Disco Zoo
| Disco Zoo | |
|---|---|
 Game logo | |
| Developer(s) | Milkbag Games |
| Publisher(s) | NimbleBit |
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | Zoo simulation video game |
| Mode(s) | single-player |
| Distribution | Digital distribution |
Disco Zoo is a zoo simulation video game developed by Milkbag Games and published by NimbleBit for iOS and Android. It was published into the App Store on 21 February 2014 for iOS.
Gameplay
Using pixelated graphics seen in other NimbleBit games such as Pocket Trains and Pocket Planes, this game involves managing a virtual zoo. The user starts with a small collection of farm animals, and must rescue more animals to increase their habitats.
The game contains 10 different regions: Farm, Outback, Savanna, Northern, Polar, Jungle, Jurassic, Ice Age, Moon and City. Each region has 6 different animals that can be collected. 3 of these will be "Common", 2 will be "Rare", and one will be "Mythical". Most animals, excluding Moon animals and mythical animals, are real-life animals. Most "Mythical" animals are taken from common stories or myths, such as the Yeti being the Polar Mythical animal, or Sasquatch as the Northern Mythical creature.
Animals are rescued as part of a mini-game. The user must select a region to rescue from, then press "Start Rescue". A blank 5x5 grid will appear. At the top, the animals which can be rescued will appear. Different animals have different patterns required to obtain them. The user must correctly select the grid boxes which complete the pattern, and when completing the pattern, one of that animal will be added to their zoo.
Animals each have unique pens, and each pen can hold up to 25 of a single creature. After this, rescued animals of that type must be released because the maximum amount of that creature is already in the zoo habitat. The player is rewarded with coins, the primary virtual currency, for releasing animals. Trophies can be earned when specified amounts of each animal are released.
Discos can be held at any time using the second currency, "Discobux", with keeps animals awake and doubles their earnings, all for a short time. When a disco is not in progress, animals are subject to falling asleep after a specified time, after which they will not earn coins until the user wakes them up. Short discos will happen for free if a trophy is earned from releasing set numbers of animals.
Reception
Disco Zoo has been received fairly well by critics. Touch Arcade rated it 4 out of 5 stars, noting it "perfectly fits on the App Store shelves next to Tiny Tower, Nimble Quest and their other titles".[1] PCMag also rated it 4/5, saying the game has "a quirky theme, lots of gameplay, and a heaping of adorableness".[2] Pocket Gamer gave it 6/10, stating the game is an "artfully constructed free-to-play time [...] spinner." Metacritic gave an aggregated score of 70/100.[3] However, USGamer only rated it 1.5/5, with its overall conclusion being "a polished title with a couple of nice ideas completely undermined by boring mechanics and obtrusive, game-breaking monetization."[4]
References
- ↑ "Disco Zoo Review - Touch Arcade". Touch Arcade.
- ↑ "Disco Zoo (for Android)". PCMAG.
- ↑ "Disco Zoo". Metacritic.
- ↑ "Disco Zoo iOS Review: Business as Usual". USgamer.net.