Indie Game Review: RPG Clicker [Android]

RPG Clicker [Android, Amazon] Free, $0.99 for the Nook

• Developer: Epic Pixel, LLC
• Genre: Role Playing

If you like indie games, free games, pixel games and clicker kind of games, check out Epic Pixel's recent release – RPG Clicker. It is a fun, surprising mix of the clicker genre and the RPG, sporting great faux-retro design, no-hassle, rewarding gameplay and a great deal of content on top of the classic clicker mechanics.

Gameplay

You don't move, or rotate the camera in RPG Clicker. You don't even see yourself because it is a first person fighting clicker. Instead, you see incoming enemies you can defeat by tapping on your screen as fast as possible. Besides decreasing your enemy's life bar, tapping grants you money, or as someone put it about clicker games “I got millions of moneys!” This could be all of the game, but Epic Pixel thankfully throws in an unhealthy dose of loot you unlock by tapping, and by for the money earn.

And that is when the game subtly sucks you in. You just can't resist tapping to get all that loot and buy increasingly powerful weapon and magic powers. 

If you die, all you have to do is wait for 9 seconds to revive and go on tapping. Yes, at its core, RPG Clicker is a clicker game, but check out what else it offers.

Goodies

The game consists of five areas, each of ten levels. As you begin, you have only one level unlocked, and each subsequent level costs an entry fee you buy for the in-game money earned by tapping. But do not rush to get to the next level, yet.

You need to tap to kill enough enemies to earn as much money as to level-up. There is a green bar at the top of the screen, which shows your progress to the next level up. When the bar is full, a level up button appears, and you are offered three character features to level up – intelligence, strength, and dexterity. You can only upgrade one at a time. You can only equip one attack charm and one magic charm.

The enemies come one by one and there is no end to them. If you wish to go to the next level, you will have to tap the left button, go to the map and choose the next level. Each level starts with a Boss, which can be tough to kill if you haven't leveled up enough. If this is the case, just go back to the previous level, tap some more and level up, buy more weapons and try again with the harder Boss.

Every ten enemies or so, you get a chest with some goodies inside – magic rings, boots, hats and helmets, clothes. The initial one are rather simplistic, but as you progress, you can get a pretty decent wardrobe full of gear and clothes you will be able to sell and get even more coins.

Weapons

RPG Clicker offers two types of weapons – swords and magic spells. You can see the inventory shop when you tap on the right button. Here, you see your character stats, weapons, magic, inventory you can equip and bonus. The latter stand for a single IAP you can buy to remove ads. It also grants you a ridiculously huge amount of coins or a powerful attack charm, or a mighty magic charm.

Swords come in great quantity, and you must buy all swords of one type to unlock the next type. The swords, at first, look the same, but as you keep unlocking them, you will find there is a good variety in sword types. Some even look like pixel light sabers.

The magic, on the other hand, comes in a better variety from ice to flames and lightning. Each type of magic, as well as the swords, are also available not only by their price, but by the levels you have unlocked.

The amount of money you earn as you progress is ridiculous and before you know it you will be making millions, buying super powerful ammo and spells. Nonetheless, your foes become stronger and more diverse, too. So, the gameplay is never like you don't have any challenge, unless you want to stay on the same level to grind for loot and coin, level up and slay the next boss in a few taps.

IAPs

The game is free, ad-supported, and before I took a look at the insides of the indie development kitchen, I thought the ads were nothing but a nag. Now, however, I prefer to have my WiFi on, to let the devs earn their money. After all, the game is completely free and chances of you buying an ad-free version are minimal, but I would encourage you do so. The ads are non-intrusive and not that frequent as you might anticipate. Overall, I see no reason to downgrade the game for ads.

Replay Value

RPG Clicker is my guilty pleasure, and I did not think clicker games can be this much fun. Its lure is in how rewarding and accessible it is, bringing in some very decent RPG elements, like character leveling up, loot and a great deal of environments and enemies. Although, you don't really explore the environments – they are merely backgrounds.

Design

I really liked the pixel art, the color palette and the great variety of bosses and enemies to slay. The magic effects are also very neat, and the overall design is very appealing. RPG Clicker wears the kind of faux-retro design that does not irritate you with its “yet another pixel game” feel. On the contrary, it looks original and fresh.

Performance

The only nag I noticed was the memory drain the app occasionally becomes.

Pros

• Accessible and surprisingly addicting gameplay
• Rewarding inflation system
• A great deal of loot, swords, magic charms and spells, clothes and hats for character customization
• Character level up system
• Occasional, but enjoyable grinding
• You can play without spending a cent – no paywalls
• Noisy, but totally fun sound score

Cons

• Occasional memory hog

Conclusion

RPG Clicker is a great time waster if you like RPGs and clicker kind of games. It is free; its ads are non-intrusive; its design is a bright pixel fest. I loved the amount of content it offers on top of a classic clicker game. Weapons, loot, tons of money, character level up and customization, a great variety of environments, bosses and enemies make it a fun indie game I would like to recommend.