The mobile game market these days is divided into 2 main categories: There are games that try very hard to compete with consoles using high-quality graphics and complicated gameplay, and then there are games that rely on simple yet addictive mechanics to appeal to players. Backflipper from developer MotionVolt Games is definitely the latter. Like its name suggests, in this casual game you will direct your character to backflip and then try to land. That’s it, that’s basically all the controls you are going to have. However, despite its simplicity, this formula is brilliantly addictive. Once you pick it up, you wouldn’t want to put it down, like, ever.
Physic-based games with trick flipping are hardly anything new in the Google Play Store, and some of them are actually very fun. However, Backflipper sets itself apart from the rest of the pack with its much simpler mechanics, enhanced physics, as well as several other little touches, and it does a marvelous job at it too. Being a free app, it does have some ad breaks, but these occur very infrequently, allowing players to get back into the action quickly. This is a major plus compared to many other backflipping games such as Flip Trickster.
Backflipper Trailer
The first impression that that Backflipper makes to players is its art style. It's direct, it's in-your-face, and it is unapologetically modern. Yes, such a style might not be appealing to everyone, but it’s far from unpleasant no matter what your preferences are.
The second thing worth mentioning is the wondrous physics. While your character does fall slightly slower than in real life, other physic mechanics are incredibly realistic and do a good job of making you really feel the weight of every impact. Whether you do manage to land on your feet or fail flat and tumble off a building, the animations are just so satisfying.
Even though the core idea of Backflipper is straightforward, the actual gameplay does offer a bit more. You will encounter several types of obstacles such as moving cars, ascending elevators or even planes. There are also different goals for you to achieve as well. Of course, throughout the game, you will have to face defeat from time to time, which adds a sense of challenge. Backflipper has two kinds of failure: Depending on how you perform, you may simply fall on your back (or face) and hurt yourself, or you may get a "Fatal Hit", meaning a jump like that it the real world would kill you. This opens up another side of fun, though, because let’s face it, there is a twisted sense of satisfaction in sending the characters tumbling down to a gruesome death. Surely all of us have done that at some point in some other games. Rest assured, any character who dies will be instantly revived so that you can continue with your game.
The game currently has over 50,000 installs, which is no small number but also nothing to write home about by Google Play standards either. However, it certainly has the potential to become a huge hit. Let’s just call it a hidden gem for now. Developer MotionVolt Games has previously participated in the making of 2 other flipping games: Flip Master and Flip Diving, so those who like these games would feel right at home with Backflipper.
Even if the game does end up unnoticed among the thousands of games currently on the Google Play Store, it is still going to be a big step for MotionVolt. After all, it is the first title that the studio has made entirely on its own. There is no guarantee that it’s going to be huge, of course, but what it has accomplished so far is already pretty solid for a brand new game from a relatively unknown company. Still, it’s going to take a lot more for MotionVolt to even begin to compete with the big names in the mobile gaming market right now. For now, though, Backflipper is available for free on both Google Play and the App Store, and it is definitely worth giving a try.
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