The app store has done a lot to alter our expectations of what we should get for 99 cents. The wealth of high-quality and incredibly fun apps that cost less than a dollar means that we must be relatively choosy when it comes to which incredibly low cost games we buy for our iDevice. The games of choice must be unique, polished, and fun at the very least.
Grumps is, unfortunately, not one of those games. Grumps is a simplistic game in which you dodge falling grumpy faces (or “grumps”) and try and catch smiley faces of various colors. You can also catch bombs, which will eliminate all “grumps” from the screen. After that… well, that’s it, really.
There is a superficial attempt at variety. As you accumulate more points you are awarded a new theme, which essentially means another generic background (spooky, beach, field, etc.) and another weird looking avatar guy. Really though, those changes don’t serve as much of a motivation when they’re as uninspired as these.
Don’t get me wrong. The game has a fun enough mechanic. After all, it’s a mechanic that’s been proven time and time again in plenty of prior games. The problem is that it’s such an incredibly simple mechanic that there’s little to keep the player interested. These days, beating a high score can only go so far. Without some semblance of depth, this game quickly falls flat.
Is it worth 99 cents? Sure, in a vacuum. But when buying every .99 cents that is “worth the money” means spending hundreds of dollars a month, it’s best to leave this app alone. After all, there’s no way you’ve finished Angry Birds yet.
Review copy provided by publisher.