Tap Ninja - Idle game

I've put a lot of time into this and before this recent update I was really enjoying the game. This update has massively increased the grind a player faces whilst taking away the perks and points I had spent hours and days grinding towards. I was already struggling before and they promised this update would "Make it a lot less grindy" but instead it's made it infinitely worse. I lost access to my medal perks I had before (These have been forcefully reset and locked way higher than they were with more medals needed now), my income has been smashed to bits, levels I had earned in a shrine cut in half to nerf how many coins I get to gain elixer and I have to retro-actively spend elixer to get a measely % of elixer gains. I was already struggling and hitting a difficulty curve only to be met by a much steeper one. This update needs a major fix or reversal. I'm keeping this neg-rated until then.

The initial gameplay loop was fun for a while but late game offers almost no progression without spending money. The developer has been removing discussions complaining about the greedy micro-transactions or insane requirements for events. These are some tasks in the current event: - Spend 4000 amber (about $45) when you can only earn 9 amber a day. - Open 35 eggs. You can get about 3 a day, or you can pay $40 to get 35 eggs - Upgrading my current pet star level requires 6561 tokens. The event reward gives 500, eggs give about 5 - Buy 1000 buildings of the same type at once, something only 0.5% of players (according to achievements) have managed Some task rewards give amber and eggs but they're carefully placed at a point where most free-to-play users will not be able to reach. As an extra note, there's no gameplay layers that unlock later on, there's only 5 or so enemies and 2 abilities. You're doing the exact same thing 400 hours later as you were when you started playing.

Tap Ninja is an incremental game styled as an endless runner - clicking when you reach an enemies location to kill them and earn gold. It’s partially automated and you can control when that automation happens. Like many games of this type, you proceed so far before you need to reset your progress to continue. In the beginning progress felt like it was a breeze but the point of the game I am now at feels like it has slowed to a crawl. That's fine, it's just how these types of games are. There are additional objectives included to spice things up from the grind and give extra incentives, these include: daily quests for gold bonuses; weekly challenges (which feel a bit like a bare bones rhythm section for more gold); an in-game achievement system which gives bonuses to the gameplay as you earn more; pets which you can swap out (depending on your playstyle they give different bonuses and can be levelled up and bonded with for extra boosts). [strike][i]Completionists be aware there are two Steam achievements considered near impossible according to some in the steam discussions[/i][/strike]. Updated 24/04/2023 - Two achievements temporarily removed. Recently added to the game are limited timed holiday events with extra tasks to do and earn some little bonuses. Initially they seemed like fun, a nice change of pace from what is otherwise a daily grind for tiny progress but they now come across as preying on FOMO. Most of the tasks are still some form of grind but the most worrying are tasks that require you to spend ‘Amber’, the real money currency. In the event for ‘Pi Day’, there was a task that required you to spend at least 2,500 amber. Assuming you manage to complete all 25 holiday tasks you will have 1,925 returned to you, a net loss of 575. In theory it is possible to grab the one limited edition cosmetic item without spending on the amber tasks but some of the tasks are impossible for new players to even attempt regardless of whether or not they spend additional ‘amber in the shop on boosts (it took me until the last day and cut it really close.) The ‘April Fools’ event was slightly generous, allowing 2,110 return for 2,000 amber invested if you’re able to complete all the tasks however the most recent ‘Easter’ Event has you needing to spend a whopping 2,500 amber for 1,700 return leaving you with a loss of 800 amber! (Tasks I still consider impossible for new players returned for both of these.) [i]‘Amber’ can be earned without spending a penny[/i] but it’s very slow, random and requires a bit of luck. If you can get a pet mouse or dragonfly to level 10, whilst equipped they will generate +4 Amber every 4 hours. I don’t have a single pet at that level yet and holiday events are almost immediately after one another so there isn’t much of a chance to actually save up more amber for events. This isn’t to say that I think there should be zero monetisation nor that you shouldn’t support the developer but I honestly believe that it is currently being implemented poorly and heading in a bad direction, which is a shame because up until now I really liked this particular background game (and had actually purchased the VIP bundle). At least my cats still enjoy watching it.