Let’s be honest here. When a mobile game like The Powerpuff Girls: Flipped Out lands in your mailbox, you’re not really excited to start, right? That was my thought when we received the review code. The game is described as a Match 3 puzzle game combined with a fighting action game. Sounds good but I was preparing for the worst. It only took seconds of actual gameplay to win me over, this Flipped Out game might be one of the biggest surprises this year!
Innovating match 3 gameplay
First of all, I’m very impressed with the way the developers managed to innovate the match 3 genre. It’s been stuck on the Candy Crush grid for years and developers never had the nerve to change the rules. Powerpuff Girls does exactly that. It looks Candy Crush right in the face and dares to innovate the basics of the match 3 games. Unlike Candy Crush (or many others) your enemies aren’t fixed on a grid. They freely walk around in the field and it’s up to the three girls to push the monsters into groups of three to make them disappear.
Think about that for a second, it’s still your traditional match 3 game but it’s way more interactive. You control the three girls separately and can move them around in practically each direction. By bumping into an enemy, you can choose the direction you want to push it. Combine this with another girl’ extra push to create sick combos. Shortly after the tutorial levels, you’ll be bouncing around enemies like you’ve been doing this for years. The game is great when it comes to creating combos and the girls really move fluently.
Meet your new guilty pleasure
To make things even more challenging, the monsters attack the girls after a set amount of turns. Trying to escape their attack while pushing them into larger groups works very satisfying and is really addictive. During the levels you can also collect certain stickers to inflict even more damage, that’s right, Flipped Out also has some small RPG elements over it. That being said, the game changes the moment you flip your screen.
Flip your screen, get another game
Flipped Out uses the mobile devices in ways we could only dream of. By holding your mobile device in portrait mode, you’ll play the match 3 puzzle game as we discussed earlier. When you flip over to landscape mode however, the game transforms to a brawler. In here you’ll see enemies running over the screen, you’re able to send one of the girls over to an enemy in order to attack it. Attacks happen automatically but you control the girls directly. Will you let them take out enemies separately or form a team to take down the enemies faster. This brawler is best used when there aren’t that many enemies left on the match 3 grid.
This mechanism of flipping your screen works surprisingly well and results in two different games for the price of one. The creators also added specific levels that you can only complete in portrait or landscape mode, it’s all very impressive. Also, take into consideration that the game has boss fights, strong visuals and fourth-wall breaking enemies and you just know this game might become your new guilty pleasure.
Conclusion:
The Powerpuff Girls: Flipped Out got us by surprise and delivered some true innovation in the match 3 games. By combining the puzzle gameplay with fast brawler gameplay, you have a game you’ll enjoy for a very long time to come. It’s not meant to be played for hours straight but it’s one of those little gems that will make your trips more enjoyable. Don’t be mistaken by its cute and girly looks, Flipped Out might be the best mobile game that released the last couple of weeks.
