Blog Post 4

Tomb of the Mask is a free-to-play mobile game by Playgendary Limited which released in September of 2016. Available for both Android and iOS, the arcade game “with an infinite procedurally generated vertical labyrinth” surrounds the adventure of your character with the power of climbing walls after wearing a strange mask.

 

Game Modes

Arcade: Endless mode of the levels in the map that beginins with an easier level and slowly gets harder all while lava is flowing up destroying everything in its way. You also “have a personal high score and can see a leaderboard“.

In both modes of the game points earned are worth one point, these are doubled with the multiplier and can be multiplied 5 times if you take a booster.

Story: Each level on the map consists of a room that has traps which need to be bypassed so you can teleport into the next room/level. The traps get harder and begin to vary as you complete each level. The game has over 300 levels with new levels added every 5 months according to Fandom.

Mechanics

The aim of the game is to swipe collecting the dots and stars without getting killed! Involving both strategy and being quick using simple and smooth controls as players swipe to the direction they want to go to.

Of the obstacles in the game are a wall of spikes that emerge once walked on, shooters, lava, the dragon, birds/ bats among more that work together against you. Reviews of the game mention how these obstacles ramp up pretty fast early on in the levels. To combat them however there are power ups that can be bought with coins such as the “Shield, Coin Addict, Freeze, Magnet, and Score Booster powerups“.

Graphics

The game has a retro pixel art design to it’s graphics along with simple yet dramatic sound effects which fit well with the gameplay. I liked how they used a color for each of the levels, each indicating a level. Having them against a black background gave them somewhat of a glow effect.

Coins are the currency in the game which can be bought and then used for masks and power ups.

Masks of Tomb of the Mask

The game has diffrent masks that have their own specific powers/ boost which you could put on your character, below is a screenshot from Fandom of them. Some masks can be obtained through increasing the player level but they could also be obtained through chests or buying them with coins.

Gameplay

A good sum up of experiencing the game I found is “Clever but needlessly greedy puzzling arcade game“. While the game is fun, simple and challenging the constant ads that the player is bombarded by after each level is disappointing. Even after paying to stop the ads the game still required me to watch ads for extra lives or power ups. Ads only stop after paying a subscription of $7.99 for weekly subscriptions, $19.99 for monthly or $99.99 for the yearly membership. The membership reminds me of the pricing strategy that Super Mario Run had however Tomb of the Mask has in-app purchases as well. Another critique of the game is needing to refill your energy in order to play levels, I find this contradicts with the flow state of the player and would instead encourage players out of trying to beat a hard level for example. Regardless the game was downloaded over 900 thousand times and made over 200 thousand Dollars as of February 2021.

 

References

https://sensortower.com/ios/us/playgendary-limited/app/tomb-of-the-mask/1057889290/overview

Tomb of the Mask: Color Beginner’s Guide: Tips, Cheats & Strategies to Clear All Dungeons

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.playgendary.tom&hl=en&gl=US
https://tomb-of-the-mask.fandom.com/wiki/Tomb_of_the_Mask

Cover image source