In many players’ eyes, Candy Crush is a bit of a laughing stock. It’s the harbinger of everything long-time gamers dislike about free-to-play mobile games and it has become so ubiquitous that when a portion of the awful 2017 animated film, The Emoji Movie, needed a scene that took place in a phone game, it used Candy Crush because what other phone game would be recognized by every person in the theater?
It’s easy to dismiss the game for these reasons, but it’s also easy to forget why the game became so popular to begin with: it’s really good. It’s simple while maintaining a healthy challenge, there are an absurd number of levels to complete, the monetization is generally not too bad, and it’s pleasant on the eyes and ears. For those reasons, learning that the developer released a new game it is defining as a “midcore” RPG last week makes it worth taking a look at.
Legend of Solgard is a match-three RPG with some unique features that uses facets of Norse mythology and the threat of Ragnarok as its loose plot (Norse mythology is so hot right now). It’s free-to-play and is similar to Candy Crush in the way you move through its levels, but has unique mechanics in its match-three gameplay. It actually plays a little bit like a single-player Clash Royale, for better and worse.
You can grab the game on iOS and Android by following the links.
Our Take
It’s not something I am often eager to admit, but there was a period in my life where I was playing entirely too much Candy Crush on my phone. When it started making me late for work because I would wake up and play it in bed before getting ready in the morning, I had to delete it. I have been playing a good bit of Legend of Solgard since it released last week and while it has not made me late to work, I have been enjoying it.
The match-three gameplay is somehow even simpler than Bejeweled and Candy Crush (if you can believe it), but there is room for strategy in the way you stack troops on the field. The way you unlock troops works similar to the way it does in Clash Royale where you must collect multiples of the same thing from random drops to unlock and power-up them up. I have yet to hit a point where I feel like it is preventing me from playing for the sake of trying to get me to buy its currency, but I have been tempted by the glow of legendary chests on a few occasions. Generally speaking, I like the game so far. It lacks the undeniable joy of chaining huge combos together that you get from Candy Crush, but there are plenty of color and explosions on screen to make you feel good when you do have a good match.
Source: Game Informer Candy Crush Creators Release "Midcore" RPG Legend Of Solgard