Smash Hit
Smash Hit | |
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Developer(s) | Mediocre |
Publisher(s) | Mediocre |
Designer(s) | Henrik Johansson |
Programmer(s) | Dennis Gustafsson |
Artist(s) | Henrik Johansson |
Composer(s) | Douglas Holmquist |
Platform(s) | |
Release | 6 March 2014 |
Genre(s) | Rail shooter |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Smash Hit is a 2014 rail shooter developed and published by the Swedish indie game studio Mediocre. In the game, the player takes a first-person perspective and has to shoot metal balls to destroy glass obstacles and beat its 11 levels. After completion, the player unlocks the "endless mode", an infinitely repeated level that ends when the player is out of balls. The game also features a one-time in-game purchase, allowing the player to start from any checkpoint.
The game's development began in 2012, and it was released for free on iOS and Android on 6 March 2014. A virtual reality adaptation of the game was released in 2015. Smash Hit received positive reviews; reviewers praised its physics, graphics, music, and sound effects. After Mediocre closed in 2017, Smash Hit programmer Dennis Gustafsson and composer Douglas Holmquist worked on the video game Teardown, which incorporated unused sounds from Smash Hit.
Gameplay
[edit]![Metal balls smashing a glass pane in Smash Hit](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/41/Smash_Hit_gameplay.png/220px-Smash_Hit_gameplay.png)
Smash Hit is a first-person rail shooter in which the player travels forward at a constant speed, accompanied by dynamic music that changes as the player advances.[1][2] The player must shoot metal balls to destroy glass obstacles while aiming carefully, as the game ends when the limited ammunition runs out.[1][3] Any collision with an obstacle results in the loss of ten balls.[1] Smash Hit uses 3D graphics, and has been categorised as an action and puzzle game.[4][5][6]
The player can also shoot at crystals, which give the player a certain number of balls depending on the crystal's shape.[1][7] Smash Hit also has a combo mechanic; smashing a consecutive sequence of crystals will grant the player an extra ball to shoot at once while only losing one ball from their ammunition. The player can shoot up to five balls at once.[1][8][9] Missing a crystal or sustaining damage ends the combo and resets the player's rate of fire to the baseline one ball.[8][10] The player can also gather power-ups and activate them for a certain amount of time.[5] Each power-up gives a special effect when activated, such as giving the player a limitless supply of balls, making all their balls explosive, or slowing down the time.[3][11]
Smash Hit contains a total of 11 checkpoints, each with its own unique appearance.[8][11] As the game progresses, the levels become harder in difficulty.[1][12] After completing all 11 stages, the player enters the "endless mode", a stage which is repeated infinitely until the player is out of balls.[8] The game does not count the player's score, but the distance covered.[9] By default, the player starts at the beginning of each game; however, a one-time in-game purchase allows the player to start from any unlocked checkpoint, making it a freemium game.[1][13][14] The purchase also allows the player to sync progress via their cloud system, such as iCloud.[2][13]
After its release, Smash Hit introduced different game modes, including a training mode as well as two multiplayer modes: versus, with two players competing on the same device, and cooperative, with two players completing the game together on the same device.[15][16]
Development and release
[edit]Smash Hit was developed and published by the Swedish indie game[17] studio Mediocre, co-founded by Dennis Gustafsson and Henrik Johansson.[1][10] Gustafsson programmed the game, while Johansson was its artist and level designer.[18] Douglas Holmquist composed the game's soundtrack and its sound effects.[18][19]
Gustafsson and Johansson began developing the game in 2012, while Holmquist joined the team in January 2013. Mediocre tasked Holmquist with creating an electronic soundtrack and listed Gold Panda's Fifth Ave, Shigeto's Look at all the Smiling Faces, and Robot Koch's Water and Solutions as reference tracks for the game's soundtrack. Holmquist stated that Smash Hit was "the most challenging of all the games" on which he worked with Mediocre.[19] The developers announced the game to the public in November 2013.[20] Gustafsson referred to Smash Hit as Medicore's "most ambitious project to date" in December 2013.[21]
Smash Hit was released for free on iOS and Android on 6 March 2014.[1][22] The game's music initially had 33 tracks, with Holmquist composing seven more in May 2014 and three after the introduction of new game modes.[19] The game has continued receiving updates since its initial release in 2014.[23][24]
Reception
[edit]Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 80/100[25] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Gamezebo | 4/5[7] |
MacLife | 4/5[9] |
Pocket Gamer | 3/5[11] |
TouchArcade | 4.5/5[3] |
