Review Insights · App Store
Empires & Puzzles: Match-3 RPG
Small Giant Games · 100,766 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
100,766 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 39 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"game"
30 negative reviews mention this · 77% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
2
"money"
17 negative reviews mention this · 44% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
3
"spend"
13 negative reviews mention this · 33% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
4
"play"
12 negative reviews mention this · 31% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
5
"playing"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
6
"spending"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
7
"spend money"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
8
"level"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "It makes pay-to-play games look good. This is definitely a fun game…for a few days. There comes a point within a few days when you’re pitted against a super powerful player (They had level 34+ characters against my level 8 team?) before you can move the story along. This is no…" - Bib Freshtuna
9
"people"
6 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
10
"players"
6 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
11
"heroes"
6 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
12
"spending money"
6 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances. I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different. This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push p…" - Минодвеспий
📋 All 39 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
The Game Is More About Donations Than Fair Chances
I honestly don’t know what version of the game people are playing when they give it 5 stars, because my experience is completely different.
This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push players toward spending money. I have read the developers’ replies saying that everyone has equal chances, but in practice it feels like some players’ chances are “more equal” than others, especially if they spend money.
Summoning truly good heroes feels almost impossible. Sometimes it seems like the chance of getting a decent hero is lower than winning a lottery jackpot. On top of that, the game constantly seems to work against you: it does not give the needed tiles, breaks combinations, creates unfair battle situations, and keeps pushing you into walls again and again.
Instead of enjoyment, the game mostly brings frustration. If you are not ready to spend money constantly, it quickly becomes disappointing. That is why my rating is 1 star.
This game no longer feels like a fair puzzle game. It feels like a system designed mainly to push players toward spending money. I have read the developers’ replies saying that everyone has equal chances, but in practice it feels like some players’ chances are “more equal” than others, especially if they spend money.
Summoning truly good heroes feels almost impossible. Sometimes it seems like the chance of getting a decent hero is lower than winning a lottery jackpot. On top of that, the game constantly seems to work against you: it does not give the needed tiles, breaks combinations, creates unfair battle situations, and keeps pushing you into walls again and again.
Instead of enjoyment, the game mostly brings frustration. If you are not ready to spend money constantly, it quickly becomes disappointing. That is why my rating is 1 star.
It is boring
You will run out of things to do one the very first day within the very first hour. Then you have to sit and wait for hours n hours before you can collect a TINY amount of resources that you will immediately spend to improve your town or your team by about 1%. Nothing should be that slow paced and restrictive. It’s zero fun. Uninstalling
It makes pay-to-play games look good
This is definitely a fun game…for a few days. There comes a point within a few days when you’re pitted against a super powerful player (They had level 34+ characters against my level 8 team?) before you can move the story along.
This is not a game for casual players that don’t want to spend hundreds just to progress in the story. It’s for those who are okay spending a lot of money to play an okay game. Don’t believe me? Check out Reddit to see how hated the game is by veteran players. I read the reviews there and immediately deleted the game.
This is not a game for casual players that don’t want to spend hundreds just to progress in the story. It’s for those who are okay spending a lot of money to play an okay game. Don’t believe me? Check out Reddit to see how hated the game is by veteran players. I read the reviews there and immediately deleted the game.
Игра по сбору денег
Для донатов ввели практически бессмертных персов, типо Хи Гуи, это не игра а рулетка, хотят дадут камень, не платишь не дадут(((
bad
This is horrible
Ninja Tower CRASH
Level 3 of Ninja Tower event crashes per attempt to play it. 6/6 crashes, “game encountered an error and must close.” Everything else ok; only the event is glitching.
No subject
Too many bots play this game not worth spending money on this sorry game because most people are hackers on the server not far at all
This game has the potential to be good.
The first day I played I enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I didn’t understand how to play it. I looked for information, found nothing. I’ve played games on my tablet for several years. This is the first one I’ve seen that that has no help. NONE!
Greedy creator
This game is so expense don’t play this game it will try and force feed offers for you to spend money constantly and that is the only way you can ever have a team that is worth a damn. And when you finally get a team created they become obsolete due to more powerful characters created constantly
Very misleading
I bought their 5 star summon guarantee but I got 4 star instead… sad
worst game dont even bother wasting your time
tutorial is 5 hours long, the music is absolutely horrendous, loud as hell for what, genuinely who ever made this game needs to be studied this is so horrible
Empire puzzles
this game has a virus needs to be updated
Lies
This game isn’t worth your time, been playing for years and only new characters are strong. They nerf them once a few months old. It’s a lazy designed money grab game. Also they will delete this review soon. Screen shot it and check back in a few days then weeks
Garbage
It’s rigged, it’s a money pit, it’s entirely pay to win. Garbage
Great game but a scam
I was offered coins that goes towards Pocket FM if I played this game and reached certain levels which would require me to invest into the game heavy and I did so but each time I reached each level, I did not get the amount of coins that was promising me, and in case I didn’t get any coins at all. But you shouldn’t scam people to get more money by offering credit towards other apps that you own. Shame, shame be aware.
