ZeptoLab's Mobile Cash Cow | Cut the Rope

[Music] last year I dabbled into Disney interactives Where's My Water released in September of 2011. one year before that however Indie Studio zeptolab released the iconic Cut the Rope Cut the Rope or more specifically this little character omnom is a global brand zeptolab in the same vein as Rovio when it struck gold with Angry Birds has taken this character and just slapped it on anything it can this green guy is the perfect bright colorful character that children eat up I'm surprised there hasn't been a mascot horror game based on him have we had any mascot horror games with the primary marketing color being green never never never never cartoon of ban ban more like Garten of sucks Deez Nuts like where's my water I want to start by analyzing the original Cut the Rope where all of this derives from and how it holds up today with a 2023 perspective the original Cut the Rope established the gameplay Loop that most future games would follow this is a puzzle game where you must direct the bright colorful candy over to omnom you do this by interacting with the stage elements within each level this can be as simple as cutting ropes you know as the title suggests blowing cushions bubbles spikes you know stage gimmicks slash hazards each level is simple in nature and can be completed within a matter of a minute if not seconds the quick rapid fire approach is perfect for a mobile experience opening up the app and plowing through a few levels with the easy and intuitive control system is one of the many reasons this game skyrocketed to the top of the App Store during its initial launch throughout 2010 and Beyond zepto lab continued adding more content to the original Cut the Rope in addition to releasing lots and lots of sequels but zeptolab's release strategy is a little weird as they release sequels while still updating their older titles this might seem like a nice gesture to players who have it entirely switched over to the new games yet until you realize that the first two Cut the Rope sequels Cut the Rope Experiments and Cut the Rope time Travel reused many of the same assets and had the same art style as the first game these games simply added new mechanics Loosely Under the Umbrella of science experiments and time travel but we will talk about that a little more in detail later first I want to discuss the original Cut the Rope in more detail particularly by going over each set of levels or boxes as the game labels them and discuss my thoughts replaying Cut the Rope brought on a new sense of nostalgia yet Intrigue many people fondly remember playing the games's initial boxes the cardboard fabric foil and gift boxes these boxes launch with the game but many of the following boxes were entirely obscure to me coming out years after the game's 2010 launch that completely slipped under the rug for me and I imagine for a lot of other people and just to make it a little more interesting I'll write each box on a scale of one to seven smug omnoms y7 well why are you even asking this question hmm the cardboard box is the first box and resembles a tutorial world the level design is all fundamentals and introduces the player to cutting ropes avoiding spikes and using bubbles to ascend the candy to the Holy Land it also gets the player used to collecting all the stars similar to literally any other mobile game released around this time Cut the Rope has a star system unlike Angry Birds which is based on the score you receive per level the stars and cut the rope are baked into the level design there are plenty of levels you could easily complete with little to no effort but the fun in this game derives from both completing each level and figuring out how to navigate the candy to collect all the stars the cardboard box is straightforward but a fun way to start the game 5 out of seven the fabric box introduces cushions it cut the rope staple one of the most iconic parts of this game the cushions add a range of Versatility to the level design pressing on the cushions pushes the candy in the direction it's facing they do a great job building levels around it here and in future boxes another addition to this box is the spider the spider almost acts as a time limit and that when it connects to the Rope the candy is attached to it'll slowly crawl toward the candy it's nothing too crazy but it's a fun addition yet another inclusion is the introduction of time Stars these Stars can only be collected within a certain time limit and these don't really work for me they they just make you complete the level faster and it almost seems like a half attempt at a speed run clear condition gimmick that doesn't exist in this game 6 out of seven the foil box introduces rope hooks they're basically sliders that the Rope is attached to they make the level design more unique and get a lot of use in later boxes elements get mixed and matched in later Boxes by the way the fabric box introduces a passive gimmick but the broader use of it across the game improves all levels 5 out of seven the magic box introduces magician hats this mechanic is straight up fun the candy can travel through the different hats allowing for some wacky level design in addition the speed at which the candy enters the Hat affects how it'll exit the Hat as the velocity the candy enters through the Hat carries over to the other side making it a little more strategic than one might think seven out of seven the Valentine Box introduces um split candies each level is goal is to attach the two back together to form one big candy this one isn't really that fun it pairs well with the Valentine's Day theme but I would have preferred if they included maybe a girl omnom hold up having to pair the two candies can feel really janky and sometimes almost luck based because if they don't touch exactly then oh well adding Wings