Overview
Super Bit Dash is a slick 8-bit game that has you swiping and dashing your way through retro stages in a very unique way. One of the games taglines is “Swipe to Dash! Dash to Survive!” and after playing Super Bit Dash for hours, I’d say the Dash to Survive part fits the game to a tee…
Gameplay & Features
One of the things that’s hard to pull off on touchscreen games is the control setup. That’s not the case with Super Bit Dash as Fakepup’s control scheme really makes the game. As you move through the game you have to “dash” 90% of the time; this is done by swiping up, down, left or right. You can only dash if you have coins, but can jump by tapping if you’re out or want to reserve some swipes. Danger comes in the form of spikes, crushing blocks, falling, spiky moving things, and being crushed by the screen if you fall to far behind the constantly progressing level. There is a tutorial level in the main menu, and I’d recommend giving that a run before jumping headfirst into the game.
The levels of Super Bit Dash are as unique as the gameplay as small rooms are randomly assembled and stitched together to keep things going which definitely keeps the game fresh. There are two modes of play with Classic and Endless mode both of which offer gamers plenty of challenges. Classic mode chooses 20 rooms at random and puts them together to make a course. You’ll earn an extra life for every 100 coins you collect, and you’ll need them as seems like it’s going to be pretty tough to clear all 20 rooms. There’s a progress bar to check your status as you go and as surprise at the end although I’ve never made it that far. Endless mode on the other hand lets you try your hand at all the rooms on easy or hard difficulty with only one life. Super Bit Dash lets you keep track of your score with Openfeint which also gives you 10 tricky achievements to shoot for like Greedy Midas or Touching Strangers.
Those shiny 8-bit coins you see lying about also serve another purpose in the game which is to let you buy cool stuff from the store. The store has extra Heroes, Powerups, and Coins for sale; the selection is awesome and the prices on everything is (including extra coins) is very good. The characters are what you’ll want to go for first and you can choose from 8-bit Yodelers, Lumberjacks, Santa, Pablo, Pierre, Dead Fred, Moon Man, and Wheelie. The powerups are good as well with help in the form of extra starting lives, coin magnets, and extra coin slots.
Last but not least you’ve got the in-app purchasing section for buying extra coins that’s become standard in free games. I’m happy to say that Fakepup did it right and put very reasonable prices on their extra coins. Their highest package of 170,000 coins is only 5.99 and their mid-range one is $2.99 for 64,000. Considering that you earn coins for playing, either of those packages (depending on how much you play) can unlock anything you’d want in the game. There’s also the option to get free coins if you’re a penny pincher and can’t afford the extras.
Verdict
As a child of the 80s/90s and a fan of retro games I was excited to check out Super Bit Dash, and was not disappointed in the least when I fired it up. I like everything about the game from the cool 8-bit graphics to the retro soundtrack and quirky characters like the Yodeler. It’s also a game with great replay value as you never know what room you’re going to get or what order they’re coming in. Fakepup did an awesome job with Super Bit Dash, and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for gamers next. I highly recommend Super Bit Dash, and you can grab it for free in the Android market.