Do not play this game
Most predatory phone game ever. Constant adds to spend money. No way to actually succeed without spending money.
You have to pay to win
I've been playing this game since 2018 and, surprisingly, have spent over $10,000. Small Giants releases new heroes every two weeks, but summoning them from the portal is highly unlikely due to the very low chances of obtaining a legendary hero. The process is purely probabilistic; you might spend $500 without getting the hero you want. Interestingly, even when you do get a hero, you'll need to level them up quickly to use them effectively during the period that I call the "period of grace." This involves waiting for new heroes to appear, who then come equipped with a special weapon to counter the abilities of the latest heroes you've summoned. Leveling up requires rare ascendant materials, which are difficult to acquire during special events, often forcing players to purchase them. In the early days, the game was enjoyable, but now it seems focused mainly on extracting money from players. The company's ownership has changed hands more than four times, with each new owner aiming to recoup their investment by introducing more heroes to sell. Without new heroes, your chances of surviving in alliance wars diminish, as opponents with recent heroes can easily beat you. This constant push to acquire new heroes has led me to spend $10,000 on my credit card. I wouldn't recommend anyone to go through this. Many top YouTube players have quit the game entirely.
Withholds Rewards
Do not play this game for a promotion from another game. They will stop providing updates of your progress to goals as soon as you hit the maximum for $$ spend. Was due multiple promotion rewards and placing tickets in either game lead to no resolution. Reporting to Apple to have spent dollars refunded as they did not operate in good faith to fulfill their obligations.
Don’t bother
This game was great when it came out. But they keep introducing newer more powerful characters which your best chance to get is based on $$$ spent to increases random chance. So the game is rapidly being ruled by op characters where the average player not spending piles of money gets screwed. They also play around with odds on the shields. If you have two of five of same color the odds of that color appearing go down! This has been proven by players tracking the screens over and over yet they deny it occurs even if such “bad luck” happens to encourage you to use items which again you can buy! They care only about the next dollar not game balance so save your money. Also note every critical review gets the same packaged its free to play we offer items for those wanting a faster pace message. IE .. pay to win. Since raids on others and war with others is part of the game those paying through the nose for a faster pace slaughter the non payers and you get far less rewards than they do. Its not equal chance when those spending piles of cash can dominate player interactions. And if you choose not to participate in that well you are penalized with even less rewards and even slower growth. So your choice is stand there and be beat by those spending money to get something or don’t soend and slough on slowly ohhhh so slowly to advance. Nice choice
Plus the devs appear to be manipulating odds on drops of shields. People not spending money constantly complain about how bad the random shields are, while those spending money say things look great. Buy some gems suddenly your shield drops are better. No real proof but the game is starting to fill rigged to those spending money
Plus the devs appear to be manipulating odds on drops of shields. People not spending money constantly complain about how bad the random shields are, while those spending money say things look great. Buy some gems suddenly your shield drops are better. No real proof but the game is starting to fill rigged to those spending money
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Learn how to implement updates so they don't interfere with gameplay. I can't access the island on iOS!
$$$$$!
You have to spend money to get heroes, KEY ascension items.
They actually have a counter that counts the number of times you have used the summon to get heroes and not get a 5 star hero.
YALL UNDERSTAND THAT!!!’??? You can pay for tokens and still not get a 5 star in 100 tries. F this game
They actually have a counter that counts the number of times you have used the summon to get heroes and not get a 5 star hero.
YALL UNDERSTAND THAT!!!’??? You can pay for tokens and still not get a 5 star in 100 tries. F this game
Troops?!?
How the heck am I supposed to lvl up my troops? Everything’s saying there’s a button but I see none bruh. I keep losing cause all my troops are base lvl. Some ole bs
Keeps getting worse
There are a lot of issues with the game but the developers need to get more money over the playability of the game has made this game unplayable most of the time. You are constantly having to get the newest and latest heroes to even attempt to keep up. If you want to be any good at this game you will be paying thousands of dollars….literally. Their new dragonspire side game is a joke and they have made it an integral part of the main game. You will have more frustration than joy from this game and will spend so much money chasing after top heroes to no avail. Definitely avoid the game.
