Nice presentation, unique but shallow gameplay – Faif Review

I am rounding up what would be a 2 star review to 3 stars, because while I personally regret buying this game, I can imagine that some people might enjoy it, it has a creative concept, and features a nice presentation. Those good points aside, after about an hour of playing and hoping that it would become more interesting, I found this game to be shallow, unbalanced, and frustrating. There is not much to accomplish; you inevitably die (rouge-like style), and there is little you carry over after death to help you on your next play through. My main problem is with the gameplay, which I'll explain, because it is vague in the app description: you pick any 5 connected tiles, and then a "spinner" starts and lands on 1 of those tiles, determining what you actually get; Sword = 1 damage to enemy per skull in your hand. Skull = 1 damage on self. Heart = 1 life. Diamond = 1$ per diamond in your hand. Ok, that sounds interesting, but the problem is that in order to do damage, your must risk hurting yourself, and the dice rolls seem quite unbalanced in the enemies' favor. You would think that a safe hand to score damage would consist of 1 skull and 4 swords (80% hit chance), or a slightly more risky (but still in your favor) 2 skulls and 3 swords (60% hit chance), but for some reason the dice rolls seem to constantly defy the mathematical odds and go in the CPU's favor. And remember, when you miss swords and roll a skull, not only do you not score damage, but you also take 1 damage from a life pool of 5 hearts that doesn't replenish between rounds, meaning the game can be over after 2-3 unfavorable rolls no matter what your strategy... And, unlike skulls and diamonds, getting a heart only nets 1 life regardless of how many are in your hand, which makes any attempts at healing completely futile. After almost an hour of watching the computer defy the odds with ill-conceived hands that almost always seem to go in their favor, I am deleting this app, and would not recommend it unless you enjoy unbalanced games of chance with little objective.
Review by xRsIVx on Faif.