Bubble Rider Review

Side-scrolling platformer Bubble Rider tells a grim tale. An underwater town is at risk from RahSalMan, a huge fish with massive teeth, and as the “greatest hero of all time” the player must destroy it. The best way to do this seems to be jumping in a large bubble and using that as transport to lead RahSalMan away. The aim of the game is to survive.

Bubble Rider is broken down into three worlds, with multiple levels in each. The control scheme hinges around the bubble the player uses to traverse a level, and tilting the screen left or right will see the bubble head in that direction. Tapping and holding your finger down on the screen will see a circle at the top charge up.

Releasing this charge will see the bubble jump up in the air, and if the player taps the screen again whilst the bubble is at the peak of its jump it will become heavy and head back to earth quickly. By repeating this process of tapping the player can make the bubble bounce which is the key to building up the power meter. Once this meter is at a sufficient level the player can earn double points for a limited time, which is necessary to unlock new levels.

Bouncing the bubble also needs to be done to jump over obstacles. The strength of the bubble is constantly degrading, and hitting any rocks will accelerate the process to the point where the level will end. Obstacles will also slow the bubble down, giving RahSalMan a chance to catch up and attack you.

In theory the control scheme appears sound, but is somewhat trickier to pull off in real life. When the player gets the bubble to bounce consistently it’s fantastic, but it’s very easy to lose momentum, and the outcome when this happen is usually "Game Over".

Some of the scores needed to progress to the next level also seem a bit on the high side, and although this is to encourage repeat plays it can get frustrating when the player hits a wall and can’t seem to do any better, meaning they will be stuck.

Graphically Bubble Rider has an interesting art style, which actually looks really good. The three worlds all differ nicely too, meaning the player won’t grow bored. The soundtrack also gets a nod, and will certainly get the blood pumping.

Bubble Rider certainly provokes mixed reactions. When everything clicks the player will have an absolute blast trying to match and best the level’s score requirements. However, there are also times of considerable frustration as the bubble bursts within a few seconds of the level starting.

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