148Apps | 4.5/5[13] |
Common Sense Media | 5/5[4] |
AppleNApps | 4.5/5[8] |
AppSpy | 4/5[23] |
Multiplayer.it | 8/10[5] |
Southern Daily Echo | 8/10[26] |
Smash Hit has received "generally favourable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[25] Common Sense Media praised the game as "a therapeutic experience" and "utterly hypnotising".[4] Pocket Gamer named Smash Hit as one of the hardest mobile video games.[6]
The game's physics were praised by reviewers.[a] They have, however, commented that the game does not offer much beyond its shooting mechanics, which Tommaso Pugliese of Multiplayer.it considered a negative aspect of the game.[5][11] Trevor Sheridan of AppleNApps said that the game stands by its name, but he underlined the game's difficulty when moving through narrow spaces.[8] Writing for Gamezebo, Nadia Oxford also stated that the player's hitbox could be hard to track down.[7] Harry Slater of Pocket Gamer saw the game as entertaining, but said that it contains "moments that'll make you curse".[11] According to Alex Beech of AppSpy, the checkpoint system ultimately undermined the endless mode scoreboard idea.[23] Writing for MacLife, Andrew Hayward added that initial checkpoints could be toiling to players without the in-game purchase when constantly replaying the game.[9]
Reviewers also commended the game's visuals, music, and sound effects.[b] Michelle Starr of CNET described the glass-shattering effect as "brilliant", while Pugliese viewed them as detailed and comprehensive.[1][5] Hayward commended the game's minimalistic looks, as well as glass-shattering effects.[9] Starr also said that the game's graphics and mechanics were refined in contrast to Mediocre's previous games, such as Sprinkle and Granny Smith.[1] Chris Carter of TouchArcade hailed the game's graphics as "straight out of a mythical land", while Sheridan regarded them as ultra-modern, complimenting the game's gradients and fog textures.[3][8][27] Charlie Miller of 148Apps saw the shattering sounds as "satisfying" while describing the game's music as fitting its ambience.[13] Pugliese and the Southern Daily Echo noted that the game's music was well adapted to its graphics.[5][26]
Smash Hit was the most downloaded video game on iOS in March 2014, while on Android devices, it was the sixth most downloaded video game.[17][28] According to Mediocre, Smash Hit was downloaded more than 100 million times by October 2015.[10]
Accolades
[edit]CNET and Apple Inc. rated Smash Hit as one of the best mobile video games of 2014.[29][30] Smash Hit received honourable mentions for the Independent Games Festival's 2015 Main Competition.[31]
Legacy
[edit]Mediocre released an adaptation of the game for Samsung Gear VR, titled Smash Hit VR, for free in 2015.[32][33] "We had envisioned a VR version even before the mobile release, and when the Gear VR started to gain some traction we felt it was a good fit", Gustafsson commented. Gustafsson also revealed that levels had to be somewhat redesigned due to the revamped shooting system. Ian Hamilton of UploadVR said that the virtual reality adaptation of the game is "a great showpiece for family and friends as an introduction to virtual reality".[10] The game was also later released for Oculus Rift and Oculus Go headsets.[34][35] Scholars Margherita Antona and Constantine Stephanidis reported that no differences in difficulty were seen between the mobile and virtual reality versions of Smash Hit.[36]
Mediocre worked on another game involving balls, PinOut, which was released in October 2016.[37][38] The studio was closed in 2017, after which Gustafsson began working on creating a game using destructible environments with voxels.[39] He hired Mediocre's additional designer, Emil Bengtsson, to work on his Teardown game.[40] Like Smash Hit, the gameplay of Teardown was modelled around the game's technology, in this case, destructive voxel technology.[41] Teardown was released in 2022.[42] Holmquist composed its music and sound effects; he used placeholder sounds from Smash Hit that were ultimately unused in the game.[43]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Starr, Michelle (11 March 2014). "Smash Hit brings the thrill of destruction". CNET. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
- ^ a b Savov, Vlad (7 March 2014). "'Smash Hit' for iOS and Android turns the act of destruction into art". The Verge. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Carter, Chris (27 March 2014). "Smash Hit Review – Madness with Marbles". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d Morris, Chris. "Smash Hit". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Pugliese, Tommaso (15 March 2014). "Palle d'acciaio" [Steel Balls]. Multiplayer.it (in Italian). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b Van Oirschot, Allison (26 March 2023). "Top 10 hardest mobile games". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c Oxford, Nadia (24 March 2014). "Smash Hit Review". