Let’s get this out of the way, Dragons tend to have some mixed reputations. First, they’re giant fire-breathing beasts that are bent on destroying mankind. While, on the other hand, they’re huge legendary flying creatures friendly enough for you to ride on. But whatever our opinion, it doesn’t change the fact that they are full of awesomeness. Yes, that’s right! No matter how you look at it, dragons always look awesome.
This is the reason why a sizable portion of video games are about dragons. To name a few, we have Drakengard, Dragons: Rise of Berk, and even Dragon City–which is what we’ll discuss today. This free-to-play simulation game developed by Socialpoint boasts over 80 million players worldwide. With its massive player base alone, there is no wonder why this game is so popular. But what you may be wondering is what exactly separates it from the rest of the free-to-play dragon games. Well, ponder no more as we have decided to give it a shot and do a quick review about it. Read on and let’s talk about the pros (and cons) of playing Dragon City today!
Breed Over A Thousand Dragons
Dragon City isn’t only about riding giant beasts and having them slay your enemies. It isn’t focused on slaying one dragon after another either. This simulation game is more into letting you breed and raise dragons for battle. In other words, your main goal is to fill a series of interconnected islands with giant flying reptiles. Now, that might sound like an easy job, but we’re talking about raising over 1000 different dragon species here. Adding to that is the fact that you’ll most likely get random dragons every time you try to hatch one. Needless to say, it’s a base-building and sim management game.
Aesthetic 2D Graphics & Great Gameplay
Now that we have a basic idea of its features, let’s talk about how it looks and feels. Dragon City is a colorful game with beautifully rendered 2D graphics. Each habitat, base, and even the appearance of dragons are all unique. You’d feel the developers invested a lot in its game design, unlike most free-to-play games. You can also evolve your dragons from a hatchling to an elder. And each growth gives the creatures an enhanced look. It’s refreshing to see them change appearances. Best, you can personalize your dragons to another level by getting them to wear different kinds of skins.
Its gameplay is also engaging. As a monster-breeding game, you’d think you will spend your time babysitting dragons until they’re old enough to handle themselves. But it’s not a series of breeding, hatching, growing mechanics only. The game offers quests and PVP content as well. You can go on an adventure with your dragons or participate in Arena battles against other players. There’s even a PVP leaderboard to check your standing position. These two features will give you a break from your dragon nanny duties to a full-blown dragon tamer.
A Fun Time Sinker But Can Be Pay-to-Win
Dragon City, however, isn’t without cons. It’s a free-to-play game, however, the developers need the money to keep the game running. As you progress in the game, you will realize that the core mechanics of this game is to combine two dragons so they’ll hatch an egg of a better dragon species. The type, rarity, and attributes will be generated randomly. However, if you want to get legendary dragons, you can always summon them at the World Tree for a fee.
So, there’s a dreaded gacha involved. Nevertheless, you can expect to have a higher chance of getting more powerful dragons when summoning them, than breeding them. So it is not technically a bad thing. Still, it would be a turn-off for some who like playing without paying money. People who have boatloads of money, however, won’t be put off with this con. They can freely summon continuously until they get the legendary dragons they want. Of course, that’s up to chance. Needless to say, the gap between the free-to-play players and premium gamers widens–especially in PVP. That aspect alone can be off-putting to some.
If you’re not a fan of competitive gameplay, and more on the monster-breeding side then you should play Dragon City. It’s one of the best simulation games out in the market that’s free, active with events, and has a massive player base.
