Table of Contents
Popping!
Panda Pop is a puzzle game about shooting bubbles to the top of the screen and popping them to get to save Pandas.
Panda Pop is one of the first Android games I ever played. When I had an Nvidia Shield tablet, I played the game often.
I have not played Panda Pop in a long time until very recently for this review, though. For this review, I played the game on my current Android smartphone. At the time of this review, I was on level 123.
Gameplay Review
The Game Is Fun to Play
As a bubble shooter, Panda Pop is pretty fun. There is nothing odd or weird about the controls, and popping many bubbles is very fun.
Aiming Can Feel Hard Sometimes
If you have a bad time aiming, there is an aim assist booster you can use at the start of the levels.
This booster makes some levels way easier, and I use it often to practice my aim often. Sometimes getting some very exact shots can be quite hard.
The Goal of Panda Pop
For more levels, the goal is to get close to the top and to save baby Pandas. You do this by popping the bubbles near them, so they fall to the ground.
As you progress in the game, there will be more obstacles and things put in place to make this goal harder.
It Would Be Nice If There Was Multiple Level Goals
I like how other bubble shooter games like Angry Birds Pop has multiple level goals. Saving Pandas can get a bit stale after doing it over 100 times.
You Can Create Powerups
One of the main mechanics of the game is that you can create powerups. You make these powerups by popping bubbles of a certain color. This is very fun and one of the main reasons why I like the game.
You can combine these powerups for different effects depending on what ones you combine. If you combine all of them at once, you get a huge screen clear that pops many bubbles.
Deciding when to use the powerups and if you want to save them to combine them is a big part of the strategy in beating levels in this game.
Some of the Levels Are Hard
Some of the levels in Panda Pop are quite hard. You need to plan a lot and make some tricky shots sometimes to get closer to the top of the screen.
I don’t want to play easy games only as there would be no challenge. I also get frustrated at difficult levels. I get annoyed when it takes many times to beat levels.
The Game Has Nice Events
The game has some events. To be honest, I tapped past this stuff. I was not interested in this time, but I suppose though they were nice. I did get some free extra lives and such.
Presentation Review
You Are a Mommy Panda
You are a Mommy Panda trying to save her children. At least that is what the game leads to you believe.
My Issue With Saving Panda Cubs as the Main Goal
First off, this makes no sense. No one Panda can have this many children. There are thousands of levels in this game, and you save hundreds of Pandas!
We could assume that we are saving the same group of Panda cubs many times. But then that makes you wonder how good a mother she is if her cubs keep getting kidnapped thousands of times.
The only thing that makes sense is you are saving Panda cubs kidnapped from multiple Panda families. But the game doesn’t seem to be set up for this to be the case.
This is why having the goal be to save the Pandas looks silly. I feel as if there could have been a more logical goal.
Maybe have the evil monkey steal their favorite toys, and you need to keep on getting them back. Maybe you need to get them their favorite snack, or they have a huge tantrum.
In Juice Jam, one of the level goals is to give a mother Penguin some ice pops so her children don’t cry. This is another game made by Jam City ironically enough.
So they do know how to make a goal be around children but not be based on saving them.
This goal also makes you feel bad if you fail to save the Pandas! You run out of bubbles, and now what?! It seems out of place in such a cute game. I guess they float away now.
The Game Looks Nice
The game has a fun and cute art style. I like how the game looks. I personalty like the 2D style as it looks better even with simple artwork. I like the vibrant colors the game has.
The Game Sounds Good as Well
The music sounds nice as well. The music fits the theme of the game very well. I tend to be very picky about music, though. I suppose the music in this game is good enough.
The sounds in the game are nice, as well. I feel as if the sounds contribute positively to the game.
Spending Factor Review
The Game Sells a Currency
As with most free to play games you can buy coins. You use these coins to buy powerups, boosters, and to continue in levels when you lose.
Is This Game Fair for People Who Don’t Spend Money?
It was fair when I played. I never felt like I could beat a level with enough tries and free stuff.
How Does This Game Annoy You?
The Game Trolls You with Bubbles
This game has what I am calling the wrong color issue. This issue is mostly found in bubble shooter games.
You need a yellow bubble to pop an important bubble that will start a cascade that will get you closer to the top of the level. So the game gives you five bubbles of any color but the one you need.
This happens somewhat frequently in this game. It stings when you get the top of a level, and you need a certain color to save the last Panda, and the game gives you a different color.
There is some strategy you can use to avoid this, but this random chance of getting trolled is very annoying. I think going with a complete random bubble draw chance is unfair.
I think the draw chance should be slightly more weighted towards the bubbles you need.
The Game Shows Many Popups
This game also has what I call too much information spam. When you launch the game, it hits you with like three or four popups about things in the game and other games.
While this information is nice, I don’t need it shoved into my face.
Life Timers in Games Are Annoying
I don’t care what any game developer says. You are never going to convince me that waiting for an artificially created issue to be resolved is a good thing. Panda Pop is no exception.
Waiting to play a game is boring.
Overall Thoughts about Panda Pop
Panda Pop is a fun game that looks and sounds good. It is held down by the free to play business model. But if you can overlook that, things are fun.
Do I Recommend Panda Pop?
If you enjoy bubble shooter games and to want to play many of them, Panda Pop is a good choice. I think there are better bubble shooters out there, though. Panda Pop would not be my first pick.
Will I Play Panda Pop After Reviewing It?
I honestly forgot about the game because I have not played in a long time. So no I will not play this game anymore.