two days and more. But there is a basic and sneaky logic behind it all because as you will notice while playing, all this monetization is still there in the game…
cunning
Although the Devolver Tumble Time makes fun, it is by no means throwing away familiar means of making money. Watch an ad to get a free daily reward, watch an ad to get an extra 10 seconds on the clock. While the former is only optional, when you start reaching level 20 and beyond, the latter often becomes a necessity to ensure the score and number of toys needed to keep progressing without restarting the level.
It can also feel a little unfair at times, as those extra 10 seconds are also rarely enough to keep progressing. And with the other currencies (everything but coins) being used for this saving grace as well, it’s highly encouraged to waste your time in the ad to avoid using socks, apples, or rings (doughnuts…?).
Speaking of coins, you have six in total. Coins are used to pull gacha, while everything else is converted to coins or used to get an extra 10 seconds on the clock when you fail the main game. Don’t worry though, because for the low, low price of £4.19 you can get a generous 1000 of each coin.
I admit, I fall for Tumble Time as some avant-garde masterpiece when in reality it does exactly the same thing as many other games. Only while nudging and winking at you. But when the game still happily takes your money, the claims that it’s just some masterful joke are diluted a bit.
There is also the question of who exactly this game will appeal to. Of course there are the sophisticated players (so they will say) of Devolver usually. But what about someone you come across organically? Sure, it’s not exactly a pairing to take all your money, but Devolver isn’t likely to turn down an occasional shopping spree from someone who unironically enjoys the game.
genius
But let’s not be too negative. In real terms, monetization itself can be seen as a joke (albeit one that costs money). Hearts, needed to play levels, refresh often enough that being without them is never really a problem. As long as you don’t replay levels. However, for just £2.59 you can buy unlimited hearts for “999 years”. Which by any measure is quite generous.
Monetization is a necessity in games, no matter how unpalatable it is. And there is no ‘right’ way to do it. You only have to look as far as the popular PC military simulation game Squad and theirs Decision to incorporate relatively innocent gesture packs as DLC (for the express purpose of supporting the continued operation of the studio) and the commotion that followed to see the loud response that each monetization receives.
Tumble Time presents itself as a “free” game where it encourages you to spend a small amount of money to bypass each gift. Again, not very different from other games, except for how generous it is with the coins involved. But what Devolver has done is create a match3 game with a very solid core gameplay loop that excites all animal instincts and hits many of the marks that developers need to hit.
The “strategic brand integration” they describe for the game isn’t just a joke either. On the main screen, your chosen player character is lounging on a couch, while an innocuous poster in the background leads directly to Devolver’s merchandise store. Devolver certainly doesn’t pull punches when it comes to publishing their other games either, with a stacked roster that includes many recognizable characters from Serious Sam, Hotline Miami, Ape Out and more.
So, genius or cunning? Well, I’d say it definitely errs on the side of “sneaky”, but it looks good and plays well while doing it. It’s a great way to make players feel smart, by lampooning the outrageous elements of modern mobile gaming, but at the same time it still feels a little backwards. Surely if the game is meant to be purely humorous, it shouldn’t take your money at all?
However, at the same time, from a purely subjective point of view it is a great game. And there are a lot of “serious” developers who probably wish they could pick up a lot of aspects of Tumble Time. But it can still leave a sour taste in the mouth as the game cynically admits that many of its elements are there to exploit the player.
Whether you think this is the start of a slow slide into Devolver becoming the evil corporation they often joke about, or just a fun game with a generous monetization aspect is ultimately up to you.
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