Wonka's World of Candy Match 3

When I first downloaded this game, I played a couple levels, got bored and deleted it. I couldn’t understand all the great reviews. When I was looking for a good puzzle game, I thought I’d give it another try. I’ve now played over 1100 levels and the games just gets more challenging, with new elements, daily games and features being added all the time, and most of all, what makes it so distinctive, is the animations. After completing several levels, and rooms in the factory, I sometimes stop playing just so I can watch the many machines in the factory, with Oompa Loompas moving things around and how all the machines and ramps and vehicles feed into one another, turning odd ingredients into candy. After earning points or stars, you can build parts of the factory and so you see it coming together a bit at a time. I normally skip any dialogue or story in games so I can get right to the puzzle solving. But in this game, between levels, the dialogue from Willy Wonka’s and the Oompa Loompas prompting the next challenge are actually really entertaining in itself, add to the enjoyment of the game, and provide a nice break after several levels. Before passing judgment on the game, I would recommend really giving it a chance because I almost missed out on my now favorite game. A whole new side challenge has just been added today that involves finding machine blueprints in various countries around the globe by playing levels and redeeming “lives” earned for blueprints. Very imaginative creators continue to build onto this game which really captures the magic and whimsy of Willy Wonka’s world! I hope I never run out of levels!

I have played many iterations of this matching type game, and this is by far my favorite. The music is great, the graphics are good and the puzzles are FUN. The game is very thoughtfully designed to STAY fun and introduces new, fun elements as you move through the levels. The collecting of stars and rebuilding of the factory is satisfying because of the graphics, but I have played games of this type where the actual puzzles themselves became a boring grind just to collect enough stars or $ or points to continue to world build. The most important differentiator of this game is that, unlike the others I have played, it is quite possible to have fun and play this game without spending money. Unlike the other games, I don’t feel that they hook you in and then eventually make it so difficult that you HAVE to spend money to advance. I am approaching level 600, and the only money I have spent is to treat myself to something fun in the game to support the developers, not because I had to buy more tools to advance in the game. And.... THEY SUPPORT LANDSCAPE MODE. I have decided to nope out of games that don’t support landscape mode on my ipad, so this is a big plus for me.

The game is great until you reach certain levels that are so difficult that it practically requires you to purchase coins to continue in order to pass that level. I know that this is ultimately a business that’s out for a profit, but to the user it gets tiring and loathsome to keep having to shovel out $1 here, $6 there until it all adds up in order to pass on a game level. Sure, it’s a real cute game with gorgeous 3D graphics that will tickle the nostalgia of some, but it’s not enough to justify the amount of money you’ll end up wasting on a smartphone game. I’m only near the end of the first section of the factory and there’s always another level, even when you think you’re done with it. What makes it worse is this: I’ve even purchased coins to continue only for the game to crash and lose that level I was trying to finish after a week of playing it! I have played up to the Fizzy Soda level and it took over a year and spending only $5. Some levels require more than one power up such as the Everlasting Gobstopper or the Colorsplash Cordial to clear it because they give you a very limited number of moves and the board has a ridiculous amount of elements to clear, such as breaking all the sugar and finding the gummy worms or shorting out the color blocks. But then the power pieces never come or come when you have one move or zero moves left. Is this done on purpose? Seems pretty obvious, especially after they offer you to continue with five moves for 925 coins or to purchase a special pack that contains 1500 sugar sacks, one power up and 30 mins of free play.