Candy Witch Saga is a popular mobile game that combines elements of match-three puzzle games and a magical witch theme. The game follows the adventures of a candy-loving witch named Stella as she embarks on a journey through various enchanted worlds. In Candy Witch Saga, players must match three or more candies of the same color to create powerful combos and clear levels. By completing levels, players earn stars and progress further in the game. The levels become progressively challenging, requiring strategic thinking and careful planning to overcome obstacles. Throughout the game, players encounter different characters, such as other witches, monsters, and magical creatures.
Will Candy Crush fans find a new fix with Bubble Witch Saga 2?
Tens of millions of people are still swapping sweets in the Candy Crush Saga game on smartphones, tablets and Facebook. Now its publisher, King, has released a new puzzle game: Bubble Witch Saga 2.
It's available today for Android and Apple devices, as well as on Facebook. As with previous Saga games, if you log in using your Facebook profile, your progress will be saved across all of these if you choose to play across several.
As you'll likely have guessed from the name, this is a sequel: the original Bubble Witch Saga was actually King's first mobile game back in July 2012, although the company has since admitted that it wasn't as fun as it could be on smartphones in particular.
"It plays great on iPads with larger screens, but you kinda had to squint on smartphones," King's games boss Tommy Palm told the Guardian last year. Bubble Witch Saga 2 is the company's attempt to remedy those faults, slapping several layers of polish on to the core gameplay.
And that gameplay is… popping bubbles. Specifically, firing coloured bubbles from the bottom of the screen at other coloured bubbles higher up to make matches of three or more, which then disappear. You have a set number of bubbles to fire on each level.
As with King's other games, this isn't a new form of gameplay in itself.
Just as Candy Crush Saga took its cues from a game called Bejeweled and Papa Pear Saga was heavily based on a game called Peggle, both Bubble Witch Saga games have their roots in a series of games called Puzzle Bobble and Bust-a-Move – the names varied depending on where in the world and on what device you played them.
Around that, King has wrapped a structure that is now familiar from its other Saga games: you play through levels earning one, two or three stars for your scores, with different challenges to vary the core matching gameplay, and power-ups used to get you out of tricky spots.
Bubble Witch Saga 2's Free the Ghost levels. Photograph: PR
Here, the power-ups include a rainbow bubble that will match with any colour, and a fire bubble that blazes a path through any bubbles in its way. Once unlocked, you get three of each for free, but if you want more, you'll have to spend gold bars.
Yes, virtual spending. As with the other Saga games, virtual items and in-app purchases figure prominently in Bubble Witch Saga 2 – it's one of the "freemium" games that have come to dominate the mobile games industry.
Gold bars are used to buy the booster bubbles, but also to get a few more bubbles if you hit your limit on a level, and to buy more lives – you lose a life every time you fail a level. An in-app store sells the gold bars starting at £0.69 for 10, and rising to £34.99 for 650.
Note, you can also choose to "ask friends" for more lives. Tapping this button brings up a list of Facebook friends playing the game, who you can then ask for help – another familiar feature from the other Saga games.
There are three types of levels at the moment in Bubble Witch Saga 2: Clear the Top, Save the Animals and Free the Ghost. The first tasks you with reaching the top of the level and freeing up six spaces on the uppermost row; the second involves clearing bubbles to rescue animals floating throughout the level; and the third involves freeing a spook trapped at the centre of a rotating cluster of bubbles.
So, is Bubble Witch Saga 2 any good? Needless to say, it won't appeal to the vocal brigade of Candy Crush haters who see King and its Saga games as the epitome of freemium awfulness. If this is you, Bubble Witch Saga 2 won't change your mind, but there are some excellent paid games out there as alternatives.
What if you're a big Candy Crush Saga fan looking for a new fix? Bubble Witch Saga 2 is definitely worth a try, as its structure will be familiar, but the gameplay will be a fresh change from candy-swapping.
This kind of bubble-popping was brilliant fun in the Bust-a-Move and Puzzle Bobble games, and King has done a much better job second time round in translating it to modern touchscreens. No squinting required.
