Do you remember the beginnings of Angry Birds? Before there were a billion spin-offs, and each one was filled with ads, in-app purchases, and lots of confusing systems? Well, you don’t need to remember that anymore because this original app has seen a re-release.
Going on sale in early April 2022, Rovio Classics: Angry Birds (to give it the full, confusing name) is basically the same as the 2012 original, but with a few tweaks. It is available on the Play Store here (opens in a new tab) and the App Store here (opens in a new tab)and costs $0.99 / £0.89 – so you have to pay, but not much.
The new Angry Birds game brings all 390 levels from the original game, with the same layouts and level challenges, but rebuilt in a different game engine (like building the same house from a different material). Rovio doesn’t say what changes this brings, but feedback on the Play Store listing says the graphics are changed and the physics “feel” different.
So why would you play this game? Well, it looks stripped down compared to the sequels opposite – there are no in-app purchases, so you won’t see any popups asking you to spend money on level help, and also apparently no ads in the app. Oddly enough, the Play Store listing says the app “Contains Ads”, but that may be for other Rovio games.
It should be pointed out that the entry point for the game is higher than for the original, depending on the system requirements. You’ll need an iPhone running iOS 13 or higher or an Android device running Android 6 or higher – luckily that probably covers the majority of devices still in use today.
Analysis: an antidote to ad-riddled mobile games
If you play a lot of mobile games, you’ll probably come across a few that bombard you with ads or in-app purchases. These are usually popular titles that are free and need to find other ways to earn money.
By charging you a small amount of money, Rovio bypasses annoying forms of monetization, to make the game more enjoyable to play.
So if you want an antidote to those pop-up-riddled modern games, you’ll find the new Angry Birds remake to be a great game.
