Tiny Archers: Hits the Mark – iOS Game Review

Tiny Archers is, as you probably gathered, an archery game for iOS. In it you control one of three immobile bow-wielders, (two of which must be unlocked) who perch on the left-hand side of a 2D playing field and rain down arrows on the orcs and goblins pillaging their respective kingdoms. This is done by swiping up and down on the screen to line up your shot and releasing to fire, allowing the player to pinpoint weak points such as enemies’ heads and legs to stall them or do more damage.

As the player gains levels they get access to powerful new bows and arrow types, and each character has one ability that purges the base of their tower and another that wipes out every enemy headed toward the tower, (except for orcs and mages). Enemies approach via several lanes, which tend to increase in number as you progress in each character’s campaign. The campaigns differ in terms of terrain, (flat grassland, stair-strewn dwarven underhalls, and an elven forest full of pits that enemies can jump over) and get progressively more difficult both in terms of ramping enemy volume and the terrain increasingly interfering with your ability to line up critical shots.

Tiny Archers is ad-light provided you don’t lose often or open the “presents” the game throws your way, and it provides an excellent amount of content at 24 stages per character campaign. New enemy and arrow types tap out midway through the dwarf’s campaign, but the extreme challenge of the final elven campaign keeps the game fresh.

The game has two currencies, coins and gems, and both can be earned by playing. Coins can be bought with gems, but gems must be bought with real money. Players who master the game’s mechanics shouldn’t be wanting for either until its final campaign, at which point dedicated players may either need to tighten up their skills or pony up some real money to progress further.

Aside from a few spelling errors and the annoying tendency of projectile-using enemies to tag you from lanes you can’t currently aim at, Tiny Archers is a quality iOS title with high production values, tight and interesting gameplay, and responsive controls.