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Sheridan, Trevor (7 March 2014). "Smash Hit Review – Living Up To Its Name, Smashingly". AppleNApps. Archived from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Hayward, Andrew (6 March 2014). "Smash Hit Review". MacLife. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d Hamilton, Ian (9 October 2015). "Mobile success 'Smash Hit' is even better in VR". UploadVR. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Slater, Harry (11 March 2014). "Smash Hit". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b Nichols, Scott (18 March 2014). "Mobile reviews: Surgeon Simulator, Smash Hit, The Perils of Man". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Miller, Charlie (11 March 2014). "Smash Hit Review". 148Apps. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Thomas, Lucas M. (7 March 2014). "App Store Update: March 7". IGN. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Three New Game Modes Released!". Mediocre. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "Smash Hit multiplayer game modes released". Mediocre. 27 November 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b Takahashi, Dean (30 April 2014). "Supercell, GungHo, King dominate March mobile game revenue. What else is new? (Lots)". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b Medicore (6 March 2014). Smash Hit (iOS). Mediocre. Scene: Credits.
- ^ a b c Holmquist, Douglas (19 September 2014). "Writing the music for Smash Hit". Game Developer. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Announcing Smash Hit". Mediocre. 1 November 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
- ^ Priestman, Chris (6 December 2013). "Get ready to create beautiful destruction in ambient physics-based action game Smash Hit". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "Reviews: Smash Hit, Castlevania, Calculords and Threes!". The New York Times. 18 March 2014. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2017.
- ^ a b c d Beech, Alex (11 March 2014). "Smash Hit Review". AppSpy. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Mundy, Jon (3 October 2023). "Top 25 best endless runner games for Android phones and tablets". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Smash Hit". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Smash hit on iOS". Southern Daily Echo. 11 August 2014. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
- ^ Sheridan, Trevor (6 March 2014). "'N Action Video: Smash Hit – Offering Gorgeous Destruction". AppleNApps. Archived from the original on 6 August 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ "App Annie Index: Games – Smash Hit Lives Up to Its Name". App Annie. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 August 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Starr, Michelle (21 December 2014). "Best mobile games of 2014". CNET. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Alex (8 December 2014). "Apple Says These Are the Best Apps of 2014". Time. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Hall, Charlie (7 January 2015). "IGF announces the 2015 Main Competition finalists". Polygon. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Suckley, Matt (1 December 2015). "Mediocre's Henrik Johansson on not worrying about Asia, keeping faith in premium, and shunning indie elitism". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Priestman, Chris (25 September 2015). "Have a look at the range of games heading to Samsung Gear VR". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ "Oculus Rift is taking Minecraft and classic games to a whole new level". TechRadar. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Hamilton, Ian (8 May 2018). "Smash Hit: One of Gear VR's Best Games Comes To Oculus Go". UploadVR. Archived from the original on 19 August 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Antona, Margherita; Stephanidis, Constantine (9 July 2018). Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction. Virtual, Augmented, and Intelligent Environments. Springer. p. 95. ISBN 9783319920528.
- ^ Amaris, Lian (2 November 2016). "PinOut Review: Play This Silver Ball". Gamezebo. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Funnell, Rob (27 October 2016). "Endless Neon Pinball Game 'PinOut' From the Developers of 'Smash Hit' Is Finally Available Worldwide". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Lee, Patrick (10 September 2019). "Looking Into the Future of Game Physics with an Indie Dev at Its Forefront". The Escapist. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Wiltshire, Alex (6 January 2021). "How Teardown Made a Great Game From Destruction". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 6 January 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Gustafsson, Dennis (5 November 2020). "Teardown Design Notes". Voxagon. Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Volk, Pete (5 April 2022). "Destruction simulator Teardown smashes its way to a full release this month". Polygon. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Holmquist, Douglas (27 November 2020). "Teardown". Holmquist Tonalitet. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2024.