App Army Assemble: Barcode Fingermon - "Does this RPGs scanning mechanic make it stand out in the genre?"

Barcode Fingermon is a recently released RPG where you can collect creatures to add to your team by scanning barcodes and QR codes. It's a cute idea, but does it work well in practice? To find out, we handed the game over to our App Army to see what they made of it.

Here's what they said:

Adam Plur Cook

Barcode Fingermon is a monster collector's dream! In this world, you get new monsters by scanning barcodes and/or QR codes, reminiscent of the old scanners back in the day, with fewer frustrations because every code here does generate a monster. The battle system has simple flick and hit controls most familiar to angry bird players, but with a top-down view. The gameplay is really likeable with a small map that has more things going on than you’d first think! Although if I’m being honest, it does feel a little barebones with plenty of time left to be fleshed out. As for graphics they are actually better than expected with some really great and some really awful sprites for the different Fingermon, all in all very pleasing to my eyeballs! Overall I would say this is a solid game for its price point, which is low and reasonable. I’ll be spending some more time with this one

Brandon Jones

BF is a fun little RPG where you sling different creatures and characters around an arena in order to beat the opposing teams. The gacha style mechanics are incredibly interesting because of the twist: to summon you scan barcodes or QR codes to see what you can get. This was my biggest challenge starting out - I was playing while out and about but got stuck as I couldn’t find two barcodes to scan (so had to wait until returning home). If you are around barcodes though it won’t be an issue. The controls work pretty well - you pull back on a creature to sling it around. In this, I was reminded of the trick pool and having to deal with obstacles by bouncing the characters around (and then keeping track of what character you are doing because some sling in different ways). After a few days of play, I’m quite intrigued but not yet fully sold. It’s quite unique, and it’s inexpensive which is nice. And I am looking forward to spending more time with it.

Mark Abukoff

I like the gameplay. As has been said, it’s kind of a cross between Angry Birds and billiards. I found it original and interesting and there’s room for thought and a degree of tactics involved. Including, if I’m not mistaken, avoiding accidentally damaging members of your own team. That’s a big positive as it isn’t just a clone of dozens of other games. But yes, the gimmick of scanning barcodes seems pointless and really seems to have no effect on what sort of character drops you’re going to get. It seems like a potentially intriguing idea but it seems undeveloped. If they could tie in with brands, you might get good promotional characters, but in its present state, it just seems a pointless gimmick. And while I like the gameplay as I said, there seemed to be very little variety and no real incentive to keep going. Controls were okay, though I found myself right at the edge of the screen a few times pulling back for a shot. The music and sound, quite frankly, I was annoyed by and quickly turned the sound down. Ultimately, it’s not a bad game. It has unique and cool aspects. But it could stand improvement.

Jack Oneill

I was excited to get the game from what I read about the game thinking it was going to be an RPG capture adventure game and it is for the most part until I got to the first battle. And boy was I in for a surprise, you don't see your typical RPG combat layout and turn-based format, instead, you slingshot your characters at NPC enemies and if hit the enemy they take Damage and vice versa. Now at this point, I'm already done with the game and not because of the graphics which, by the way, are nice. They have a hand drawing style to them and give you that feeling of a homebrew game, which is cool. I really enjoy that style and feeling but I digress, the barcode/QR creatures were nice; some cute some ugly as sin. The story and general gameplay/controls felt fine. If you're into sling shotting ur heroes/creatures around at other enemies then this game is for u, if not then do yourself a favour and don't waste your time. If they were to change the fighting system completely I definitely would be playing it.

Pierpaolo Morgante

BF is a simple RPG, surely inspired by the Pokémon franchise. The goal is to collect heroes and battle with other people or in-game characters. Instead of walking in the grass to catch Pokémon, you can scan barcodes around your real-life house (I tried an egg carton and it worked!) to unlock additional characters. Sometimes, little monsters spawn in the areas next to the village, and you can battle them too. I liked the concept and idea, although the game becomes a little plain and repetitive after a while. As others mentioned, you unlock different arenas but the gameplay does not change. Fans of the genre will appreciate it since it’s a nice and polished game with good mechanics, but I am not sure if the game will be interesting or appealing to casual gamers.

Andrés Youlton

Barcode Fingermon is a hero/monster-collecting game, which you get by scanning QR codes or barcodes. Then, you use these heroes to battle in an arena, by flinging your troops against the enemies. The gameplay itself I really like, as you can get combos by hitting a monster multiple times, and it feels fresh. Sadly, I think the game is a bit plain, because yes, you unlock new arenas, but they don’t add many changes.
I think, for the price, you’ll get a nice time killer, and I like the barcode/QR scanning to get new monsters. Give this game a try.

Chad Jones

Barcode Fingermon is a simple RPG. The fighting mechanics have a pull-back mechanic (like a cross between Angry Birds and a billiards game). You fling your hero towards the enemy, different heroes have different abilities. The gameplay is simple and fun. Heck, my 4-year-old was having a blast with it. It’s been great to play in short bursts and pretty addicting. When you start out you scan a barcode it could be a book, a can of green beans or a bottle of lotion and it will come up with a different type of hero. It seems pretty random and really kind of gimmicky and probably doesn’t need to be there. My other complaint is that they are different arenas that you unlock as you progress but they all kind of do the same thing you essentially just battle other people/NPCs. I have no problem with the price it is worth it to not deal with ads it doesn’t bring anything new to this genre but I do like the game and will keep progressing and it’s really nice to have when waiting in line or just killing a few minutes of time.

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