Tiny Empire Review

Developer: Mother Gaia Studio
Price: $2.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1.3
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

Graphics / Sound Rating:
Game Controls Rating:
Gameplay Rating:
Re-use / Replay Value Rating:

Overall Rating:

Angry Birds 2 disappointed you a little, right? Fun but too full of freemium stuff to really keep you fully happy, yes? Tiny Empire is almost an antidote to that. It’s not as finely tuned, but being an entirely premium experience with just the one price ensures that you can simply enjoy the game rather than feel gouged for money.

The first thing you’ll notice and love (if you’re my age) is the visual style. Tiny Empire looks like a 16-bit game that wouldn’t be out of place on the Sega Genesis or SNES. The map layout for choosing each level also looks just like a JRPG from days gone by. This is distinctly appealing and immediately puts Tiny Empire on the right footing.

Tiny Empire continues the charm offensive with each level. Your aim is to launch cannonballs at orcs, while avoiding your own troops. This is done by lining up the trajectory of your shot so that the ball flies through the air, eventually landing on top of the bad guys. The line changes color depending on how strong the shot is and it’s that kind of virtual ‘feel’ that you need to learn soon in order to master the game.

Fortunately, early stages within Tiny Empire are pretty welcoming. They gradually introduce the basic concepts in a way that almost makes you wish it would just get on with it. You have the time to learn about different bomb types though, and how they can affect the soldiers in each level.

Because of that gentle learning curve, Tiny Empire can take a while to challenge you, but it’s a consistently pleasant journey. Each group of levels offers something new, whether that be a new type of enemy or some kind of new weapon. It’s enough to keep you interested for a while.