Last week made for a pretty solid line-up of new mobile games, and among the pack was Smash Hit by Mediocre Games. This is actually a re-make of an older game, which may be a contributor to it’s immediate success on the market, but that’s probably due to the fact it’s a really great free game. There is however, the option to go premium for $1.99, but the only difference  with that is being able to start from any of the checkpoints in the game — free players always start at the beginning. I have quite a bit to say about this game, so let’s get started.
Visuals – 5/5
The graphics in Smash Hit are a good enough reason alone to play the game, you’re given tons of awe-inducing visuals throughout the game — whether you’re smashing objects or just gazing upon the beauty of each uniquely designed area. Even on tablets, this game looks really good, playing on an over-sized smartphone or ‘phablet’, would provide for a really viewing experience. I never experienced any lag or graphical glitches while playing the game, and overall I was very impressed.
I found that my main reason for wanting to play through more of the game, was simply to see what kind of design the next area was going to have. All of that coupled with the fast-paced, reflex intensive game-play, makes for a fantastic mobile game. One other highlight of this game’s visuals, is the brilliant camera angle rotation throughout the game, which is not only a really cool visual effect — but also makes a huge impact on the difficulty of certain areas.
Gameplay – 5/5
Although I’ve never played the original Smash Hit, I found the game-play of the mobile version to be really refreshing. The game feels a lot like an endless runner, but without the constant feeling that you’re this close away from dying. In Smash Hit, you have an ever-changing number of “balls” that represent your hit-points, as well as your ammunition. You can gain more balls by smashing crystal with your already existing balls, these crystals give upwards of 3 balls per crystal, depending on where you’re at in the game.
Unless you’re starting from a checkpoint, it’s really important you try to stock up on balls early on, because they become harder to obtain the further you progress. In addition to breaking crystals, your also going to be breaking objects quite frequently, these will be in you way and will cause damage to you if you run into them.
If there’s nothing in sight to break, the unlimited ball power-up can still be fun.
Smash Hit has a few important elements of game-play — other than maintaining your stash of balls, you also want to try building combos for multi-ball shots. Â Every time you break a crystal, you get one point added to your combo meter, and after you get 8 it allows you to project an extra ball alongside your shot without deducting your ammunition/HP. Combos can go up to 5 balls at a time, but can easily be broken if you simply miss a single crystal, or run into an object.
Running into an object doesn’t kill you, but like I just said — it breaks your combo, and it also causes you to lose 10 balls instantly. Eventually, the objects become really difficult to avoid, especially if you don’t have any combo points. There’s a really good mix of situations regarding object movement, some areas have really fast walls that pop up and go back down again, and others have swinging objects going in random directions. In most areas, there are a lot of objects that won’t actually hit you, but it’s hard to tell for sure until you walk by — so judging whether or not you need to use a ball to break something is a huge part of the game.
Of course, you can’t forget about the special power-ups you’ll acquire along the way — things like unlimited balls for a short period of time, and balls that deal extra damage. With so many intricate game-play elements, it’s hard to find any faults with Smash Hit. This game never feels too repetitive or boring, and more excitement is always on the horizon.
Replay Value – 5/5
Smash Hit offers 50 levels, and these aren’t even really that short of levels to begin with, as it takes you a good 10 minutes just to get to level 5. With the free version, the replay value is just the same, as you’re always wanting to play another game after you finish your previous one. Coincidentally, I always seem to make it just a bit further than my previous game, and I always end up feeling like I can go a bit further the next time.
Multi-ball combos make poor accuracy just a little bit more accurate.
A very important part of this, and huge reason why you want to keep playing this game, is that every round feels important from the very beginning. Since your ball amount doesn’t reset every single level, it makes it really important to stock up from the start. You’ll gradually learn from your mistakes as you play through the same levels, which helps your progress a bit further every time as well. There’s no power-ups that you can permanently add, so the difficulty is never lowered — but your knowledge of the areas increases, as does your reflexes, and it shows by the progress.
It’s rewarding enough to see a new best distance, and Smash Hit doesn’t need a fancy cosmetic shop to keep players interested. Personally, I enjoy the challenge of unlocking new levels with a game from the very beginning, it feels more rewarding and keeps me more interested in the game. However, there is that nice option to go premium, which would pretty much guarantee you’ll see all 50 levels that Smash Hit has to offer. As with every other aspect of this game, the enticement is flawless.
If you run into DNA, you will lose 10 balls.
Potential – 5/5
With such a fantastic game-play, gorgeous visuals, and addictive nature, Smash Hit has a really solid base to become even better. Even in it’s current state, this game could easily become the next Flappy Bird, as the game that everyone is playing — as well as posting their scores on social media. If the developers wanted to make some more money, I could see DLC stages for sure, and I don’t think many players would choose not to unlock more visual content of this game.
The sky is the limit for Smash Hit, whichever route they decide to take, be it new levels, more power-ups, or simply leave the game the way it is for eternity — it doesn’t really matter at this point. I can’t see myself un-installing this game from my tablet or smartphone, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mobile games whatsoever, casual or not.
Verdict – 5/5
A perfect score isn’t something I like to give out lightly, and if I’m not mistaken, it’s the first game that I’ve given one too here on Pocketmeta. Smash Hit is a really well-designed, visually stunning, and overall a masterpiece of a mobile game. This should be a classic, and is the true definition of an addicting game, fast-paced, with really good game-play mechanics.
Click here to check out Smash Hit on the Google Play Store!
Click here to check out Smash Hit on the Apple App Store!
Post your comments below, either about this review, or the game — have you played it, and what did you like or not like about it?
