Jumpy Tree review - A simple arcade platformer with a decent twist

Jumpy Tree is a game about jumping up a tree. I guess with a name like that it couldn’t really have been about anything else. Maybe a tree that could jump, but I don’t think that really makes sense.

Anyway, it’s not the most original endless jumper out there, but it does have more going for it than most of the other polished versions of Doodle Jump that we’ve seen on the App Store over the past forever.

It’s sweet, it melds together some ideas from the likes of Crossy Road, and it’ll keep you playing for a lot longer than you might expect.

The aim of the game is to make your way up a tree. Essentially you’re bouncing from leaf to leaf, with the camera twisting to follow you around the trunk of the infinite oak.

You tap once to jump to the next leaf. Sometimes though you’ll need to tap twice to perform a double jump in order to avoid a gap or a flowering leaf that will swallow you whole if you land on it.

Sometimes you’ll come to a part of the tree that needs to switch the direction you’re jumping in. Swipe left or right and you’ll hop across to the next branch and continue your upwards adventure.

After a few goes you’ll find the controls become second nature, and you’ll be pegging it through the leaves in no time at all.

Inevitably there are coins to collect, and you can spend these on new characters. Most of the new challengers change the background of the levels too, so at least visually things are kept fresh.

And that’s about it really. Bounce around a tree, try and beat your high score, try and work your way up the leaderboard.

Jumpy Tree fits snugly into the throwaway arcade genre. Its compulsion loop is tight enough and its early progression is swift enough that you’ll get hooked pretty quickly.

But it’s not the sort of game that’s likely to hang around for a long time on your homescreen. It might be infinite, but it’s short and sharp, and once you reach your limit it’s unlikely you’re going to head back.

But that’s pretty much exactly what the game is designed for. If it gets deep into your skin you might spend to get some of the new characters, but if it doesn’t then you’ll just get to have a nice time for a bit.

Everything works well, and all in all it’s an enjoyable experience. You won’t get frustrated, you won’t really be challenged, you’ll just bounce around for a bit smiling.

If you’re looking for a game to kill some time this weekend then Jumpy Tree is a pretty good bet. Just don’t expect it to be anything more than a two day fling.