➤ Hungry Dragon, the review 🎮

The mobile landscape is full of examples of titles capable of inaugurating new sub-genres which in turn lead to the birth of countless products all somewhat equal to each other, eager to climb - more or less worthily - on the winner's wagon: it is the case of Temple Run, Angry Birds, Clash of Clans and many others, and these names can certainly be accompanied by that of Hungry Shark, a Ubisoft title that has generated not only several sequels but also a wide range of imitators. In order not to leave even the crumbs of this success to others, the transalpine producer has well thought of self-cloning himself, replacing the sharks and the underwater setting of Hungry Shark with hungry dragons that flutter in a fantasy scenario, leaving basically unchanged all the rest. The result is the present here Hungry Dragon, which also makes its name show its intention to maintain the status quo.

The shark and the dragon

Anyone who has played even for five minutes one of these "all you can eat" videogames will immediately feel at ease with Hungry Dragon: the aim is simply to move around the screen, literally eating every living thing that comes within range, avoiding obstacles. and pitfalls to survive as long as possible. The control system follows in all respects that of the previous Ubisoft products of this trend: a virtual stick allows you to move the winged protagonist, while a button on the opposite side of the touchscreen allows you to increase the speed by sacrificing the energy represented by a special indicator that is fills over time or by taking on certain bonuses. To devour your prey it is sufficient to go on it, bearing in mind that you can only swallow creatures smaller than the size of the dragon we are commanding.

An element that, as for Hungry Shark and singing company, represents the central pivot of the play experience, not only because it infuses a minimal nuance of depth to the gameplay, but also because it determines the main sense of progression of the title. The coins earned by playing are in fact used to unlock new and larger specimens of dragons, capable of eating bigger bites and with which to start the round again by aiming for the next upgrade. In this sense, one of the (few) introductions of Hungry Dragon consists precisely in having provided the user with intermediate steps in the path that separates one dragon from the other: by collecting coins or completing certain objectives it is therefore possible to obtain alternative costumes that modify specific attributes or small creatures that flit by your side providing bonuses in attack or defense. It is not much, but it is still something that acts as a further stimulus to keep the player glued to the screen, and which adds to a gameplay that - despite having completely exhausted its originality - is still pleasant and captivating.

Also thanks to a scenario that in Hungry Dragon proves to be more dynamic and multifaceted than usual: abandoned the division into distinct environments typical of the Hungry Shark series, here you can move freely in one big open world with lots of secret areas, areas to be accessed only after upgrading and collectibles to be collected, all in favor of a decidedly more marked exploratory component than in the past. But dragons could not be defined as such without the proverbial ability to breathe fire, and Ubisoft has accomplished this task with an indicator at the bottom of the screen that fills up as meals are consumed and that once filled allows you to enter for a few second in a sort of berserk mode, with the protagonist who unleashes repetitive flames that incinerate the unfortunate, also multiplying the prize in coins. Finally, thanks to a respectable technical sector (even if the sound is at the minimum wage), it is really difficult to want badly Hungry Dragon, which manages to entertain without too many pretensions thanks also to a monetization model elastic enough to allow those who want it to continue even without spending a euro.

Comment

Tested version Android (1.11) Digital Delivery App Store, Google Play Price Free Resources4Gaming.com

7.5

Readers (4)

6.9

Your vote

Hungry for everything but originality, Ubisoft's dragons undoubtedly do a good job of replacing sharks that evidently had exhausted their videogame arguments: here, therefore, Hungry Dragon does not even try to overturn the formula brought to success by Hungry Sharks, limiting itself to the homework just enough to give users yet another simple and captivating mobile game, ideal for a few games from time to time. Small introductions, however, are not enough to erase a deep feeling of déjà-vu, so if you are looking for something radically original, you better go elsewhere.