in the background where omnom sits was a nice Touch 3.5 out of seven and that was season one why are they split up into different seasons I don't really know now for Seasons two and three I'm going to Rapid Fire through them because I can tell you are reaching to click off this video to get your daily dopamine Boost from Tick Tock and there isn't too much to say in great detail [Music] s he probably should be Cameron please the toy box introduces platforms this isn't a bad mechanic but it doesn't really stand up well on its own it works more as a supplemental addition rather than making it the centerpiece of a whole box four out of seven the gift box introduces a wheel this is a solid inclusion despite how basic it might seem but they barely use it even in this box it's a shame 2.5 out of 7 but only because the wheel doesn't show up at all the cosmic box introduces reversing gravity and oh no thank you this box I thought was easily the hardest and on most levels I felt like I just cheesed my way through or maybe I beat all the levels in the intended way and they were all just really weird I don't know one out of seven the toolbox introduces saws this is cool they effectively act like spikes but you can turn them 90 degrees Algebra 1 fans this is going to be a field day for you 4.5 out of 7. the B box introduces just take a guess this box seems like a precursor to omnom's friends found in Cut the Rope too I mean bees are cool 4 out of seven and that was season two not as good as season one but let's see if season three can pick up the pace hmm set the lab hi how's it going are you really going to put a paywall on content with the game already filled with ads and micro transactions wait ads what are you talking about Dana raid I don't see no ads oh no that's not good Dana raid I see what you are talking about I find there's this Trend in Mobile game companies where they've got some classic game that isn't being supported anymore and the milk has much money out of it as possible if some poor sep like I don't know me decides to download and play it they're just going to have to be treated with a barrage of ads ads can trigger when you complete levels or even when you press the restart button yes the restart button I shall restart your game by playing an ad I've addressed this argument before but to those who say just turn off the Wi-Fi then you won't get added it's not a good argument because turning off the Wi-Fi is putting myself in an extremely inconvenient situation I shouldn't have to force myself into and this doesn't even mention that zetto lab has just decided to add a microtransactions because sure there are power-ups you can use that don't offend me in any way as well I might sound like a broken record if you don't like them then don't use them though purchasable hints in the age of the internet have got to be one of the biggest wastes of money I've seen in a while if that doesn't entice you is that the lab also offers a paid subscription service that applies to all of their Cut the Rope games is that the lab let's talk the perks of buying such a subscription include no additional payments I never knew I had to pay for the guarantee I wouldn't have to pay again you get no ads which I mean if you're paying monthly I'd expect that to be in here and finally you get some daily bonuses which ultimately equates to free power-ups every day this will set you back 10 a month or 120 a year I don't even have the energy to be mad I made fun of bethesda's Fallout first membership program but this is taken to another level considering the original is already over a decade old and many of the old games in this series are nearing that Milestone this by all means looks incredibly desperate and greedy to charge such a high asking price for basically nothing this all goes back to charging money to access the season 3 content and cut the rope now the asterisk is that you can technically unlock the content by collecting every single star in all the other boxes that came before and has such a busy man who takes weeks just to get a video about a decade-old mobile game out I simply do not have time so I shall let my bank account suffer for Content where were we alright season three starts with the DJ box which introduces rotating records this is a really unique concept that they fully develop not only do the contents on the record rotate which is what the obvious gimmick would be however when records touch you can transfer objects from one record to another 5.5 out of 7. the Spooky Box introduces The Ghost and the change here is that the ghost can transform into different objects such as bounce platforms or bubbles which means this is technically not adding much sometimes they get creative with the levels where you'll need both objects the ghost can turn into but you just have to switch to the right thing you need and then that's it three out of seven the steam box adds um steam I mean yup I am watching steam right now however I feel as though this doesn't really add that much we already have plenty of gameplay additions that move the candy in various ways and the steam here almost seems like a cushion that you can't turn off I know there's a little more to it but that's all I'm going to leave with you three out of seven the lantern box introduces Chinese inspired paper lanterns where the candy can enter one and can be disposed of or dropped from any other lantern this is one of the most unique ideas the whole game offers and it's super fun the whole way through despite being a season 3 Box it wasn't that hard but an enjoyable one six out of seven the cheese box introduces a mouse hell yeah this was fun now to be fair is this basically the lantern gimmick except the mouse changes location and therefore you need to time things according to where its current location is yes but this is still Superior seven