Bloons TD 6

Bloons TD 6
Bloons TD 6 banner
Developer(s)	Ninja Kiwi
Publisher(s)	Ninja Kiwi
Series	Bloons Tower Defense
Engine	Unity[1]
Platform(s)	Android, iOS, Microsoft Windows, macOS
Release	Android, iOS June 13, 2018 Windows December 17, 2018 macOS March 13, 2020
Genre(s)	Tower defense
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Bloons TD 6 is a 2018 tower defense video game and the sixth game in the Bloons Tower Defense series, developed and published by Ninja Kiwi. It was first released in June 2018 for iOS and Android.^[2] The game was later ported onto Steam, first released on Microsoft Windows in December 2018 and later macOS in March 2020.

Gameplay[]

The player defending against oncoming Bloons.

The core gameplay of Bloons TD 6 is similar to other games in the Bloons Tower Defense series.^[3] As with other games of the series, Bloons TD 6 is a tower defense game. Bloons TD 6 utilizes 3D graphics in its gameplay, but it is played primarily in a 2D perspective.^[4]

In Bloons TD 6, the player creates a defense consisting of towers (referred as "Monkeys" in-game) to prevent enemy balloons (referred as "Bloons" in-game) from reaching the exit.^[5][3][6] Bloons spawn in different waves, separated by "rounds", and will travel along one or more indicated pathways towards their destined exit(s).^[7][8] Every round normally consists of a pre-determined set of Bloons, later spawning Bloons with special properties and behaviors that certain defenses may have a weakness to.^[7][8] Popping Bloons earns money, which can be used to buy additional towers or upgrade existing towers in order to strengthen the defense.^[3][4][9] Every type of tower and its upgrades play distinct roles for the defense,^[6][9][10] mostly with an offensive role. Most towers can affect Bloons by directly damaging them, slowing them down, or otherwise harm them, while some towers support other towers or produce income to boost the defense's capabilities.^[6][9]

Maps are chosen by the discretion of the player, starting off with the less difficult maps.^[5] Completing games on maps unlocks more difficult maps.^[5][3] The game retains many gamemodes from previous entries in the series, along with adding several new ones, such as "C.H.I.M.P.S.", a mode where most unlockable features are restricted.^[6][4]

Additional game mechanics are added in Bloons TD 6 that are absent in previous games. Special types of towers called "Heroes" automatically level up once placed, which makes them stronger as the game progresses, but the player may only place one chosen Hero per game.^[4] Heroes gain a set amount of experience points every round, which eventually levels them up automatically, or they can be manually levelled up with in-game cash.^[11] Towers of the same type can be merged into extremely expensive but extremely powerful versions of themselves called Paragons, combining the power of its constituent towers into a single strong tower.^[12] Certain maps contain obstacles that can prevent many towers from seeing or attacking over them.^[13][11]

Players can earn an in-game currency called "Monkey Money" that can be redeemed by completing games, allowing them to unlock additional features in the game.^[4] Another currency called "Monkey Knowledge Points" can be redeemed in an unlockable upgrades tree called "Monkey Knowledge", which unlocks unique upgrades that can be freely used in most game modes.^[6] Monkey Money can be used to unlock powers, new heroes, certain cosmetics, and unlock deeper Monkey Knowledge in conjunction with Monkey Knowledge Points.^[6] "Trophies" are a rare type of currency that can be redeemed in the Trophy Store to unlock special cosmetics not unlockable by Monkey Money,^[14] and are only obtainable by playing weekly events.^[8] Weekly events include Race Events,^[15] Odyssey Mode,^[16] and Boss Bloons.^[12]

Special game modes[]

On top of standard game modes, there are additional game modes that feature special rules not present in normal games. These modes include Primary Monkeys Only, Deflation, Military Monkeys Only, Reverse, Apopalypse, Magic Monkeys Only, Alternate Bloons Rounds, Double HP (Health) MOABs, Impoppable, Half Cash and CHIMPS, in increasing difficulty.^[8] Custom challenges can be created in Challenge Editor and played by any user using Challenge Browser.^[17] Weekly events can be played for further challenge by adding rules not present in ordinary games.^{[15][16][12][8]} Seasonal events also occur throughout the year and reward players for participation of such events.^[8]

Odyssey Mode is a special game mode where a set of towers and the chosen Hero are picked for the journey to beat a pre-determined number of different games under a restricted set of rules throughout and within each stage.^[16] Race Events work in a similar way to normal games, except the player has the choice to send rounds early to reach as fast of a time as possible.^[15] Boss Bloons can be played for a limited time as an option, and the event involves destroying a singular high-health airship amongst a non-stop crowd of ordinary bloons.^[12]

Co-Op Mode is a multiplayer game mode that is played with up to 4 players per game.^[9] Gameplay on Co-Op Mode remains mostly similar to the majority of single-player game modes in Bloons TD 6, except players can transfer money among each other to assist with the defense and the money earned throughout normal means is split between all players.^[9]

