Zombieland: Double Tapper is a new release that comes from Sony Pictures, and it's a tie-in product for the Zombieland: Double Tap movie coming to theatres on the 18th. Like most branded titles, this is a free-to-play game, and it's essentially an idle tapper that contains gacha mechanics. So you better believe you can expect heavy monetization that's tied to the game's many loot boxes and currencies, all wrapped up in a title that serves as an advertisement for a movie. That's right. Sony would like everyone to sink money into an advertisement disguised as a game, which just about sums up the current state of F2P mobile gaming.

Now, you may be asking yourself, is the game any fun, and to that, I can say it passes the time, but that's about it. I wouldn't go so far to say that I enjoyed the game, but that's because it's barely a game. The majority of your time will be spent in the title's menus as you shuffle from screen to screen, dealing with your notifications and upgrades. I find this rather annoying, and it makes the game feel like work, which is the exact opposite reason I choose to game.

More or less, you'll collect and build a team made up of the cast of the films, and of course, you'll have to upgrade their gear constantly. So not only does the game's loot boxes contain heroes to collect, but they also contain equipment and powerups, so you can expect an assault on your wallet from three fronts. Once you send your characters on missions is where the real meat of the gameplay is to be found, but all you'll do is tap on the screen to upgrade your heroes and to take down zombies. This mechanic falls flat rather quickly, though you can let the game idle, and it will play itself.

I suppose Zombieland: Double Tapper doesn't differ much from the many F2P idle games on the Play Store, though I can't say I'm a fan of any release that contains in-app purchases that range up to $99.99 per item, especially when they are shoved into a title that serves double-duty as an advertisement. It's also worth noting that there are two separate types of in-game currency in the game, where one is difficult to obtain while playing for free. I also don't enjoy the fact that there are three separate types of loot boxes (which can be obtained with one of the currencies that you can purchase outright in the store), or that you have to continually collect and upgrade heroes to advance, thus pushing players towards the ever-present loot boxes even more.

Zombieland: Double Tapper definitely has the advantage of name recognition, but really this is a game that plays just like all the rest. It's easy to tell it was built from the ground up to push players towards its monetization, and the lack of skill-based gameplay makes for a title best played when looking to waste short amounts of time. Endlessly tapping on the screen does not a game make, and with the constant assault of notifications that take you out of the gameplay, this is a difficult title to spend large amounts of time with. Sure, if you enjoy these mechanics, then you'll probably have fun with this release, but for those that are looking for a challenge, you'll have to look elsewhere. Zombieland: Double Tapper is a casual game through and through, and in my opinion, it's one worth skipping.

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