One of the main surprises of last month, according to App Annie, was the great success of the minimalistic arcade game Smashy Road: Wanted from the Netherlands RK Games.
Throughout October, the game topped the US gaming tops of the App Store and Google Play by downloads. Moreover, it became the most downloaded game in the world not under license (Need For Speed No Limits and Minions Paradise competed in the “overall ranking” for downloads).
Dynamics of the position of Smashy Road: Wanted in October in the top downloads (App Store, USA)
In November, the project is also doing well so far.
By the end of last week, the game remained in the Top 5 in terms of gaming installations in countries such as the USA, Canada, the UK and Australia.
According to App Annie experts, the game uses popular 8-bit graphics to stimulate downloads. As for the gameplay and retention, according to them, it is inspired by the first two parts of Grand Theft Auto.
In fact, there is no question of any 8-bit graphics. Visually, the game is a direct heir to Crossy Road (the game seems to be assembled from square cubes devoid of textures). The monetization of the game is also borrowed from the creation of Hipster Whale, in which, recall, the only thing you can spend game currency on is new types of characters that do not affect the gameplay in any way.
In Smashy Road: Wanted, instead of birds made up of cubes, there are cars. If a player wants to change a typewriter, he either collects the money scattered on the cards for a long time, or makes a payment, or – the most popular solution – watches several commercials.
As for the gameplay, here the game is conceptually closest to the “Chase” mode in Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, where the player needs to avoid falling into the clutches of the police.
In Russia, there are no indicators of the game.
A source: http://blog.appannie.com