Out of nowhere, this humble app from Vietnam has become one of the top free apps on the Apple App Store. While Flappy Bird does not look polished and is riddled with advertisements, users around the world have embraced this game for different reasons.
There is only one rule in Flappy Bird: tap the screen to beat the bird’s wings and make it fly through a series of narrow gaps. Sounds simple, right? For hundreds of thousands of users, not so much.
Joseph Bernstein of Buzzfeed calls Flappy Bird “comically hard”, as it is “erratic and impossible to control”. The intervals between the pipes are narrow, the gaps are so apart from each other, and the collision borders extend by a few pixels beyond the color borders. Making it through the gaps requires perfect timing, with virtually no room for error. And I almost forgot to mention that your flapping bird only has one life.
“I played for three minutes before I cleared my first pipe, and after then minutes my best score was 7,” Bernstein wrote.
Despite the ridiculously tough gameplay, Flappy Bird has earned over 63,000 user reviews with an average of four stars. Apparently, users actually enjoy the challenge and frustration this game provides.
“The game is so difficult and addicting but that’s what makes it enjoyable,” wrote Cassanova5.
Twinscraiz quipped: “I see a lot of haters saying it’s too hard and there should be lives and bigger pipes. Well I think the makers didn’t want this to be your average Jetpack Joyride.”
Another possible reason (and this may likely be problematic) is that its art closely resembles the original Super Mario Bros. It gives you that feeling this game has been around for years, even though it was launched last year.
“It’s terrible and crappy and soulless, but also wonderful and addictive and funny,” Bernstein concluded.
Download Flappy Bird now on the App Store.
Source: Buzzfeed
