Dots & Co: A Puzzle Adventure

I’ve been playing this game for about a year now and I usually dislike mobile games. There’s too many ads, they get boring quickly, and sometimes the art style isn’t the most sexiest to look at. However, even when I got a new phone I reinstalled Dots & co because it’s my go to game when I’m bored. The art style is what drew me in and I stayed for the gameplay. It has aesthetically pleasing designs with adorable characters. The user interface is also super easy to use and isn’t overbearing. The game is simple in which you have objections to reach with the dots you have on your playing field. There are times when it can be tough but sometimes it gets your brain thinking. They also have other elements to make the game easier such as powering up your characters or manipulation dot tools ( I don’t know how else to describe it??). You do only get a certain amount of times to play depending on your energy levels but I think it’s a good element to implement to ensure that the player doesn’t get addicted. Of course mobile games have to make money so you do have the option to refill on tokens using real money. I recently had a problem with my game not connecting to the daily challenges and rewards. I emailed them and customer service got back to me quickly. Overall, shoutout to Neil for sending that super fast email. Get gaming you nerds 🤟😩🤟

I have fun playing this game for it’s kind of calming presence and making you think of the next strategic move. But other times it can be frustrating. One of the things that frustrates me is that when you expect the next batch of dots to maybe help you, they end up not being useful and you have to waste your limited moves just so you can find ANY kind of trying to get back to solving the puzzle. Second, this flower(?) that drop with the dots end up screwing you over by erasing dots that are adjacent and matching colored, rather than helping you. There have been times when I need to make a shape to erase all dots of one color, then this flower shows up erasing the adjacent dots but leaving other dots on the board untouched! Pretty much leaving you with no choice but to restart the puzzle. Third, and this one frustrates me the most, is that there is this glitch. The beginning of the game tells you that you can draw a square to get rid dots that share the same color on the board. Every once in a while, this doesn’t work. I would draw a square, my phone would buzz saying “YOU MADE A SQUARE!!!” Then after I move my finger off the screen thinking I have made the winning move, then I see the dots I intended to erase... ARE STILL THERE! The app Tricks you into thinking that you made the ultimate move, and ends up Not following it’s own rules!

So this game is actually pretty fun but the obvious drawback is that they limit how much you can play, unless of course you pay for more "energy". The same is true of level difficulty, you can get fairly far but I've encountered a level that's literally not producing enough balloons for me to even reach the objective, unless of course I pay to continue. This game feels like a pushy salesman who at every turn stops you short of really loving the game, only to request money at every opportunity. I think there are certain levels that are intentionally difficult to the point where the only way to pass them is pay for power ups or to continue by using their in-game currency. They have daily power ups that seem clearly rigged to have a higher probability of winning more energy to play the game which doesn't really help you pass difficult levels. It's too bad because the game design is pretty and the music is great but the experience is marred by the constant money grab tactics and spikes in difficulty that almost demand you pay to pass them.

I have finished all 500 levels. I was stuck on one for a month, which was pretty boring. I only got through by saving all the power ups week after week. You get something nearly every day. Inexplicably some days nothing. The game itself is enjoyable, there is also a separate “adventure” section that is pretty much impossible- I try each new one, but I get bored after a while and quit. You have to get through 5 levels without one error or you are sent back to the beginning. Then you have to repeat the easy ones, which is no fun. You can buy your way out of it, but there is no point. It would be more interesting if you have multiple opportunities to pass each one. There are big rewards at the end, but who cares. People would be more likely to play without so much delay and with smaller rewards I like the spatial challenges, but I also want it to be possible to advance without power ups. Not doable with this game. Graphics are very attractive though, which is probably why I kept playing.

This is super fun but also super frustrating . I agree with other reviewers. There seems to be deliberately designed extremely difficult levels to get you to buy tokens. You can't even buy power ups like in Two Dots, and many times the boosting doesn't help but actually seems like it's meant to hinder your progress and keep wasting tokens and the meager power ups you are gifted daily. Having said that, I have never paid and with tenacious persistence made it through all levels (like sometimes dozens of attempts). Eventually, the game "helps" you by giving you all the right combos so you can finally progress. It doesn't make sense to permanently keep you stuck, annoyed, frustrated, and quite frankly, cynical. And now they have not updated since early September 2017 making me wonder if they will continue supporting it. Is it the money? I don't like ads, but they are managed well on Two Dots and wouldn't mind the same format here.