Zuba! Review

Zuba may look like an odd little fellow, but he loves his candy just like the rest of us. Unfortunately, someone stole all his favorite candies and now he wants revenge. Zuba is on a mission to overcome all the hazards that get in his way so he can get back his stolen sweets, but he needs your help.

Gamers help Zuba on his quest by maneuvering him away from all the dangerous objects like spikes, torches, and spinning utensils of death. In the process of avoiding all danger, players must collect candies and stars along the way while also completing quests.

Zuba can be controlled using three different methods: joystick, gyroscope and scroller. I found the gyroscope (tilting) controls to be the easiest to use, but other players may prefer a different control method.

Quests are simple tasks like collecting blue candies or jumping on a spoon twice which help gamers earn more stars. While they are a part of the game, quests can also be purchased in the store to help gamers earn even more stars. All the collected and earned stars are used to purchase everything from power-ups like pills for weight loss (because eating all that candy makes Zuba fatter and slower), to rockets that destroy obstacles and accessories to customize the little monster. Gamers who are impatient can purchase stars as IAPs or earn them by posting on Twitter, liking on Facebook or Subscribing to the newsletter.

Objects can either help players complete quests or cause them to miss out on collecting as many stars and candies as possible. There are items like cheese boards which spring gamers high in the air, portals that transport Zuba back to collect items he may have missed and spoons that fling the little fellow over obstacles.

From the well-polished graphics and randomly generated quests to the endless gameplay and Game Center support, there’s a lot to like about this game. The only area of weakness that some gamers may find offsetting is that the game seems to be repetitive and too easy. Sure, there are checkpoints for gamers to restart from the area where they died but the game play never seems to change a whole lot. Also, the game seems way too easy. I was able to collect over 300 stars on my first attempt, and I didn’t really feel all the challenged.

Overall, Zuba! may be more for extremely casual gamers and little children than for anyone looking for a real challenge. It does still have an addicting element, but that doesn’t last long when it’s hard to stay focused and interested after a few rounds. It’s not going to be everyone’s favorite cup of tea, but it’s certainly worth checking out if it looks remotely interesting—especially since the game is currently on sale. Give it a try and let us know what you think.