''Badland'' (stylized ''BADLAND'') is a

mobile video game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to h ...

developed by Finland-based Frogmind Games and first released on the

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

and

Android Android may refer to: Science and technology * Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human * Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system ** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...

platforms in 2013. It was released on

Windows Phone 8 Windows Phone 8 is the second generation of the Windows Phone mobile operating system from Microsoft. It was released on October 29, 2012, and, like its predecessor, it features a flat user interface based on the Metro design language. It was su ...

in June 2014. There is also a ''Game of the Year Edition'' that was released in May 2015 for

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

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Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

and

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

for

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...

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and

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, and in August 2021 for

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

. In December 2015, its sequel ''

Badland 2 ''Badland 2'' (stylized ''BADLAND 2'') is a mobile video game designed by Frogmind Games and released on the iOS and Android platforms. The game was released on 17 December 2015 on iOS and 8 September 2016 on Android. It is the sequel to '' ...

'' was released on

and

. For the same platforms, a

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...

spin-off, ''Badland Brawl'', was released in September 2018, where gameplay is a mash-up between ''

Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castle ...

'' and ''

Clash Royale ''Clash Royale'' is a free-to-play real-time strategy video game developed and published by Supercell. The game combines elements from collectible card games, tower defense, and multiplayer online battle arena. The game was released globally ...

''.

Gameplay

The player flies around a little black creature called a Clone through the woods of the game. Beginning in Day I, the game progresses through four stages which consist of Dawn, Noon, Dusk, and Night, each with a separate color scheme and new theme of traps. As the player goes through Day I, egg-shaped machines begin to come out of the water of the background. Heading into the night, the machines begin to turn on and the game becomes harder as the machines become part of the dangers of the forest. Eventually, the character succeeds in disabling the machines and the machines become dormant once again until Day II begins it all over. Most of Day II is similar in plot structure, but smaller octopus-like machines begin to make themselves known and the animals in the forest begin to disappear. The last level includes saving a rabbit that was hanging by its foot and eventually coming to fly in front of a giant eye of one of the machines, leaving a cliffhanger into possible future updates. Also included in the game are possible in-app purchases that continue the story with some of Clony's friends, including ones nicknamed Snorf and Fury, featured in their own level packs. In early 2014, level pack Doomsday was released, featuring Fury and his escape from the machine infested woods. Also included is the Daydream level pack in which Snorf escapes, finding the magic of the forest makes the woods not all as it seems to be. In 2015 a new multiplayer feature was released which allowed up to 4 players to play at the same time.

Level World

Another new feature, "Level World" was introduced, in which players could make their own levels and release it in the "Level World" for other players to explore.

Reception

The game won

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

's 2013 iPad Game of the Year award. It also won the Grand Prix award in the 10th annual International Mobile Gaming Awards. The game has a

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score of 85/100 based on 20 critic reviews.

References

External links

''Badland'' official website
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