Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged Review

A Game Within a Game

I love a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Games that scale back the dramatics are great because they just focus on creating an enjoyable experience for the player. Such is the case with Maf Games‘ Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged, a title that never loses its levity and mixes RPG basics with simple idle gameplay.

A Hero We Can All Relate To

Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged follows the adventures of Ulrik S. Blitz, a young, wise-cracking video game developer. One day, the big game his company is developing catches a bug that nearly breaks the game. No one knows what to do as most of the other developers have their hands tied together. Literally, their hands are tied together, and they can’t do anything to help. That’s a good example of Idle RPG’s charming color. Eventually, Ulrik volunteers to jump into the game himself to try and deal with the bug. He is then taken into a fantasy land he must save himself.

Ulrik is a perfect protagonist for this game. He cracks wise with other warriors and flirts with the damsels he saves. He also puts his foot in his mouth and does everything else you might associate with an action hero. This may just be an idle game, but it follows a somewhat engrossing plot that benefits heavily from its main character. Ulrik’s character development was surprisingly noticeable and I liked seeing his character learn and grow. Watching Ulrik interact with different personalities in the video game world, while a bit tedious, was also a nice way of introducing exposition to the game.

Colorful Cast of Characters

Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged features collectable heroes, like most other mobile RPGs. Heroes can be unlocked through collecting cards. Once enough cards have been collected, players can unlock a hero and add it to their deck of characters. There are 45 different hero characters players can unlock in the game. They are each well designed and interesting in a unique way. Even in the game’s 8-bit, pixelate style graphics, each detailed design stands out. Each character also has their own set of three attacks, which can be visually impressive and a bit excessive. Like Redfin, who can throw giant fish at enemies. These attacks make fighting endless waves of enemies more fun to watch.

Each character has their own class designation. There are five classes in total: Tank, Melee Dealer, Ranged DPS, Magician, and Healer. The Tank acts as a wall for the team. Melee Dealer is basically the default swordsman, it’s also Ulrik’s class. Ranged DPS are archers or gunmen, anyone with a ranged attack. Magicians are similar to Range DPS, but they have much more powerful and elaborate attacks. And the Healer is self-explanatory. Playing around with the different characters and classes made for some entertaining experiments. I found it best to have one character from each class in the party, but it all depends on your specific play style. There are tons of different options for setting up your team.

Good If You’re Into It

I found Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged to be one of the better idle games I’ve ever played, but that’s only saying so much. Idle games can be fun, but they have to be able to stay fresh and hold my attention. Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged is great when you’re first exploring the 8-bit world, but it grows a little stale quickly. Gameplay works by having players accomplish missions that are, more often than not, just rooms full of enemies that need to be cleared. After completing ten missions, players can enter a dungeon featuring stronger enemies and three bosses that must be defeated. The dungeons change things up and help provide a feeling of accomplishment after they’re cleared, but there isn’t much challenge.

The biggest issue is that the game provides too many resources. Like any other idle games, Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged continues playing in the background when the game is closed. That way, when players return to the game, they’ll have tons of experience and gold to collect from the game continually playing. This sets up players with a ton of resources for upgrades, enhancements, and new equipment, which helps boost character stats. This shouldn’t be an issue, but the game fails to scale properly and, after enough upgrades and enhancements, there’s hardly any challenge at all. It does give players more opportunities to explore the different heroes though, which is one of the strengths of the game.

With its creative plot, fantastic aesthetic, and simple, yet entertaining, gameplay, Idle RPG – The Game is Bugged is one of the best idle games I’ve ever played. The only downside is the game’s lack of difficulty can cause it to feel boring, as is the case for most idle games.