Review: Tropicats

Tropicats is a free-to-play app match-3 style app available to download on the Google Play Store. Similar to Gardenscapes and the slew of solve-the-puzzle-repair-the-area clones - as you complete levels, you will earn coins and gems that you can use to build houses, trees, flowers and decorations needed to rebuild a tropical island inhabited by a tribe of cats.

The storyline of Tropicats revolves around an island being devastated by an earthquake, as the magic totem of the village that normally protected the village and its inhabitants from harm was chopped down by an unknown vandal - and it’s up to you as chief of the village to find the culprit, rebuild the island and restore order to the cats.

Though similar to Gardenscapes in the respect that you complete missions and tasks to repair and rebuild - Tropicats has many differences, some I believe make it a better, easier and overall more enjoyable experience. After a while, Gardenscapes felt like it was becoming obnoxiously difficult just for the sake of it, forcing players to buy boosters in order to progress. Tropicats however allows players numerous opportunities to continue playing even if they are stuck on a hard level.

For example, there is a roulette wheel you can spin in order to win lives, coins or gems. Instead of getting one spin per day, you are given a spin every 10 minutes after watching a 30 second ad - and after you’ve span the wheel 5 times, you’re rewarded with a bonus prize. You can frequently win infinite lives for 5, 10, 15 or even 30 minute periods.

If you connect your game to the internet you can also take part in the Tropicats tournaments and compete against other players to win prizes. These tournaments are simple enough, points are awarded by making the special fruit the tournament asks for - either fruit bombs, fruit lines or butterflies. If you place within the top 10, you will win boosters and other prizes. I’ve won the first place prize twice - which was 3 of each type of booster and special hammer.

Remember how in Gardenscapes I mentioned that you couldn’t replay levels? Well guess what you can do in Tropicats? Each level has an easy, medium and hard variant - the differences being more obstacles, larger numbers to reach the objective or less moves in which to complete the objective. You can replay the hard mode level an infinite number of times in order to earn coins, diamonds and triple or even quintuple the points you can win in the current tournament.

The art style is bright and colourful - the cats themselves have somewhat of an anime inspired look to them with the big eyes and exaggerated facial expressions - but each one has a different personality and their dialogue with both you and the other cats is well written and often quite entertaining. 

Like many free-to-play games, there is the option to spend real world money on coins and diamonds. However - you aren’t encouraged to buy boosters or life refills - instead, the focus is on “making your village pawsome,” both coins and diamonds can be spent on the various decorations needed to restore life back to the village, increase your overall village rank and contribute to the happiness of your cats.

What makes Tropicats stand out from the other endless slew of match 3 style games is the game’s sweet sense of humour. A lot of the dialogue between the cats centres around feline puns - such as “you’ve got to be kitten me,” or describing your actions as “purrfect” or “pawsome.” Numerous jokes are made about kitty litter, peeing in the bushes, catnip and being either a brave tom cat or a scaredy cat. Amusingly however, the cats subsist on a diet of grilled bananas and other fruit. Weird, considering how they’re on an island - they could easily go fishing.