A game that can draw out a laugh from me is an exceedingly rare commodity these days. Yet I’ve recently found much delight playing — of all things — a free-to-play (F2P) puzzler of the Candy Crush ilk.
Earlier this week, Canadian indie developer Will O’Neill and Toronto-based WZO Games released Guildmaster Story, and it’s been my go-to mobile entertainment ever since.
The game puts players in the shoes of Guildmaster Ganyo as he embarks on an adventure to let a group of young, energetic adventurers build him a business empire.
Its charm comes from the excellent and humorous writing. The story is told through these wonderful tongue-in-cheek (and often self-deprecating) cut scenes between each level.
As for the levels and gameplay, the developer notes you’ve “already played a million games exactly like this.”
It’s a basic match-three style game. Players have to match coloured gems to remove them from the board. Further, each level tasks you with a goal to complete, such as a certain number of orange gems to remove.
Realistically, the levels are a vehicle to progress through the story. For the most part, they feel easy and, as the developer notes in the app description, he’s “a writer with no background in puzzle design — he literally does not know how to make levels that trick you out of your money.”
The game does — boastfully — include microtransactions. You can purchase coins or watch ads to get them. These coins can be used to buy extra lives, or various power-ups to help in levels.
Ultimately, Guildmaster Story is a fun game with an interesting, enjoyable story. I highly recommend giving it a go as the game will earn a few laughs from you and serves as a great time waster, excellent for when you have a few minutes to kill and nothing to do.
You can download Guildmaster Story for iOS and Android for free.
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