The sentence ‘Angry Birds Dream Blast – Toon Bird Bubble Puzzle’ is an in-depth introduction to both the name and the concept of the 2018 mobile puzzle-game by Rovio. Popping colourful bubbles level after level with little modification, little brainwork, little agency. It might sound a tad boring, but that’s somewhat the point. The game is very simple, which is a considerable part of its draw; you don’t have to think too much when tapping your screen in Dream Blast. It’s easy to whip out your phone and attempt to beat a level a few times, and easy to put it away if you don’t succeed. No pressure. Take your time. Relax.
Rounded corners, sof colours. What a dream!
There’s no story to speak of. Combining four or more bubbles of the same colour into various birds to blast more bubbles, villainous pig-balloons, plain old stones, cool ice blocks, and other mildly exciting rubbish into dream dust is the whole shebang. By stretching one’s imagination, one could propose a storyline: the green piggies have stolen the birds’ eggs, so it’s your job to burst the fiends into oblivion and reclaim those priceless avian baby containers. It’s just that not all levels contain inflated pigs to obliterate, nor eggs to reclaim. Which is completely fine. I sincerely hope no one has ever played an Angry Birds title for the writing. The visuals and sounds compliment the soothing atmosphere well—nothing stand-out, nothing hideous. Smooth sailing all the way.
Since there’s no storyline, I’m not sure there’s an ending at all. Currently having played through a disconcerting 1558 levels, I’d be hard-pressed to claim any sense of progression exists. I’ve started noticing a few similarities between levels, but I can’t say whether it’s some sort of delirium rather than an astute observation I’d love to have made. The player has five lives to burn through before a pause and a wait for another one, which is a bit annoying at first, and completely fine a few levels in. You’re in no hurry. You gain some power-ups through gameplay, which is of course extremely slow and complimented by readily available microtransactions, but I’ve not spent a penny, and certainly urge no one to.
The meat of the game: exploding birds. To take that excess anger out.
Probably I’ve seen enough bubbles to last a lifetime, and probably there’s more than enough to see to last several yet, but it’s okay. They’re bubbles. Colourful, yes, but what harm has a little colour ever done? Angry Birds Dream Blast – Toon Bird Bubble Puzzle is what a puppy is to a person who likes puppies, but the puppy is the game, and the person likes the game. A slow and chill tappity-tap for those moments you’d like to unplug. It’s free, so why not grab it and try? You just might like it.
Publisher: Rovio Entertainment
Developer: Rovio Entertainment
Platforms: iOS, Android
Release Date: November 12th, 2018
Genres: Puzzle
PEGI: 3
Pictures: screenshots taken by the author.
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