Saturday Casual Gaming 208: Merge Evolution

Long, long ago, back when I first discovered that I could play games for free online, I played a lot of games by a publisher named "Joy Bits". From the name, one might worry that my young self had gotten involved in some of those weird pornographic games, but I assure you, that simply isn't the case. Joy Bits are the creators of the Doodle God series of games where you calmly create the universe by combining different elements. There are a veritable buttload of these games, too - Doodle God, Doodle God II, Doodle Devil, Doodle Devil Blitz, Doodle Kingdom, Doodle God: Good Old Times... the list goes on and on. And, of course, they don't just make games in the Doodle God series - their website is filled with other games that I should absolutely try out some day. Maybe not Russian Roulette. Not my thing.

Regardless, this week, I saw that there was a newer entry on the Google Play Store and decided to check it out. Since I've been playing around with Merge games lately (games where you take two of the same thing, combine them, and something different pops out), I decided to give Doodle God: Merge Evolution a try!

The whole series has a weird cartoonish vibe and I'm glad this is no different!

Okay, so first things first: What the heck is the point of this game?

You are God, and you're creating the world. You have seeds and air. You put two seeds together and you get weeds. You put two air together and get a cloud. You progress from there. Unlike the rest of the Doodle God series, you don't experiment with different combinations of air-to-seeds or weeds-to-clouds. You just match two of the same thing. Every time. And you can't just tap on one and then the other, either. You have to drag one to the other and let it go. That can be a little confusing if you're switching gears from regular DG gameplay to this particular title.

And yes, the game has multiple currencies, none of which I have felt the urge to purchase.

At some point, you're going to run out of space on your little 3x3 board, and that's what the little white plus sign is for. You buy a new square using one of the two currencies (purple gems or blue gems) that are automatically produced by the elements on your board. The higher up the evolutionary chain your elements are the more gems they produce. The more squares you buy, the more expensive they get. The more evolutions you cause, the more experience points you gain, the higher your level goes, and when you level up you get gem bonuses and a coin for your piggy bank, which allows you to get instant gems or gives you other boosts for the coins you earn for your levels. The green shopping bag lets you either buy a specific element or two, buy a special box of an advanced element, or buff your gems/second generation.

Again, I've never found a need to buy anything on one of these games with real live money, so don't get worried. At worst, you'll hit a wall and have to destroy an element or two in order to free up space to work with. Always destroy lowest level elements first, since they're pretty easy to get.

The fact that it rewards you with a little fanfare and some confetti when you find new elements is great.
You get Grass by combining two Weeds, which you get by combining two sets of two Seeds, btw

So far, my top living thing is an ape and my top nonliving thing is... weaponry. Hoo boy. I've seen screenshots with churches, businessmen, even tanks (though that could have been from Doodle Tanks...)

If you're looking for something to kill time with, this might be just the thing for you. Relaxing, nice to look at, and so easy my cat could probably play this, Doodle God: Merge Evolution is a fun addition to the tidal swell of Doodle God games and merge games alike.

That'll do it for me on this sleepy day!

Go Enjoy Something!
FC