Description: Puppy Wings is an arcade style shooter for Android that blends cute and cool anime styling with the gameplay of Japanese cult space shooters. It’s a game for those looking for a shooter with something different about it. Puppy Wings features 60 stages, with 15 unique enemies and 5 different bosses to overcome. The game was created with RPG elements as well, like an EXP system and the ability to upgrade your weapons. The game is made up of “Episodes”, with each one of them containing a handful of levels ending in a tough boss fight. Combining classic arcade action with cute and cool anime graphics, Puppy Wings delivers a classic Android game with leaderboards, different game modes and more. But just how much fun is it?
How it Works: Before you can take flight with Puppy Wings, you’ll first need to download the game from the Play Store. There is a free version that you can try out as well. Once the game’s downloaded, just go ahead and hit the big play button.
As this is probably your first time playing Puppy Wings, you’ll be given a quick introduction on how to play.
The control system is really nice and easy and you really don’t need to use any more than a single finger, which is nice however, sometimes when you lift off to tap you will move somewhere you didn’t want to.
The game does feel like a reimagining of space invaders, but the effects look good and everything sounds good, with a funky beat going on in the background.
You can see your EXP counter in the top-right of the display, and you can earn more by collecting the gems that your enemies drop once you’ve defeated them. Things start off slow, but they soon get more and more exciting.
The boss battles are particularly good fun, especially if you remember these types of game from your past.
Once you’ve fought through all those levels and the boss battle, you can move on to the next episode and upgrade your weapons along the way, making the next episodes both more challenging, and more satisfuing.
Opinion: Puppy Wings’ art style reminds me a lot of the Digimon anime series I used to like as a kid, this isn’t to put the game but rather to show its charm. The game has a lot going for it in the charm department. It might be a little bonkers, but it sounds good, has cool explosion effects and all the enemies and characters look good even on high-resolution displays. It’s easy to pickup and play, challenging and satisfying and there’s an upgrade path that you can follow to make the game a little more replayable over time. All-in-all, I found Puppy Wings to be a good deal of fun and there’s very little that I’d complain about.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – Puppy Wings runs just fine and the overall pacing is good as well.
- Features (4/5) – Blending classic arcade gameplay with some charming, yet bizarre anime graphics, Puppy Wings is fun to play and a great distraction anywhere, any time.
- Theme (4/5) – This art style won’t be to everyone’s taste, but that’s not the point as the game looks good, runs well and features a cool beat in the background.
- Overall (4/5) – A solid game that doesn’t exactly reinvent the arcade shooter genre, but rather gives it a cool coat of paint, adds in some substance and gives players a satisfying challenge.
Pros
- Looks good with cool, funky anime graphics.
- Easy to pickup and play, yet still offers a satisfying challenge to players of arcade shooters.
- RPG elements are worked in nicely, like the ability to upgrade your weapons.
- Lots of different enemies and bosses to keep you on your toes.
Cons
- Does feel like a lot of other shooters out there.
- Anime art style won’t appeal to everyone out there.
Conclusion: If you’re a fan of arcade shooters like these, and/or Japanese culture and anime then you’re really going to love this. It’s a blend that works quite well and while it is a little crazy, it’s still just an excellent game to play. Even if you’re not big into these space shooters, casual gamers will still have a lot to enjoy here and overall, it’s a game that doesn’t ask too much of its players but gives quite a bit back in return.