He-Man: Tappers of the Universe Review – Skele-more

It’s always pretty surprising that one of the most innovative genres on the App Store is the clicker. They’re essentially games about poking the screen until your finger falls off, and quite a lot that happens actually happens when you’re not …

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It’s always pretty surprising that one of the most innovative genres on the App Store is the clicker. They’re essentially games about poking the screen until your finger falls off, and quite a lot that happens actually happens when you’re not even looking at the game. And yet there’s always something fresh going on. Sure there are plenty of standard, dull clickers out there, but the very best take their tiny compulsion loops and wrap them around your digits so tightly that it’s difficult not to spend far too much time with them.

This one’s got a He-Man layer of polish on it, and it’s every bit as bright and brilliant as you might imagine. There are swords, there are spells, there’s a special move that sees Battle Cat running in from the side of the screen to attack the giant monsters you’re trying to cut down to size. Basically what’s not to love?

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The game starts with a comic that spells out its story. Skeletor has found a special magic gem that he can use to make him and his goons big. So he does that. It’s up to you as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to hit the baddies in the face until they fall over. And pretty much do that forever.

You’ve only got He-Man to begin with. Tap or swipe the screen and he’ll throw his sword around and do some damage to whatever colossus is looming on the screen. You earn coins from every beast you slay though, and you can spend these on unlocking new team members. He-Man’s pals will fight automatically, so they’re essentially just damage boosts. But after a while you’ll have a pretty decent army amassed, and watching them all bouncing around and firing magic along the bottom of the screen is a delightful experience.

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They’re also the ones that earn you coins while you’re not looking at the screen, so the more you level them up the more you’re going to have when you come back to the game. There are special moves to unlock as well, all of which you can upgrade and all of which have a pretty hefty cooldown until you can use them again. There’s a huge sword smash, a boost from the magician Orko, and plenty of others to throw at your enemies.

Ultimately though, there’s no real challenge here. You’re just tapping the screen and destroying everything that pops up. And when you can’t beat a boss in 30 seconds, you need to tap the screen, earn some more coins, and then go back and take them on when you’re a little tougher. So no, this isn’t the most original game in the world, nor is it the most interactive. But what it does do it does remarkably well. It’ll suck you in, and the neatly sized packages of play mean you can progress for a bit, put your phone down, and then come back to it later without missing anything.

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There’s just such a push to keep going here, to see what the next mega-boss looks like, to find out who your next companion is going to be or to unlock that next special attack. And that’s what the very best clickers do — they get their little teeth in you and they don’t let go.

There’s not that much depth to it, there’s not much spice beyond the lovely graphics and the shiny trappings but there’s still a good deal of slightly throwaway fun to be had here. But if you like He-Man, or tapping things, or you just like having an awful lot of fun in the small moments you can steal some gaming goodness on your mobile, then you should definitely have a go on this one.

The good

  • Gorgeous looking casual clicker.
  • Fans of He-Man will lap it up.
  • Some neat new ideas.

The bad

  • You're still just tapping the screen.
  • Eventually gets a bit dull.
70 out of 100
Simon has been playing portable games since his Game Boy Pocket and a very worn out copy of Donkey Kong Land 2, and he has no intention of stopping anytime soon. Playing Donkey Kong Land 2 that is. And games in general we suppose.