Causes seizures
My son has had 2 episodes of seizures while playing this game. We have no family history or epilepsy on either side of the family. He’s addicted to this game and has been playing it since 8 years now. I don’t know if they have changed something on it but 2 weeks ago he sustained his first seizure - ER doctors figured maybe poor sleep or it’s the game. He’s been well rested with over 7-8hours every night since. Tonight he had another seizure while playing this game so I’ll need to pull the plug on it!!! It’s horribly flashy and the sounds are evil!!!
Doesn’t give rewards in Tapjoy
You entice people to download and try the game but don’t honor tapjoy rewards.
Stay away
This is the worst game I’ve played for the amount of time I’ve put into it. Anything to do with combat on the game is complete garbage and it’s been like this forever.
Pay to win only
Now if you have deep pockets and don’t mind spending 100 bucks a week on this game then this is for you. But buyer be happy the more you pay the better you get. No skill needed. Better roles better opportunities better characters and even better choices. But if you don’t have the money then when you get to a point you can’t level your main character anymore then what to do. No money no adventure no advancement your stuck and then the game gets boring you delete it and never come back. Time waisted. So make your choice before you play
Money pits don’t start
This game is a money pits . You spend to get good heroes and after you leveled them up it’s obsolete with newer powerful heroes coming up. All your raid games are Ai control who win who lose. You can play a raid and you can even leave until you complete dead that when you know your game is already set to lose, if you spend money playing and feel wasted if stop playing . You dont spend you don’t get good heroes and no fun . Just don’t start playing period,
The game is lagging
The game is frustrating me though I liked it at first
It just doesn’t recognize when I’m matching things and takes so long I end up defeated just because I’m struggling so hard to get it to recognize my moves and load
It just doesn’t recognize when I’m matching things and takes so long I end up defeated just because I’m struggling so hard to get it to recognize my moves and load
Fun in Theory but Very Predatory Monetization
The idea for this game is fun in theory but is ruined by the predatory and overwhelming monetization of the game. Nearly the entire home screen is filled with paid offers, you can hardly see the actual game behind all these offers. Plus every time you go from a different screen back to the home screen, you get at least 2-3 pop ups with more offers. Very predatory behavior.
Drop rate
Bad. I used to spend money on this game then drop rate fell out before the pay to advance dragon spire came out now it’s just a money grab game that could care less about the player.
Game is all Algorithm Cheats
2 Stars because game had a lot of potential to be fun. Instead it’s setup to cheat and try to bait you into $$$$$
Game advertises PvP nope! Based on hero levels and you never duel an individual, you go up against a “cheating algorithm” to bait into spending money. It doesn’t matter if you choose lower levels. You cannot win a PvP!
Especially the PvP teams in many other countries. Hello!
Cheat Algorithms “will not” equally compare teams on fun similar level.
Example: your teams level is 4500 and your the opponent level is 4500 pfft nope! The team’s actual level is 8500 with highest level on the teams mini troops (puzzle part of game).
How an Algorithm pairs those two teams as comparable!?! My conclusion; Game Cheats You! >:-/
Also game cost you ->2000 pts a roll “hoping” for a fair team” to have fun with a balanced competition. After 15-20 rolls you’ll just give up! >:-/ those pts add up fast.
Understanding, It takes several turns to build hero’s energy level called “special skill hit” per hero. If you’re not able to build energy, you’ll be stuck using the puzzle board of your mini troops (that are another expensive in game to build mini troops).
When stuck on puzzle board the Algorithm will give you a ridiculously bad puzzle board that has little to no matches smh! Come on!
And this is what makes game very FRUSTRATING instead of FUN…to the point you’ll just turn game off and you want through your device lol!
It’s setup to become a ridiculous expensive game $$$$$ free pfffft NO! You’ll not be able play without $$$
Ironically customer service then starts Messaging you why their prices suddenly Sky Rocketed to a ridiculous cost $$$$ some packages $99.00 what?!?!?
Who actually pays $99.00 for a game package you’ll spend in game 15 minutes playing unfair game setup to bait you.
Customer service say it’s a market price lol NO DUDE it’s Cheating people. Also the other country cost stays the same. Hello! Mainly China/Thailand/India…
Just go buy an actual “real game” and Play having fun and A Lot $$$ CHEAPER $$$ that’ll be playing PvP with actual real players not Cheating Algorithms!
