‘Flappy Bird’ for iOS and Android game review

For some of you, Flappy Bird needs no introduction. The game has garnered a lot of attention these days and it seems everyone and their grandmother is playing it. The game is known for its extremely simple gameplay that takes no time to learn but nearly impossible to master. Thanks to this, Flappy Bird will have you pulling your hair out in no time at all.

Flappy Bird was originally launched on iOS but recently made an appearance on Android as well. So we thought we’ll take a closer look at the game for the four of you who still haven’t installed and played it, yet.

Gameplay

Flappy Bird is a side-scrolling 2D game where your objective is to keep the bird airborne and avoid the pipes as you move forward. You keep the bird in air by tapping on the screen and the more pipes you avoid the higher your score.

Sounds simple enough, right? If only that was the case. Soon you’ll learn that it is easier to keep an F-22 Raptor with one wing missing in air than the bird in this game. The bird in this game is basically a brick with wings and will go down just as quick if you stop tapping on the screen. Understandably, then, navigating something like this through tight gaps requires the precision of a neurosurgeon on cocaine otherwise you will find yourself going face first into the first pipe that you come across. And you’ll be running into a lot of pipes, which explains why the bird’s beak is so puffy.

The gameplay is very addictive, especially if you get into comparing scores with your friends. Then you can’t stop playing even if you want to because you keep thinking you will make that high score the next time. If you don’t throw your phone out after the first five hundred times you die in the game, then eventually you learn how to keep the bird in the air without touching the pipes for a while. After about a day of playing I managed to reach 25 without breaking the phone but that’s just because I have the patience of a monk.

Being a free game there are ads in the game. Thankfully, there are no ads when you are actually playing the game but you do see them in the menus. I wish there was an option to pay and remove the ads.

Graphics and Sound

Flappy Bird has an 8-bit look to it, which is quite popular these days. It’s extremely bare bones, however, and there is not a lot of detail in the environment. Not that it’s a big deal as it doesn’t really affect the game negatively. The game is meant to be simple and it shows in the visuals. Besides, it’s less than 1MB on Android.

The same minimalism continues in the sound, which has no music whatsoever. There is one sound for flapping of wings, one for when you successfully pass a set of pipes and one when you hit something. The audio too takes on an old-school approach and sounds like old 8-bit games.

Verdict

Flappy Bird is one of those games that hooks you by simply being frustratingly difficult. The reason you keep playing is because on surface it seems so easy that you are not willing to accept that you are not great at it, so you keep trying to prove yourself wrong again and again. Add to the fact that everyone seems to be playing it these days and comparing scores, you are almost obligated to play it as well just to see if you can beat them at it. It’s simple and fun and also free to download. So if you haven’t already, give it a try. You’ll regret it almost instantly when you can’t stop playing.

Rating: 8/10
Pros: Simple, addictive gameplay
Cons: No option to pay to remove the annoying ads

Download: iOS | Android

This game was reviewed on an iPad Air and Nexus 5.