Reviewing games is like playing a game of basketball against multiple teams. Every team isn’t going to be the same and you’re always going to shift your strategy and approach depending on the team. It’s what keeps reviewing fun and the video game industry continually interesting.
When you’re reviewing a game like Call of Duty: It’s a New Year, you’re not going to take that same review structure and apply it to Super Mario: The Same Thing. They’re two different games with different personalities that shouldn’t be judged equally. It’s just how game reviewing works. It’s a constant shift of perspective that caters to the game put in front of you. It’s how I review and it’s a mindset staple that I have never broken from since I started writing way back in 1999. My GOD, that was forever ago. Sheesh. Anyway.
Now, having said that and stoked the flame that is the know-it-all-reader, we arrive at my newest review material – Launch the Baby. While my review of this title might seem a bit more positive than not, given its simple gameplay structure, my focus with this game is whether it is fun or not. Certainly not a high bar of reviewing, but a bar that is appropriate for this type of game.
Made by developer MoyaGames, Launch the Baby runs on the simple concept of launching a baby from a canon and trying to make it bounce as far as the baby can bounce. Don’t worry, nothing vicious befalls the child, rather it just adorably giggles as it flies haphazardly through the air. This type of game isn’t going to redefine the casual gaming market by any means, but it is dumb fun. I’ll take that over anything complicated any day of the week.
So, sit back, stuff that child in a canon, and let’s aim at getting this reviewed.
Simple gameplay
The concept behind Launch the Baby gameplay is simple as it is addictive. The game has you aiming a canon and timing a power meter to launch a baby into the air. The goal is to have the longest distance possible without the baby slowing down and dropping to the ground. Along the way, you will run into objects that will keep the child moving, if you hit them at the right time. For example, in the beach stage of the game, you can bounce off umbrellas or random trampolines that will push the child upward, forward, or both. It’s an easy gameplay concept that can be continually and quickly repeated, as this game is strangely addictive, if not just for personal distance goals.
In the same vein as a casual mobile game, Launch the Baby will get you competing against yourself to out-distance your last shot. If that isn’t motivation enough to repeatedly play this game, the game also features a worldwide leaderboard with some insane distances on it. That type of challenge and competitive structure of the game is driven by randomly generated objects with each retry.
Now, those objects help to keep the game session going and create more motivation to find the perfect angle and power to outperform your last performance. There’s nothing really to it and the gameplay action is so incredibly thoughtless (in a good way) that you will just casually repeat it until you find something else to do in life. Of course, that’s the very definition of a casual game. It’s like watching The Goonies on an uneventful Saturday, where you can certainly be comfortable watching the film, but you’re not too attached to it that you feel like you’re missing something if you find something more productive to do. It’s not a knock against the game or the movie, rather it’s a tip-of-the-hat where it understands what it is and accepts that you enjoy playing what it offers, even if it’s temporary.
Now, MoyaGames tries to put a bit more dimension to that gameplay with multiple levels (three in total) that offer varying difficulties and objects that make the gameplay more challenging. The game includes a lava level, which is filled full of dead trees, ash clouds, and various other objects that try and stop the launched baby. There is also a snowy level filled full of snow drifts, snow peeps, and snow clouds that try and stop the launch distance as well. There is a beach level, which is the starter level and has fewer obstacles in it than the other two, and it’s also the easiest.
The three stages offer up different challenges and are progressively difficult as you unlock and play them. Is it enough to keep a sustained interest in the game? Probably not for long periods, but it’s enough to make the gameplay progressively different, which is a huge plus considering the nature of its gaming experience.
What helps with all of this is the low price tag. It’s regularly $3.99 but currently (as of this review) coming in at $1.99. Either price justifies the type and amount of gameplay you’re going to get out of Launch the Baby. Again, it’s a casual experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously and certainly isn’t trying to be more than what it guarantees to be.
Of course, it still tries to give a bit more to the gamer, especially with the customization of the baby.
Expanding customization
There is a shop within the game, but it’s not what you might assume as this is where the casual gaming similarities depart. Instead of pilfering your wallet and asking you to spend your hard-earned cash on coins, the game offers up levels, costumes, voices, and pretty much every level of customization you can think of with coins you earn within levels. Microtransactions are not included, which is refreshing considering how most mobile/casual gaming goes these days.
The coin earning is circular with the gameplay – you play well, you get coins. The playing well part means collecting coins in levels and doing with given goals (hitting trampolines, distance, etc.), Once you gather enough, and it happens pretty quickly, then you spend them to customize. It’s completely contained and, more importantly, it encourages you to do better, which motivates you to keep playing.
The large number of customizable points for a game that is at most $3.99 is quite impressive. Coins and customization are good reasons to keep playing, other than the adorable sound effects.
Anyway, on that sweet note, let’s wrap this review up.
Conclusion
Launch the Baby from MoyaGames is a fun distraction in between AAA titles. Its simple gameplay concept mixed with its customization is just enough for a good casual experience, and the silliness doesn’t hurt either.
