Nimble Quest for Android 1.0.4.1

Overview

Remember that old mobile game that was on almost every phone in the early 90’s called snake? Well the developers at Nimblebit decided that it’s time for the snake genre of games to re-surface on the mobile network. NimbleQuest is a unique game that offers great looking 8-bit style graphics, easy gameplay, with plenty of challenge. Your quest begins with a single hero, but as you play through levels you will free other captive heroes that will line up behind you and provide a barrage of attacks to help you clear through the countless baddies that stand between you and your goal.

The gameplay is simple and works similar to the old classic snake game. You start with one hero chosen from a limited selection in the beginning. Each hero has its own unique attack that they will perform automatically. You guide your hero by swiping in any direction other than backwards to guide where he will go. After your hero clears the battlefield of a few archers and spiders you’ll free another hero who will follow in-line behind you. You start the game with only a handful of characters, but each level that you complete unlocks a new hero and expands how many heroes can be enlisted in your snake-like train.

The game offers a good selection of power-ups that you can level up throughout the game, including certain power up that you can buy with an in-game currency that lasts until you die. The in-game currency used are coins, you can either obtain these coins by watching advertisements for other apps and games, dropped randomly by defeated enemies, or by purchasing them with real cash. I really love this payment model, because the power-ups purchased are usually very welcomed, especially during more difficult levels, but are never required. The drop rate of the coins isn’t extremely high, but it isn’t extremely rare either. It’s also nice that you can just watch a few ads in order to bolster your coin purse. I feel this is a great way for developers to produce high-quality free to play games.

Gameplay is highly addictive at times and truly rewarding when progressing through a challenging level. Each time you die you’re given the option to try again for coins or to start all the way back at the beginning. This adds a welcomed risk and reward element that I feel many games today are missing. There is a large line-up of heroes to unlock each with unique abilities giving you a good incentive to continue progressing through the game. Each hero also gains experience for each level they complete, each upgrade level the hero acquires gives them a new set of armor and a more powerful ability. It’s an impressive feat how much content the developers at Nimblebit were able to add to this game without sacrificing it’s simple gameplay that makes it such a excellent choice for mobile gaming.

Interface

The interface is very clean and the touch controls work on any space of the screen. Only a very small portion of the screen is reserved for killcount, level progress, hero limits, and gem count (another in-game currency that provides HP for your main hero as well as currency for upgrades)

Pros

• Great looking 8-bit style graphics
• Simple and intuitive gameplay
• Challenging gameplay
• Loads of power-ups and unlocks.

Cons

• The game paces well in the beginning, but becomes much more difficult towards the end levels, making you feel a need for a higher coin purse (in-app purchases)

Alternatives

I haven’t found any true alternatives to NimbleQuest as it offers such a unique style, but if you enjoy the type of graphical style that Nimblebit provides, I would suggest checking out Tiny Tower as it is another game from the same developers. If offers more of a time management gameplay with the same kind of characters and interface.

Conclusion

NimbleQuest has consumed many, many hours of my life, but because of its quick and easy gameplay most of those hours would have been replaced with nothing as it’s a great game to play while you’re waiting at the doctor’s office or have a few minutes to kill while waiting for the bus. The payment model is well done making you feel like you’re getting a solid game for free and if you decide to thrown down a bit of your own cash, you’re most likely doing it to support the developers for making such an enjoyable game.