It takes a good idea to be fun, and Jelly Troops was exactly that… I mean both things here, fun and a good idea. Not trying to be a stick-in-the-mud here… You genuinely enjoy the time spent with Jelly Troops. Although match-making could have been better.
Developed by Nukenin and published by Phoenixx Inc., Jelly Troops is a unique take on PVP capture the flag multiplayer gameplay by throwing the concept of minions into the mix.
Normally, the number of people playing a game and the fame, or lack thereof, should not affect how the game feels, but the situation is a little different for Jelly Troops. Being a multiplayer-focused game with an interesting gameplay mechanic, it was disappointing to spend most of my time searching for people to play the game with.
Jelly Slavery
Jelly Troops sounds simple as a game, but it gets very intense as you progress.
You play as a magician who can summon little Jelly minions by absorbing certain crystals. Your opponent, another magician with the same power, spawns on the other side of the map.
The goal is to collect three mini flags from the map or one large flag from your opponent’s spawn point.
How is it done? Well, that is where the game gets fun.
As you play, you do a few things: you summon your jelly slaves and order them to go and collect orbs… They must grab the orb and bring it back home. Once they reach home, the orbs transform into more slaves… You can then order them to go and collect more orbs…
While the size of the orb varies, the number of slaves sent increases the speed of extraction. But that is not all, as the Jelly Troops manage to create some obstacles and a chance of strategy to spice up the game.
Obstacles at Play
There are a few things to take note of as you play:
Giant Rock Monsters
Depending on the size and shape of the map, there are large rock creatures littered around that will attack your slaves and kill them if they come near. These monsters chase you around the map constantly and force you to outwit them many times.
The only way to avoid getting chased is to not run near them, forcing you to slow down the speed of your success and rethink your entire route every few seconds under pressure.
Great Wall of Jelly
At every corner and every turn of the map, you are given the option to spend your Jelly slaves to build walls that could block both the path of the Rock monster and hold off your opponent.
Creating these walls costs a certain number of jelly slaves, so you have to be smart about when creating a wall is worth the loss.
Combining all these different aspects of Jelly Troop and using your own mind for strategy makes this game pop out much more than it should.
Good Jelly, Bad Jelly
You can see the thought behind it, the little systems feed into each other, and that’s what makes it sting that it’s mostly empty lobbies right now.
This is one of those games that makes you wish more people were playing it. It’s clever, weirdly intense, and surprisingly easy to lose time in once a match finally starts.
It’s got brains, it’s got personality, and it definitely has enough jelly to go around..
Not perfect, but I’d still recommend it. Jelly Troops has a good idea, a good loop, and just enough charm to make the wait times worth it.