Expect to be asking friends for help regularly. Photograph: PR
I do wonder if there's a risk of Saga overload, though. There was a moment around level 20-something where I got stuck, lost all my lives – they replenish naturally if you don't pay, but only at the rate of one every 30 minutes – and I had a sudden, wearying vision of the future.
Weeks and months of grinding through difficult levels, being prodded to buy gold bars, and badgering friends (and being badgered in return by them) for lives. How many people who went hundreds of levels down the Candy Crush Saga rabbit hole will relish the prospect of doing it all over again in a new game?
That said, at 9.30am this morning, this point was going to be the main thrust of the review, once I stopped playing. The next time I looked up, it was 10.30am, I'd reached level 40 (without paying) and completely forgotten the theory that this was supposed to be a grind.
Incidentally, level 40 is the first roadblock in Bubble Witch Saga 2: you're asked to either wait five days to unlock the next set of levels, spend nine gold bars, or ask friends for help. Judging by the in-game map, this happens again after level 55.
At launch, Bubble Witch Saga 2 has 70 levels, but King says it'll be adding new ones every fortnight, following the same pattern as Candy Crush Saga.
So, in answer to the question in the headline of this review: if you love Candy Crush Saga, will you love Bubble Witch Saga 2 as well? The chances are good. And even if you're starting to wonder when the wheels of the Saga bandwagon will start to wobble, there's plenty of fun to be had.
From 'Candy Crush' To 'Bubble Witch,' King Has Never Had An Original Idea
Activision has just paid an absolutely ludicrous sum of money to become one of the biggest players in the mobile games genre overnight. They’ve shelled out $5.9 billion to purchase King, parent company of games like Candy Crush Saga and Bubble Witch Saga, which have been mobile staples for years now, and absolutely enormous revenue generators for the company.
While the $5.9 billion deal is bigger than even Disney buying storied franchises like Marvel and Star Wars, there’s an argument to be made for the purchase based purely on the benefit of buying a revenue generator like that, and also instantly having hundreds of millions of active users marching under the Activision banner.
But what I can’t avoid mentioning is that King is yet another example of the creative bankruptcy of mobile. It’s a company in the vein of Zynga that has rarely had an original thought, instead drawing “inspiration” from well-established, existing games, either in mobile or all throughout games history, the main difference being that they've successfully monetized them through microtransactions.
I can go through pretty much every game King offers, and show you almost exactly where they all came from.
Bejeweled/CandySwipe/Candy Crush Saga
We might as well start with the mother of all King properties, the enormously popular Candy Crush which has very, very clear roots int he hit puzzle game Bejeweled, credited with popularizing the Match-3 craze years before Candy Crush existed. But in fact, King has also been accused of cloning CandySwipe, a lower budget Match-3 Bejeweled clone that came out two years before Candy Crush Saga, which had similar candies, messages (Sweet!) and an app icon.
Puzzle Bobble/Bubble Witch Saga
King's second most popular franchise, Bubble Witch, can directly trace its lineage to the classic Puzzle Bobble, also known as Bust-a-Move when it came to North America. In the game, players try to clear bubbles in another form of color-matching.
SameGame/Pet Rescue Saga
Another classic puzzle genre, this time from the '80s, which King brought to present data and altered with pets. More color matching.
Peggle/Papa Pear Saga
Peggle's bouncing pegs have been a staple of the puzzle gaming genre for years, and King appropriated the idea for Papa Pear Saga, which plays nearly identically to the classic.
Boggle/Alpha Betty Saga
Spelling out words in a grid with blocks has been Boggle's game for years now, but King made their own version with Alpha Betty as recently as this year.
Chuzzle/Scrubby Dubby Saga
Though not identical, King's recent Scrubby Dubby Saga appears to have been directly inspired by 2005 puzzler Chuzzle, as the two play similarly.
As for the rest? Pyramid Solitaire Saga is, unsurprisingly, based on the solitaire card game Pyramid. Diamond Digger Saga is another type of SameGame, while Farm Heroes Saga and Pepper Panic Saga are more Match-3 variants. And that's it. That's their entire games roster.