As for the Game I’m done! I am old school WOW player and thought this would be fun. Dude you’ll spend $100 before you know it! WOW was only $20 a month. JS
Game advertises PvP nope! Based on hero levels and you never duel an individual, you go up against a “cheating algorithm” to bait into spending money. It doesn’t matter if you choose lower levels. You cannot win a PvP!
Especially the PvP teams in many other countries. Hello!
Cheat Algorithms “will not” equally compare teams on fun similar level.
Example: your teams level is 4500 and your the opponent level is 4500 pfft nope! The team’s actual level is 8500 with highest level on the teams mini troops (puzzle part of game).
How an Algorithm pairs those two teams as comparable!?! My conclusion; Game Cheats You! >:-/
Also game cost you ->2000 pts a roll “hoping” for a fair team” to have fun with a balanced competition. After 15-20 rolls you’ll just give up! >:-/ those pts add up fast.
Understanding, It takes several turns to build hero’s energy level called “special skill hit” per hero. If you’re not able to build energy, you’ll be stuck using the puzzle board of your mini troops (that are another expensive in game to build mini troops).
When stuck on puzzle board the Algorithm will give you a ridiculously bad puzzle board that has little to no matches smh! Come on!
And this is what makes game very FRUSTRATING instead of FUN…to the point you’ll just turn game off and you want through your device lol!
It’s setup to become a ridiculous expensive game $$$$$ free pfffft NO! You’ll not be able play without $$$
Ironically customer service then starts Messaging you why their prices suddenly Sky Rocketed to a ridiculous cost $$$$ some packages $99.00 what?!?!?
Who actually pays $99.00 for a game package you’ll spend in game 15 minutes playing unfair game setup to bait you.
Customer service say it’s a market price lol NO DUDE it’s Cheating people. Also the other country cost stays the same. Hello! Mainly China/Thailand/India…
Just go buy an actual “real game” and Play having fun and A Lot $$$ CHEAPER $$$ that’ll be playing PvP with actual real players not Cheating Algorithms!
As for the Game I’m done! I am old school WOW player and thought this would be fun. Dude you’ll spend $100 before you know it! WOW was only $20 a month. JS
Awesome
Great game
Lots of plagiarism
I was enjoying it at first. I actually spent a lot of money on it but with time, it started feeling distasteful because the game makers plagiarized a lot. So many of the “heroes” are just the faces of celebrities, sometimes a little altered. Left the game at level 29 because it felt really wrong and cheap in a way after some observation. They have good marketing and they figured out the system and how to get someone addicted but it lacks heart and clearly not something made with responsibility.
The nerf killed the game
They nerfed only some hero’s and then brought out other higher strength hero’s so that normal players struggle in the game if they don’t spend hundreds of dollars. The game used to be fun.
Poor Algorithm
Whatever algorithm used to create the board of shields is completely unfair and majorly disadvantageous to the player. Really needs to be fixed.
Fun Game, Too Much “BUY THIS!”
Firstly, the game is fun.
However, there are now 10 icons on the Base screen for purchasing items and such. It looks quite ridiculous that they take up an enormous portion of the screen.
However, there are now 10 icons on the Base screen for purchasing items and such. It looks quite ridiculous that they take up an enormous portion of the screen.
Fun
The game has been fun over the years. I got hooked when I had my stroke. I’ve been playing for some time. However I find the game has started noticeably cheating.
Just a game i got it quit or play. But after while you still try and climb the ladder and don’t want to quit. I send reports to their support just asking for fair game play. Never asking for anything in return. Usually the same response and little action.
Just watch the game and your $$$. The last answer I got back from customer service I was spamming them and my last warning. Obvious I hit a nerve and maybe some truth.
Again enjoy the game and have fun. Watch for cheats favoring your opponent. I enjoy the game not the issues
Just a game i got it quit or play. But after while you still try and climb the ladder and don’t want to quit. I send reports to their support just asking for fair game play. Never asking for anything in return. Usually the same response and little action.
Just watch the game and your $$$. The last answer I got back from customer service I was spamming them and my last warning. Obvious I hit a nerve and maybe some truth.
Again enjoy the game and have fun. Watch for cheats favoring your opponent. I enjoy the game not the issues
🙄
Почему у Саломеи поменялись характеристики?
Сначала повышала здоровье всех союзников на 1300, и могла превышать максимум, а сейчас 50%. Фигня какая-то
Сначала повышала здоровье всех союзников на 1300, и могла превышать максимум, а сейчас 50%. Фигня какая-то
Sentiment summary
93%
Positive (4-5★)
2%
Neutral (3★)
5%
Negative (1-2★)