Piano Tiles --- Flash vs iOS Ryview

Piano Tiles, by HU WEN ZENG.

Piano Tiles is a highly addictive arcade style game where your goal is to tap the black tiles in quick succession while avoiding the white tiles. The game is available for mobile devices and it is also available in flash form (I played it on Kongregate). Having played both versions, I will review them together.

The game, similar to other viral games such as flappy bird or 2048, has a very simple premise. All you're doing is taping black tiles. However, I personally feel that this game has both those examples beat when it comes to fulfilling replayability. With flappy bird, any progress was frustrating and difficult, namely because my score rarely reached double digits. If you were talented enough to progress past that point, I suppose you may not have felt so stunted, but for me getting past another pipe was a large milestone. That makes the replay experience quite dismal. And with 2048, I beat it on my first try. It took quite a while to finally reach the endgame, but it was still a single successful experience. And after completing it I felt no compelling reason to return.

Piano Tiles is able to hook the player with time based play. I was first introduced to the game on the Rooster Teeth Podcast, where the subject on beating each other's times came up. And even achieving new personal best times. See, if you even shave off a fraction of a second, you'll feel accomplished. And with multiple modes, there are several different best times to be shooting for. And while getting past that one extra pipe in Flappy Bird was excruciating, shaving off a tenth of a second seems much more achievable.

I've never seen a piano that looks like this...

Honestly, I do find the game quite entertaining. It's a nice reflex game, and while I've previously described my disdain for platformers that require precise timing and dexterity, I enjoy games where that's the object. I like reflex games, and this one delivers.

So, now to get down to comparing the flash version to the mobile version. The flash version uses the mouse to click, rather than a touchscreen. They both have similar modes, but there are slight tweaks, such as a different length in the "classic" game. And the iOS version seems to have more options than the flash version, allowing you to change the sound of taps and other cosmetic items.

Given the basic gameplay, I would highly recommend playing on mobile if you have the option. Tapping the screen is much more fun than clicking with the mouse. And that doesn't even consider the unpleasant sound of constant clicking. I also personally like the length of the classic version better on mobile than in the flash version, but that could vary from player to player. It's easier to play over and over again because it's over so fast. The only downside to the mobile version is that there are ads, but I found them to be very non-intrusive, definitely not affecting gameplay.

"Thanks for playing the flash version! Please use the links on the bottom because those versions have ads!"

If you're playing the mobile version, I think this is definitely a game that everyone should play, at least a few times. That would let you get a feel for the game and you could keep playing if you so desire, or you can set it down and possibly maintain a higher level of sanity. The flash version probably is only for definite fans of this style of game, it's less approachable with the mouse and, at least for me, it is a little less addictive.

Scorecards:

Flash Version:

Category	Score
Time Value	8
Money Value	10
Originality	9
Ryplayability	5
Fulfillment	4
Final Score	7.2

iOS Version:

Category	Score
Time Value	9
Money Value	10
Originality	9
Ryplayability	8
Fulfillment	9
Final Score	9.0

Let me know what you think of Piano Tiles!

Until next time,

Ryan

Pictures courtesy of Hu Wen Zeng