You know those type of very simplistic and stylized arcade puzzle AR games? Well, I really liked them. I’ve already reviewed a few of those games called Mazelith and AR Togater and I liked it a lot.
Today I’ve downloaded a game called “AR Bounce”. As I am refined to my room due to cold, I’ve decided to find a new casual AR game to play. I came across AR Bounce. It’s a type of puzzle-arcade game that reminds me of Mzelith in terms of its very simplistic yet beautiful design. I paid for it and downloaded it to my iPad to play it.
Gameplay
AR Bounce is an augmented reality game in which the player need to u use the right position and throw power to throw a ball so it hits the right block. Hitting the right block will trigger a chain of events that will eventually make the ball hit all the blocks in the round, which is the goal of each round.
I really liked this idea, because it required the player to physically position himself in different locations to find the proper way to throw the ball. In some ways, it reminds me of the game Worms, where you need to measure the angle and the power of your rocket, but it plays in a 3D space.
Mazelith was actually quite similar, in a way that it enforce the player to physically position himself in different angles in order to solve the optical illusion puzzles. In Bounce AR it’s not like an optical illusion but still requires the player to position himself in the right location in the 3D space in order to complete a round.
Here is a gameplay video, enjoy!
Simple yet Beautiful Design
You know what I love about those simply-designed games? they don’t try to impress the player with crazy visuals, the achieve the same effect with a very simplistic UI.
The clean game design also beautifully complemented the AR scene, and in AR, sometimes less means more. The 3D scene includes only several blocks that beautifully float in the 3D space with the real-world scene create a nice surrounding environment which the game is taking place in.
The gameplay is enhanced with relaxing and relaxing background music and mild sound effects. The developer recommends using headphones for the best gaming experience.
AR Experience
I’ve played AR Bounce in my little room in Seoul, South Korea. It was actually a good place to test whether this casual AR puzzler can be played in a tight place.
I played it on my bed the entire time without any issue. However, it did feel a bit tight, and to solve many of the rounds I needed to move around the blocks in order to shoot the ball from specific angles. Sometimes it was from above, sometimes I needed to locate myself where the shower wall was. I was still able to complete all the 26 rounds in that little area above my bed.
If you play AR Bounce, I do recommend giving it like at least 2-meter square space for the best experience. Doing so, you will be able to move around and find the best angle to shoot the ball.
Game’s Difficulty
I start playing AR bounce at around 16:00 pm and completed it around 16:30 pm, so it took me around half an hour to complete (I’ve checked out the time in the videos that I’ve recorded).
The game isn’t difficult in general because you have a limited amount of blocks on which you can throw the ball at. Of course, when you add the ball throw power and angle into the mix, it requires more time to figure things out. The thing is that the game is quite forgiving in that matter. So you only need to stay around a certain power range and angle to complete the level.
If it was involved around better precision, obviously it would have taken me more time to complete it, I assume.
Still, I find the gameplay fun and entertaining. I really liked the last round, because of the complex structure and the moment I thought that things start to get very interesting, the game ended and it started from level 1 all over again.
Conclusion
I like augmented reality puzzle games, especially AR games designed like AR Bounce. Unfortunately, most of those simplistic arcade-puzzle games are relatively short and by the time you expect them to start becoming more challenging and exciting, they are already over. The same was with AR Bounce.
I did feel disappointed that the experience ended so fast. There are 26 rounds, but most of them you can finish in a breeze.
Overall, an interesting AR puzzler to play on a quiet morning or afternoon. I also do think it’s worth its asking price and I do recommend downloading it.