out of seven the pillow box introduces sleepy time for omnom I.E a light must be by om Noms for him to eat the candy this also goes for the Stars throughout each level and oh ho is this not a fun set of levels to play this is basically the Valentine Box put on steroids two out of seven and finally the mechanical box introduces conveyor belts it's cool this is one of the better ways a mechanic combines other Mechanics for being the final box they do a good job making this feel like the final set of levels a sort of culmination of everything that has been introduced to the player 4.5 out of 7. and with that we have gone over everything the original Cut the Rope has to offer quite a lengthy package though do remember that all of this content came as updates through the years the mechanical box for instance was the last piece of content the original Cut the Rope received in March of 2015. they were updating Cut the Rope Cut the Rope Experiments Cut the Rope time Travel and even release the official sequel back in late 2013 Cut the Rope too oh wait we're gonna talk about Cut the Rope 2 now so despite the heavy plate and workloads that the lab gave themselves in late 2013 they were hyping up the soon to release Cut the Rope too this is an interesting case study as this game shares many similarities to how Where's My Water upgraded and formed its sequel for one the apparent change is the improved Graphics we've got smooth animations more expressive facial expressions a brighter color palette all of that in addition they did some design tweaks to give omnom a bit of an uplift but unlike swampy I like the more updated design he looks quite nice but these comparisons go much deeper than surface level gameplay wise it follows a very similar formula to the original Cut the Rope you have to direct the candy to omnom and collect Stars the gimmick in this game is the introduction of om noms's friends which to be honest feels like an attempt to expand both the in-game universe and find a way to make more toys their inclusion is cool like it's kind of cool I guess these little guys are pretty cute and you know marketable what's more important for today's discussion is the level progression each level contains multiple challenges or variations of the same level that sounds like oh I don't know where's my water too and Cut the Rope 2 you'll get various challenges such as collecting a certain amount of fruit collecting all the stars in a specific time limit and not using any of omnoms as friends and yeah it runs into the same problem as Where's My Water too there aren't enough very variations and the types of challenges they offer and they get old really fast and don't worry the game will gatekeeper progression if you don't do enough of these challenges so better get on that I wouldn't mind this so much actually that's a lie I kind of hate everything about this but the big picture is that the level design takes a huge hit I don't know if this is because of om nam's friends or because they have to design levels with the challenges in mind but there is a lack of emphasis put on the levels themselves they just feel kinda bad I don't know how to describe it but unlike the original where I was able to play through the game even in Long play sessions that cannot be said for this one I hated playing this game it felt so repetitive and boring continuing on the bandwagon of Where's My Water 2 comparisons there's a level map where after each level you have to get booted back onto the map and boy does this kill the pacing the same thing happens and where's my water too unlike both the original games where you can simply continue to the next level instantly nope here you have to watch the same little animations repeatedly so zepto lab thought how can we make this game even worse for the player Energy System yippee and before you say aha the comparison to Where's My Water 2 has to end here because there is no energy system in that game well there used to be one until they removed it because of heavy backlash so L plus ratio plus get off Discord the unique thing about this Energy System is that it does not go down after completing each level or after you lose but it goes down after every restart I didn't think I'd ever be punished for a restart in a video game especially a puzzle game is this dumb yes so like that's Cut the Rope too and kind of sucks it takes all the fun out of the original and becomes a shallow generic mobile game and that's really where the Cut the Rope brand is just shallow and Bland omnom has his own show called omnom stories and they're up to season 25. the thing thing is that I really like the art style and while yes it's for young children it's kind of cool and after Cut the Rope Magic a game that looks absolutely beautiful by the way the games just kind of stopped it wouldn't be until 2019 to get our next game omna merge that with 2020's omnom run you know similar to every other endless Runner game on the App Store everything about the brand seems kind of corporate the most recent thing they've released is Cut the Rope remastered which is this weird remake or condensed retelling of all the Cut the Rope games but now in 3D which looks really weird but for me I don't really care what they do with it now because those few original Cut the Rope experiences will live on forever Cut the Rope may never hit the same Peak it once had but the creativity and Ingenuity it brought to the mobile game scene cannot be understated he's bisexual [Music] [Music] foreign

Channel: Danerade

Views: 108,014

Keywords: Danerade, Danerade pvz, pvz 3, cut the rope, cut the rope animation, om nom stories, cut the rope experiements, cut the rope time travel, cut the rope 2, cut the rope magic, om nom merge, om nom run

Id: Z0ZSHsRerK4

Length: 18min 52sec (1132 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 03 2023