This genre has become an interesting one in recent mobile games
Posted Date – Monday, 4/24/23 at 12:45am
Hyderabad: This week, I start off with a statement: mobile games are dead. By looking at the mobile and free-to-play (f2p) gaming space over the past 18 months, I mean that very few new games (that I’ve come across) incorporate novel interactions into their gameplay. It should be noted that I am not saying that fewer people play games on mobile phones, or that the number of games that are launched in a week or a month has decreased.
My observation might seem surprising, given the unparalleled popularity of mobile gaming given the success of games like PUBG Mobile and Fortnite or the genre-obscuring Genshin Impact, it’s important to note that while most new games are coming out for the first time in several years Either try to retool the existing format, or try to improve the existing experience. I’ve lost count of how many games have raced to fill the PUBG Mobile-sized hole in the Indian gaming community, or how many have tried to emulate Genshin’s open-world “gacha”-style offerings. – Updated gameplay seems to be rare, because suddenly “idle play” seems to be an acceptable genre.
It’s ironic that there are games that don’t require player input on a form factor that was once famous for offering mini-moving windows, but over the past 18 months, there are very few mobile games I’ve continued to play after review. The experience wasn’t engaging enough. However, that all changed when I came across Marvel Snap. In Snap, I discovered the joy of strategy combined with my love of collecting and my desire to engage in quick online matches with other players.
The game’s design is flawless, and being rooted in the Marvel Universe is a bonus. Initially, I played the game just to amass the most powerful cards, but I stayed for the balanced deck building and turn-based strategy. Nearly six months later, I still play Snap almost every day. If you follow other gaming journalists, you’ll notice that many of them also regularly write about their experiences with the game and the decks they choose to run. Despite Snap’s success, it’s worth noting that the format isn’t entirely unique, with games like Gwent, Hearthstone, and Magic offering similar gameplay experiences with great success.
Hearthstone and Gwent have not only developed a broad gaming community, but a healthy esports community as well, suggesting that there is a market for high-intensity games that don’t primarily rely on player speed and reflexes. While it must be acknowledged that slow, measured and clunky play is antithetical to the current full-motion image of esports-level gaming, Snap has the potential to change that. Its developers have been strategically matching their game content with offerings from the never-ending juggernaut of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Most players are probably just there to collect cards from their favorite movies and series, but some of them stick around for the long haul. With upcoming games like Harry Potter: Magic Awakens trying to emulate the formula, the genre is suddenly worth watching!
