GERMONSTER: Germ Monster Saga Review

GERMONSTER is a match-three puzzler where the goal is to help send the germs that escaped from their cages back to the lab. Players help the germ keeper line up three or more identical germs either horizontally or vertically in three modes of gameplay. There are tokens to earn along the way that buy players power-ups to help them out as they level up.

The gameplay is similar to other match three style puzzles. Players must make a vertical or horizontal line that is made up of three matching germs. It’s possible to match more than three identical germs, which helps ramp up the gameplay. Matching four germs takes all adjacent germs back to the lab while matching five germs creates a magic net that will send every germ of that kind on the screen back to the lab. The goal is to make it as far as possible while trying to earn the highest score. There are also Game Center leaderboards to climb, which is a nice perk.

There are clever twists added to the gameplay to keep players on their toes. For instance, the dotted line symbol may appear randomly. Tapping on it and then another germ changes it to that germ. There is also a virus that is deranged and can only be cleaned with the magic net or medicine box power-up, a sneaky symbol that changes to a new germ every time players make a move, and a blister that is either hiding a germ or a deranged virus once it is popped. Players have the option to play three different game modes: levels, timed, and endless. Each of these modes allows them to earn tokens in order to buy power-ups like penalty free hints, magic nets, and medicine boxes. Power-ups seem reasonably priced, but players have the option to buy more tokens if they desire.  In addition to buying power-ups, they can also remove the ads. I couldn’t find the price for removing them completely so I was a little skeptical to try.

GERMONSTER is a fun free game for die hard match-three fanatics. The main disappointment is the number and frequency of ads that pop up on the screen in the free version, but those who really love the game can remove the ads completely. It doesn’t have a whole lot that makes it stand out from other games in the same genre, but it has enough to keep players interested for a while at least. Those who love a simple to play yet challenging gaming experience may want to add this to their collection.