[REVIEW] Bumbledore

Jonathan Tay

(PC [REVIEWED], Android)

Yes, Bumbledore is a game about a bee that uses magic. Now that we’ve got that out of the way…

The first thing you’ll notice about this game is how “casual” it feels – the art style is cartoonish and colourful, while the music is cheerful and upbeat. The menus are minimal and the controls are simple. It’s definitely reminiscent of something like Plants Vs. Zombies or Angry Birds. Does this make it a bad game? Obviously not!

The story behind this game is refreshingly straightforward, and not at all complicated *cough*MassEffect3ending*cough*. You play as a bee that uses magic to kill bugs that are trying to invade your hive. It’s as simple as that. There are three levels to the game, each comprised of twenty-six stages.

The gameplay itself is like a tower-defence game with elements of a puzzler. A small army of bugs will be crawling (or flying) towards your hive, and if any one of them reaches it, the game is over. You, the bee, are armed with a wand that can cast magical spells, which can range from calling up blades of grass to summoning meteors. The types of spells you can use change from stage to stage, as do the number of times you can cast them. Casting itself is accomplished by dragging your mouse in a certain fashion; for example, if you drag it horizontally, the bee will queue up an icicle spell. You can also use the mouse to adjust the trajectory and direction of whatever you choose to cast.

This is what bees in Bumbledore do…

At this point, I hope it’s easy to see why I said that the game has elements of a puzzle game. Deciding on what power to use and how to use it is of paramount importance, especially when encountering huge mobs of enemies. The limit to the number of spells you can cast means that every move you make must be a deliberate and somewhat thoughtful one – haphazard screen slashing won’t help you here. The game, then, becomes one where you are encouraged to think of ways to clear out stages in the most efficient way possible.

Clearing stages with efficiency is also the trick to extending Bumbledore’s superficially short longevity (sounds like an oxymoron, eh?). I’m not going to lie: unless you’re positively horrible at the game, you can probably fly through all the stages in about an hour or so. Actually, even if you are horrible, the game offers aids – such as a helper that will instantly defeat three enemies – which you can activate at any time, meaning that pretty much any one can “bee”t the game. The true challenge lies in clearing stages using the fewest number of spells, which is a fair task for even the great geniuses of our time.  

                                                                                                                               

The only real complaint I have with Bumbledore is that, when things get hectic (which they will!), the game might confuse what type of spell you want to cast. Of course, you can easily blame such a problem on the player, especially when the controls work so smoothly the rest of the time, but I can definitely see some people that want to play on smaller mobile devices getting frustrated. Also, you are unable to cancel any spells you activate, so if you want to call forth a lightning bolt, but end up adjusting the trajectory for a fireball, you’d better deal with it.

…and this is what bees in real life do.

Although this game comes at a comparatively big price ($4.99 compared to Plants Vs. Zombies’ $2.99)…come on, people. It’s fast, fun, and challenging for people of all skill levels. No matter what your preference, it’s hard to go wrong with Bumbledore.