The point I'm making is that King is very good at turning existing successful puzzle games and giving them their polished "Saga" spin. But they've never invented a truly original hit, always drawing on past puzzling icons for "inspiration." I don't think they're Zynga-style outright cloners, but the two companies do seem similar in many ways, and look where Zynga is now. (Seriously, look, like send out a search party for them).
King has grown fat off the ability to effective monetize classics by forcing players to pay for extra lives and to skip timegates. It's worked for a good long while, and with the amount of revenue they bring in, I can't even say that the $5.9B valuation is necessarily crazy. But it is disappointing all the same that King is now a part of the biggest deal in gaming history when it's never had a truly original thought in its head. That's a bad precedent for the industry, and rewarding a mobile giant for the practices that make the mobile games industry at large something of a creative wasteland.
I've reached out to King for comment on this piece.
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Throughout the game, players encounter different characters, such as other witches, monsters, and magical creatures. These characters provide help, advice, and sometimes hindrances to the player's progress. There are also various power-ups and boosters available that can be used to overcome difficult levels and achieve high scores.
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Week that was Oct 6th, 2023Candy Witch Saga features colorful graphics and enchanting backgrounds that immerse players in a magical world. The game also has a catchy soundtrack that adds to the overall experience. With hundreds of levels and regular updates, the game offers a lot of content and keeps players engaged for hours. The game is available for free on mobile devices, but it also offers in-app purchases for players who want to speed up their progress or obtain additional lives and power-ups. Candy Witch Saga has gained a considerable following and has become a popular choice for casual gamers and puzzle enthusiasts. Overall, Candy Witch Saga is a fun and addictive game that combines engaging gameplay with a charming magical theme. With its challenging levels, colorful graphics, and exciting power-ups, it offers hours of entertainment for players of all ages..
Reviews for "Unleash your sweet tooth with Candy Witch Saga"
1. Sarah - 1 star
I found Candy Witch Saga to be extremely dull and repetitive. The gameplay is very monotonous as it mostly involves matching candies and clearing the board. There are no exciting power-ups or special features to keep the game interesting. Additionally, the levels are extremely difficult to beat, and it often feels like the game is deliberately designed to make you spend money on boosters. Overall, I was disappointed with the lack of creativity and fun in Candy Witch Saga.
2. Michael - 2 stars
I had high hopes for Candy Witch Saga, but it turned out to be a major letdown. The graphics are outdated and the game lacks any kind of storyline. The levels are also unnecessarily difficult, making it frustrating and not enjoyable to play. Furthermore, the constant pop-up ads and prompts to make in-app purchases are intrusive and disruptive. It's clear that the developers are more interested in making money than providing an entertaining gaming experience. I would not recommend Candy Witch Saga to anyone looking for a good puzzle game.
3. Emily - 2 stars
Candy Witch Saga is a mediocre puzzle game at best. The gameplay is repetitive and quickly becomes boring. The levels are incredibly challenging, to the point where it feels impossible to progress without spending real money on power-ups. The game also constantly bombards players with ads, which is annoying and takes away from the overall experience. There are much better puzzle games available that offer more creativity, variety, and enjoyable gameplay. I would not recommend wasting your time on Candy Witch Saga.
4. David - 1 star
Candy Witch Saga is a complete waste of time and money. The levels are designed to be extremely difficult, forcing players to purchase boosters and additional lives to progress. The constant bombardment of ads is also frustrating. Additionally, the game lacks any innovation or unique features that would set it apart from other similar puzzle games. Overall, Candy Witch Saga is a lackluster and uninteresting game that I would not recommend to anyone.
5. Jessica - 2 stars
I was excited to try Candy Witch Saga, but it turned out to be a disappointment. The gameplay is repetitive and lacks challenge or excitement. The graphics and design are also outdated, making the game visually unappealing. Furthermore, the constant prompts to make in-app purchases and the high difficulty level of the levels make it feel like the developers are more interested in making money than creating an enjoyable gaming experience. I would not recommend Candy Witch Saga to anyone looking for a fun and engaging puzzle game.