The match 3 genre is directly associated with mobile devices. Until I sat down to write this material, I firmly believed that such applications dominate the tops of Google Play and the App Store. However, the subject of today’s review, the game Homes capes from the Russian company Papyri, was found only on the tenth line of the free charts of the Apple digital store. In the first places are strange puzzles that you will not understand until you play, mobile PUBG, as well as the king of annoying advertising “The Great Sultan”. At the time of writing, Homes capes is in 13th place in the top free games. And she, it turns out, is the first representative of her genre in the top from the App Store.
I have heard overwhelmingly positive feedback on Gardens capes, a game about Austin’s cheerful butler who decides to clean up his garden. Four months after the release, the number of installations of Gardens capes reached 92 million, and a year later the game got a spin-off in the person of Homes capes. The plot of the latter again focuses on Austin the butler. After tiring work, he decides to return to the family nest, which, to the surprise of the hero, has fallen into disrepair. Olivia and William, Austin’s parents, were about to sell the house and move into an easier home. However, Austin does not want to put up with this state of affairs and proceeds to renovate the house.
Of course, Homes capes is based on a match-3 mechanic. Putting the three colored tokens together and voila, they are gone. Collected four identical chips in one move – get a bonus that immediately removes a row of chips horizontally or vertically. Collected four chips in a square – get a bonus in the form of an airplane. At the start, he will remove the chips around him and remove another random one from the field. Collected chips with the letter “T”, that is, five together, get a bonus in the form of a bomb. Collected five chips in a row, here’s a kind of disco ball. Swipe it in the direction of a colored piece, and the ball will remove all elements of the same type from the field.
However, it is much more fun and practical to collect two bonuses at once. Two missiles will take away only one turn, but send destruction beams in both directions. A rocket with a bomb will send three destruction beams in all directions of the screen, an airplane with a rocket or bomb on board will go to a random point and apply an additional bonus there. But everything is much more interesting when combined with a disco ball. The combination does not remove all bonuses from the screen, as you might think, but, on the contrary, spawns them instead of ordinary chips. This is how the most devastating combination comes to light, sweeping away a huge number of chips from the screen. Therefore, do not rush to use the disco ball. Perhaps, after a few moves, it will be possible to combine it with another bonus and get closer to achieving the set goal much faster.
A typical level in Homes capes. Right (top-to-bottom): level number, number of remaining moves, goals set. On the right is a list of bonuses that can be used without wasting a move.
The first tasks in the game will be to destroy the indicated tokens the required number of times. Gradually, you will be offered new tasks. For example, spread the carpet, that is, paint the entire field green. This is done using combinations with chips that affect part of the carpet and free space. After such a move, the carpet will appear on new cells. Also, you will have to drag donuts to the exit, that is, to the edge of the screen, destroy nuts in a strong shell using bonuses, remove sprawling foam and much more. Not only do new tasks appear regularly, but at the same level two tasks can be set at once, which will force you to approach the next move even more thoughtfully.
500 levels later
I hope you didn’t get bored, because I came to the very reason why I reached level 500 in Homes capes and plan to crawl further. In the game, I was held back by a narrative element. Here we are introduced to Austin’s parents: Olivia, cheerful for her age, and William, who likes to whine. They hold up well for their age, but they no longer have the strength to keep track of the huge family nest. I just want to please this married couple. For example, equip a book corner by the fireplace for William, and make Olivia a participant in a popular culinary show, having previously refurbished the kitchen. Even Austin needs a nice little corner of the house. First, we will help him arrange the room and go through unobtrusive training. In the course of it, we will replace the bed, glue new wallpaper, put the carpet fresher. Something and our parrot’s cage is rusted, let’s buy a new one?
The price of all these designer gizmos is not a huge amount of in-game coins, but just one star.Without noticing it myself, I went through a couple of dozen levels, simply gaining stars and improving the hero’s room with them. Austin accompanies every action with a pleasant commentary, involuntarily winning over. Imperceptibly you become attached to both the butler and his family. And soon a love line begins to appear on the horizon.
