I’ve found RPGs to have the same qualities as the proverbial Marmite. You love ’em or you hate ’em (on that subject, over my 34 years I’ve found that the majority’s response to Marmite is actually almost fanatical indifference. I count myself amongst them). Some people can get truly absorbed in the quest to save the princess or whichever terror is currently striking at the heart of the imagined land, whereas other recoil in horror at the amount of time it takes to actually progress in most games. RPGs you see, revolve around the core concept of ‘levelling up’; taken to extremes, the killing of foes with the sole intention of raising your character’s level is known as ‘grinding’. And it can take a hell of a long time. R2 Games attempt to combat this ‘grinding’ fatigue with their new offering EZ PZ RPG, out now for iOS and Android.
The name would suggest they have found a way to do this successfully. There is a new and increasing trend in handheld games known as ‘passive progression’. EZ PZ RPG is among the first games to utilise this concept; essentially, the gameplay is constant. It doesn’t care if you’re sleeping, feeding the cat, at the bar or at the gym. The show goes on. This means your characters are actively getting stronger all the time. They’ve got little lives of their own, lives filled with blood, death and horror. But the good thing is, when you return to them, they’re far more powerful than when you left. This ‘passive play’ opens up the game out to newcomers and inexperienced players, and it also might turn a few heads who’ve previously been tempted by the genre but put off by the long hours.
Not that that’s all there is to this app. It is literally filled with content, so much so that the initial menu can seem quite intimidating. The sheer complexity of the set up gives this game far more longevity than many of its closest competitors. There are endless customisation options, beginning with choosing your class of character. You’ve got the Mage, the Warrior and the Hunter, all with their own set of weapons, armour, and every other form of mythical/medieval tool or paraphernalia. Despite this though, what’s remarkable is that the game is actually very simple. Don’t be put off by the scale of it; the battle systems and upgrade features are a cinch to navigate once you invest 60 mere seconds of your time.
The fun doesn’t stop there; there’s co-op modes and versus modes that let you join/clash forces with other players (real-life players!), a chat mode, a shop, a guild forming function; the game is so packed full of content that it really is too expansive to cover here. The main points though, are thus; it’s remarkably easy to grasp, your character levels up even if you’re not playing it, and the features allow for lots and lots of communal fun with your fellow players. This adventure is well worth your time.
Strike off for the App Store or Google Play to get duelling with death for free today!
