Yesterday I’ve downloaded a game called Slingshot Island AR. It’s an augmented reality physics-based arcade game where you use a slingshot to throw various projectiles in order to destroy dragon’s eggs.
This kind of reminds me of Angry Birds and an AR game called Rocket Cows which I’ve already reviewed. By the way, I am reviewing this game on my iPad 9.7 (2017) running iOS 11.
The idea of all those three games is similar. You need to carefully aim a projectile in the right angle and/or power to either directly hit a target or destroy a structure which will result in the target or targets being destroyed. The goal in each level is to eliminate all dragon eggs before you run out of ammo.
Similar to Rocket Cows, Slingshot Island also features plenty of levels. I am currently on Chapter 3 and still having problems finishing level 20. I think there is actually a bug that prevents the bomb projectile from exploding. I tried to tackle that round many times but whatever I did I wasn’t able to finish it.
That bug (or not) aside, let’s talk about the thing I like and dislike about this new AR game.
Things I Liked and Disliked
First of all, I have to tell you that I really liked playing Rocket Cows. So I am really into those type of arcade games that require perfecting your angle to shoot targets.
When I’ve downloaded Slingshot Island AR, I thought that I will be looking on yet another similar great Angry Birds-like AR game, similar to the one that I’ve already played.
Unfortunately, Slingshot Island AR, although rich in content, quite a few issues that I just wasn’t able to easily ignore.
First of all, the slingshot controls were quite annoying. Let me start by saying that I admire the developer trying to use the mobile device as an aiming system in the game, it is definitely felt an original and unique approach. The controls work like that that when you get close the aim goes down and when you move your mobile device back the aim goes up. However, this leads to issues that I wasn’t able to enjoy playing it when spawning the game close to my location. I found it uncomfortable needing to move my iPad so close to my chest and not being able to see what happens on the screen. Same goes when you move the device forward, it’s a bit hard to see where you aim at.
Now, it might be easier to aim if I was able to move the device closer to check my aim. However, when I stood up and tried to get closer to the game, the game moved forward with me. I was still able to a closer, but the game wasn’t anchored to the place where I spawned it. I have no idea why it was like that, and I tested it several times with the same results.
This game would be so much better with an on-screen pull-and-release with the more time you hold the more powerful the throw is.
Rocket Cows did well as I described and you had an option to move closer to the game without any placement issues.
Another thing is that the structures weren’t that exciting to shoot at and the destruction was far less exciting than in Rocket Cows (check it out here). This type of casual puzzle games is fun when you are able to see big and complex structures tumble down. I mean, you do get to destroy structures, it’s just that the destruction is less prominent and not satisfying as I expect it to be.
Furthermore, just shooting the same orange eggs all the time was boring at some point. Rocket Cows also add just alien creatures, but at least the projectile characters were amusing because they use missiles tight to cows.
On the other hand, I like the variety of projectiles. You have a small and big rock, a bomb and parachute bomb, a targeted missile and more. In some levels, you can also choose which projectiles you want to use first. The game also has castles built with different materials like glass, wood, stone, and obsidian, which require careful planning and not just careless shooting.
The game also had some annoying bugs. One thing that I’ve already mentioned is that on Level 20 the bombs do not explode. Sometimes the bombs just fall off the map through the floating island, and this happened quite frequently.
Overall, the gameplay felt unpolished, with annoying controls, unexciting destruction visuals, AR gameplay issues and some frustrating bugs (so it seems).
Before we move on, let’s check out some action gameplay.
Visuals and AR Experience
I personally didn’t like the UI design but it wasn’t bad either. I did like the floating islands with the falling water which remind me one of the scenes from the movie Avatar.
I actually like seeing things float in mid-air in AR, because this is something that makes the scene more interesting as you don’t get to see floating items in real life every time. I also liked the floating white clouds that add some atmospheric look to the scene.
Having said that, the AR experience has broken the movement I start physically moving and changing angles. The game, instead of staying in place, start moving towards the direction I moved and you can clearly see it in the gameplay video.
Some games present the gameplay area in front of the user and do not require surface scanning. In some of those games, this can happen, but this can do require a preceding surface scan, so I really don’t understand what this issue occur.
Overall, the Augmented Reality experience felt very much lacking to the point where I was quite annoying playing it. Don’t get me wrong, the game is very much playable, but those issues that I’ve mentioned just ruing the fun of playing this game in Augmented Reality.
I mention Rocket Cows (AR mode) quite a few times because it was actually a similar game that was designed well for AR. Yes, that game does require more space to play, but it does deliver a compelling AR experience.
Conclusion
The game has quite a few good things going for it. There is quite a good amount of content (30 levels in total), there are a variety of projectiles to choose from, the physics worked well, the level design looks nice, and the game follows a cute storyline with hand-drawn pictures that evolves as you progress.
Other than that, the gameplay felt faulty in AR due to inconsistent anchored game placement, awkward game controls, some crampy designed levels, unimpressive visual effects and unexciting destruction of structures. Other than that, the game had a few bugs (some are still in question), the game lacks weapons variety and content compared to another title that is free to play, compared to this game which is a paid app. The game is also not optimized for the iPad, some of the story screens are cut off.
As a whole, I find the game to be mediocre at best. I think with some updates that fix some of the issues that I’ve mentioned it can definitely be much better. I really wanted to have a game similar to Rocket Cows where I can enjoy playing on a small gameplay area. This is actually while I deliberately went to the nearby coffee shop to play it in the evening. I wanted to have that experience and this is also one reason why I felt disappointed that it didn’t deliver the experience I hoped for.
P.S. by the way, when I first launched the app, I was expected to see some dragons flying in the scene. I think the AR scene could look more interesting by spicing it up with some flying dragons!
You can buy the game from the App Store here. The game is also available for Android as well.