A “sequel” to Blast but with more “physics” this time around!

So, Rovio and Outplay decided to do their homework and figured out what Angry Birds Blast lacked. Not to say that that previous installment was bad by any stretch, but something was certainly “missing” there.

Angry Birds Dream Blast was released in 2018 in the UK, US, and Finland (2019 worldwide) and, while retaining several gameplay and visual markers of the 2016 title referenced earlier, it also added more “physics” (literally) to the formula, similar to those seen in Angry Birds POP (2014).

If you ask me, it seems that they tried fusing elements of POP and Blast. They did so by making the gameplay feel more “fluid” and believable (within the confines of the game world, that is). The bubbles here have more “weight” to them, moving organically across the screen as you interact with them. Effectively, they brought back some of that magic that made Angry Birds a “blast” (pun mildly intended) in the first place.

You’ll still be playing a tile-matching game by the end of the day but in a more proper “Angry Birds” style. In addition, you will see those frowning beaked faces in action more often, along with some compelling cutscenes.

The premise of the game is a bit “weirder” than usual, though. As the name suggests, you enter into a kind of “dream world” for younger birds wherein they experience a series of “bubble avalanches” if that makes any sense (it actually doesn’t… moving on!) 

I also get it that the devs decided to target younger children for this newer release, judging by the overall aesthetics, the characters, and the music. In that sense, Dream Blast doesn’t appear to have a semblance of continuity from Blast other than some punctual mechanics and, of course, the name.

The bubble matching here is not tied to a grid or columns, which I found refreshing. Rather, you can match by simply having the bubbles touch each other. Popping a certain number of bubbles will make a bird appear. If you pop 4 bubbles, you obtain a Red. Merging 2 Reds will give you a Chuck and 2 Chucks will earn you a bomb that, upon exploding, pops every bubble within a radius.

As you advance, the challenges get more intricate. You’d have to cope with irregular terrain, as well as interact with props and objects such as locks and chains. The bubbles will likewise naturally bounce back and forth contextually, depending on what happens on the screen, making the gameplay feel alive to a degree.

As with many other tile-matching games, you get the chance to utilize some boosters or power-ups. Many of them (including the usual slingshot, a shuffle, and a shooting star) can be earned by opening chests or purchasing them with gold coins. In turn, these coins are obtainable via chests (again) or by spending real-life money (no surprise, there!)

What’s more (and as is now habitual with these games), you’re given a limited number of “lives”. If you lose them, you’ll have to wait until they get replenished. On a positive note, however, the game only pushes you to wait if you lose, which is something I can live with. For the record, you can bypass this encumbrance by using your gold coins (sigh).

To conclude, some people have pointed out how this game hardly pushed any boundaries and lacks originality. I frankly don’t fret too much over this. You could say I’m one of those “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” types of people, but I do acknowledge when a game company strives to outdo itself in each successive opportunity. 

With that said, I’ll concede that this game is, more or less, what I expected it to be. There were no moments when I felt even the slightest bit surprised by how it all transpired. At most, I nodded approvingly at the cutscenes and some of the quirky ideas presented. As long as they manage to deliver a fun game that I wouldn’t mind “wasting my time with”, I’m cool going through a reprise of successful ideas.

Verdict

What else could I say? Angry Birds Dream Blast is another one of those Angry Birds spin-offs that didn’t utterly disappoint me. I believe it’s a step up from Angry Birds Blast and up to par with Angry Birds POP, even surpassing it in some instances. If you enjoyed those past games, you will undoubtedly also enjoy this one while we await a hypothetical Angry Birds Dream Blast POP (I’m being mildly facetious, but this move wouldn’t surprise me, to be frank!)

If you had a blast with this game (or didn’t) let me know in the comments section below!