PikPok should be well-known among mobile gamers for not only making some good games, but also ones with solid production values. So even when they do something that seems familiar, it’s worth paying attention to as it might not be what it seems. It’s easy to take a quick look at Shadow Wars and think that “oh, this looks like another match-3 battling game" but there’s some fun stuff going on here. It does follow the Puzzle and Dragons (Free) formula, but the big difference with the puzzles is that they’re more like Collapse, where any of the same-color tiles that are adjacent in cardinal and ordinal directions will also be detonated, and if enough gems are busted in one turn, a more powerful gem is left behind that can trigger various combos.
It winds up being a fun game, though the loop of going from level to level, collecting currency to spend on upgrades, getting random monsters from portals, and advancing through levels with a three-star system. But the core gameplay is fun, with the monsters having some cool effects, and some fun potential strategization. This is worth keeping an eye on, though if you’re expecting something as funny as Monsters Ate My Metropolis (Free), sorry – this seems to come from the more serious side of PikPok. If you’re in Australia or New Zealand, you can check this one out in soft launch. Otherwise, wait for the worldwide launch or check out our guide to download soft launch games.
New Zealand iTunes Link: Shadow Wars