History[]

Bloons TD 6 was first announced on PRLog on March 28, 2017, and it was initially aimed to be released in 2017.^[18] According to the same article posted on PRLog, an "extensive balance and test period" was required due to the "immense scale and strategic depth of the game".^[19]

The game was released for the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store on June 14, 2018. A Microsoft Windows version was released through Steam on December 17, 2018.^[20] Unlike earlier games of the series, Bloons TD 6 is the first game in the Bloons Tower Defense series that does not have a Flash counterpart.^[21]

Reception[]

Bloons TD 6 received mostly positive reviews from critics. secretary Stephen Knightly praised the depth of the gameplay in Bloons TD 6, specifically the visual appeal to a general audience and the level of complexity for more experienced players: "It's fun and friendly, so it's accessible, but under the surface it's quite complicated".^[22] Although praise was given for its extended gameplay variety, it was also criticized for its lack of replayability.^[23] Because Bloons TD 6 is a paid app featuring in-app purchases that may be used to unlock certain features in the game faster, some critics argue that the game feels like it runs on a freemium model.^[23][4]

Harry Slater from Pocket Gamer describes the core gameplay as being too reliant on the mechanics of older games in the series, which he claims doesn't provide enough impact for players wanting to play the game long-term.^[3] On the other hand, Dennis Zirkler from GameStar believes there is a sufficient amount of content in the game to sustain a variety of different playstyles while still keeping the diversity of the core gameplay, and says the presence of in-app purchases in a paid game are completely optional for this game and make little impact on the overall enjoyment of the entire game.^[6] Although he criticizes the need to play the game repeatedly to access unlockable features, he praises the inclusion of "CHIMPS", a game mode where most unlockable features are restricted and subsequently limits players to focus on the underlying concept of creating the optimal tower combinations in each stage of the game.^[6] Nathan Snow from The Spectrum said that while being repetitive after a while, the game sticks to a proven concept of the Bloons series.^[7]

The cartoonish visuals used in the game were praised for its appeal for a wider audience,^[10][22] particularly through combination of playability and complexity.^[10] Critics have noted the use of characterization of towers^[10] and long-term success of the predecessor Bloons TD games^[22] as factors to the success of Bloons TD 6. Note was taken about the complexity of the game and the game mechanics accompanied with the game;^[10] PCGamesN describes the complexity of Bloons TD 6 to be given a "whole new plane of addiction" when it comes to integrating the highlighted focus of interacting monkey characters with the main gameplay, while other critics state that the implementation of such features may feel too childish^[10] or otherwise make the game appear too generic^[10][3] or dependent on microtransactions.^[10]

The business model for Bloons TD 6 has received mixed reviews. Simon Hill from Wired perceives the business model of the game to take into account both the premium market and the freemium market: "It’s a premium game that fully justifies the price of entry, but it also offers a wide range of microtransactions that includes the usual cosmetic upgrades, gameplay boosts, and unlimited access to special events."^[8] He also praises the balance of replayability with complexity, mainly through the deepened progression and development of strategy in a tower defense context. Further attention has been pointed towards the conventional mobile market, which generally relies on the freemium model as the primary source of income, and pointed out that Bloons TD 6 lacks third-party advertisements but varies use of optional in-app purchases in the game.^[8] Others are more critical and negative on the business model for Bloons TD 6. One critic from MetaCritic argues that the game has an overwhelming amount of content that lack sufficient replayability and uses a dubious mix of premium and freemium marketing styles.^[23]

Sales[]

Bloons TD 6 topped as the top-selling app within the first week of release.^[22] According to Catherine Harris from Stuff.co.nz,^[24] the game Bloons TD 6 consistently reaches among the top-selling paid apps in the world,^[24][25] including the "world's most-bought paid app" in 2018.^[26] She argues that the success of this game among other Ninja Kiwi apps has helped shaped the success of New Zealand's gaming industry.^[26] Dustin Bailey from PCGamesN noted the increased popularity of the Steam version of Bloons TD 6 and the greater appearance of the game on Twitch.^[21] He attributed further success of the game by both the discounted $1 USD price on the Steam version and its nostalgic factor for players who had previously played the older Flash games in the Bloons TD series.^[27][21]

Kotaku noted that New Zealand's gaming industry revenue surpassed that from Australia's gaming industry in 2019, with one of the main sources being from Bloons TD 6, the others being Path of Exile by Grinding Gear Games and Valleys Between by Little Lost Fox.^[28]

Legacy[]

The game regularly receives updates that include constant balance changes and additional content.^[29][30] Ben "RidiculousHat" Goodman from PC Gamer praises the continuous development of Bloons TD 6, which regularly refines the balance in the game through updates with the aim of promoting variety of gameplay.^[29]

The success of the Bloons TD franchise had been given praise by digital investment company Modern Times Group, with special note on Ninja Kiwi's continuous work to "pioneer" the tower defense genre in an economically viable but quality format.^[26]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website