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App Army Assemble: DinoBlits - "Is this dino strategy game rawrsome or should it be left to go extinct?"

We ask the App Army

App Army Assemble: DinoBlits - "Is this dino strategy game rawrsome or should it be left to go extinct?"

Everyone loves dinosaurs, right? Ever since Jurassic Park and possibly before, we've all wanted to see these magnificent creatures stomping about the Earth, despite how detrimental that might be for us. The recently released DinoBlits allows you to see these creatures survive and thrive, so long as your strategic nous is up to scratch. We handed the game over to our App Army to see if they thought it was worth the price.

Here's what they said:

Naail Zahid

I played this game for 2 hours straight. It's addictive! The cute retro Dino graphics along with the very easy and straightforward gameplay mechanics make it easy to recommend. Granted it's a slow burn game (thankfully an option exists to speed up the game) but you'll enjoy the game for what it is. A real-time strategy game that doesn't push too many mechanics on you is the perfect mobile time waster. My only gripe is that the game doesn't have an option to stretch the viewing area. Also, I love the music in the game, it's catchy. Still have no idea why dinos need a pub...

Chad Jones

Dinoblits is like an idle city builder (in a way) that has a mind of its own. There are only 3 rules and the game doesn't have a tutorial or hold your hand in any way. You just discover it on your own. Most of the time I like that in a game but I had a rough go at it during my first couple of playthroughs. But once you get a hang of it, it just clicks. It's easy to sink some time into it.

My advice: do not do too much at once, and don't worry about the problems of your dinos because everything kind of works itself out which is not typical of your average "city builder genre". This game may not be for everyone because it has a different approach in this genre but if you invest some time in it you may grow to like it.

Several dinosaurs, included one named pumpkin, are gathered on an island Andrés Youlton

DinoBlits is a game that plays like a mini city builder, with some very nice pixel graphics and music. But honestly, I felt kind of lost playing this game. The lack of a tutorial led me to die a few times, and while I don’t mind learning my way into a game, this time I didn’t know what I was doing wrong. Leaving that aside, I really like the meta-progression, and how you build a lot of mini-cities through every island. Dino Blits shows a lot of promise. It just needs a little something to really reel you in when you are starting out.

Torbjörn Kämblad

If you combine an idle strategy game and some truly light Civilization aspects you get DinoBlits. That is after adding dinosaurs and other creatures with pointy teeth.
The gameplay is simple to get into. Arrive at a patch of land, choose structures to build, let the dinos take some time off to copulate, and get more dinos before getting attacked by lurking mammals.

As you progress more buildings and functions are unlocked. I found the aspect of letting the dinos take some time to gather food, eat and make love to be the hardest part. But that part is essential to not get them all to die of starvation. DinoBlits is a nice little strategy game that invents its own kind of genre. A bit repetitive, but still nice to play for half an hour at a time.

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Robert Maines

DinoBlits is a casual strategy game with retro pixel graphics. Your tribe of dinosaurs has survived the asteroid strike and must strike out to find new land to live on and thrive. The land is split into squares and a level starts with you selecting a square. The tribe needs to build structures like houses and farms to expand. There is always an enemy base in each level and after a set time enemies are released that must be defeated to win.

My main problem with this game is the lack of clear instructions. I was confused by the making memory section which seems to serve no purpose. Also, you can build walls to trap enemies but the enemies and your dinos just pass through them. Graphically it looks nice and I found the game rather addictive, it will be staying on my phone.

Eduard Pandele

At first glance, this original combination of Civilization, Dota Underlords and... Dwarf Fortress (yes, you heard me right) had everything to hook me forever. Set up your dino chief's starting stats, have its dino tribe explore islands / build bases / fight random mobs, rinse and repeat while balancing the tribe's Maslow pyramid - what's not to like? Well, apparently, this game is so simple that the dev thinks it doesn't need a proper tutorial, and so complex that I gave up after my dinos died over and over and over again without any clue of what I did wrong.

No matter what orders I issued, what buildings I used and what mobs I killed, eventually my settlers starved and no settlers = no exploration = total dinosaur extinction. Apologies, but all the cuteness in the world won't save this game from being uninstalled and never looked at again. Unless, obviously, it gets a proper objective-based tutorial.

Pierpaolo Morgante

DinoBlits is a combo between an idle and strategy game where the goal is to put together buildings and have the dinosaurs survive. I played for a couple of hours, and I managed to go through a couple of islands. Each island has different levels x and as you proceed you get more buildings and more stuff to do. The graphics are super cute, and the music really nice. My main complaint about the game is that it lacks a proper tutorial, so the player needs to figure out what to do, which can be frustrating at times. It wasn’t a deal breaker for me, but it definitely steepens the learning curve.

Mark Abukoff

This is a fun and sometimes confusing RTS/City builder with dinosaurs. That premise made me curious and eager to play. The logic behind it is, on one hand, predictable (the need for food, processing that food, homes to help increase your population, doctors to heal, etc.) and then suddenly randomly unpredictable (dinosaurs needing pubs, more babies are made if there are homes, and, well, privacy). And not just morale is up or down, but someone specific is sad or hungry. Plus the cute dinosaurs! Honestly, it’s those touches that kept me entertained. It took me a while to get the hang of this game, but really, I am glad I stuck around. Happily recommend.

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Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen Gregson-Wood
Stephen is Pocket Gamer's Deputy Editor and a lifelong gamer who will tell you straight-faced that he prefers inventive indies over popular big studio games while doing little more than starting yet another Bloodborne playthrough.