Don’t you love RPG’s? The way numbers fly out of characters when you hit them with an axe? Stealing loot from a mythical creature you just defeated? Wizards? All are well-known staples in the RPG genre. However, the genre tends to be a bit too complicated for some. The daunting task of spending 100 hours staring at the same screen is a turnoff for some people. As it turns out, they’d rather stare at other screens instead. Well, Clicker Heroes for iOS is here to fix that problem. Does it create the perfectly simple RPG for the casual audience? I’m not sure yet. I wrote this intro before playing the game.

The Basics

Clicker Heroes mixes two major things within the RPG genre: wacky-looking beasts and leveling up. And collecting lots and lots of cash. The basic idea is to keep defeating monster after monster to level up and gain more loot – allowing you to summon some help in your anti-monster crusade. I do just have one question from moral standpoint. What did the monsters ever do to us?

The Gameplay

When I said that Clicker Heroes is a simplified take on the RPG genre, I may have understated things just a bit. You see, Clicker Heroes does away with all the complex menus and spells and choices. Instead, all you’ll be doing is tapping. Tapping. Tapping. Every time you tap the monster on screen, damage is done. The quicker you do it, the quicker they are defeated and the next monster appears. No adventuring, no quests. just tapping away. Shouldn’t this be called Tapper Heroes?

The Problems

I must say I had a few issues with this game. Well, you could probably tell that by the fact this section is called “The Problems”. First off, tapping the screen doesn’t take too long to get repetitive. There’s no strategies you can have, you’ll just be mindlessly tapping monsters. There’s also not really much incentive to defeat them in the first place. They can’t attack you. It’s really just shootin fish in a barrel. Or, in this games case, tapping mutant rats in a barrel.

The Bottom Line

Clicker Heroes has a noble cause: simplify the often over complicated world of swords, shields, and dragons. However, they may have overshot it just a bit. I can honestly say I’ve played children’s games that require more strategy than Clicker Heroes. Maybe if they threw in a few extra ways to plan your attacks, it would prove to be more of a challenge. Or if these poor monsters could defend themselves.