Archer: Danger Phone Review

Right into the Danger Zone, East Side Games Studio gives players the chance to run their own spy agency. Archer: Danger Phone brings all the best things from FX’s Archer into a zany mobile game that lets you enjoy all of the favorite characters and references from the TV show in this narrative-driven idle game.

That’s How You Get Ants

This game begins with Dr. Krieger explaining the plot and mechanics of the game. Krieger is making his own cryptocurrency that will rival the American dollar. With no support from the other agents, he makes hologram versions to participate in his simulations. Each part of the game separates into operations, which are where the idle portion of the game comes into play.

Common rooms found on the show generate cash, and these rooms can be upgraded using cocktails to produce more cash. In the same way, you can upgrade the characters that appear in the rooms to increase the cash you get. Upgrading with cash increases the cash output during each operation, but everything resets after you’ve completed the operation. Kriegerrand, Krieger’s cryptocurrency, is the premium currency in the game that you can buy with real money. Every aspect of this carefully crafted game brings Archer to life with an addictive storyline and clever elements taken right from the TV screen.

Archer: Danger Phone’s graphics in the game are identical to those used in the FX comedy. Fans will enjoy seeing all of their favorite characters appear and all the references to iconic moments from the show. Music in the game comes from the show as well, but there isn’t any voice acting. Occasionally you will hear sound bites of Krieger, but that’s it. The characters animate when their text bubble pops up, but there is no sound. The written dialogue, however, is perfect. It uses the same humor as the show, and each character is utilized fully without any of them feeling pointless. Even those who haven’t seen Archer before can still enjoy this title and be immersed in the universe.

Wow, This Might Actually Work

The operations in Archer: Danger Phone are similar to those found in tycoon games. There are 20 operations available. You complete one to move on to the next, where you do the same thing you did before. You buy the first room and use money to upgrade and purchase new rooms. If you aren’t a fan of idle games, you might get bored with this title, especially with the repetitiveness of each operation. However, there are narrative cutscenes that break up the monotony and entice you to move forward.

Separating the idle part of the game into operations helps break up the monotony that other idle games tend to develop. Once you get past the first few operations, completing them slows down dramatically. Moving forward takes more cash, which leaves you waiting offline. This takes longer every operation. Upgrades will help with this by increasing cash outputs for each room.

While this game is free, there are ads you can watch as well as currency bought with real money that, while not necessary, do help you progress. You can choose if you want to watch ads, but you get additional resources by doing so. When you haven’t played for a while, you can watch an ad to double the earnings you made while away. There are ads to get free cocktails, and you can watch an add to double money production for four hours.

Ads done in this way are better utilized than ads shown between levels and make players more likely to watch them if they are given rewards for doing so. This is preferable to being forced to sit through an ad to continue playing. Premium currency is expensive, but also not needed to enjoy the game. However, spending money on that currency could speed your upgrades along.

Grab your Tactle-neck

Archer: Danger Phone manages to bring the fun of FX’s Archer into a free-to-play idle game without losing any of the charm. The only downsides to this game are the tedious wait for enough funds to accumulate so that you can move forward and the pricey cash shop. Voice overs would have been a nice addition to this game. Fans of idle games will be impressed with the creative narrative-based missions that add humor into what could have been a dull clicker. Archer characters are brought to life with their on-point personalities and fun storylines.