If Doodle Devil seems familiar, that’s because it’s been on a good amount of platforms already. The series of “Doodle ____” titles have been fun games to play for a period of time, but their fun is often ended prematurely from their own shortcomings. The game is fairly simple and straightforward – but it’s to a fault. Where some games’ simplicity is their strong suits, Doodle Devil‘s groundwork isn’t strong enough to lean the entire game on, and it creates a rather forgettable experience.

In Doodle Devil, your main objective is to combine two elements to create a new element that you’ll use to make even more elements. At the start of the game, you’re given only two elements, from those original two, you’ll grow your list to 190 elements in order to beat the game. These elements are grouped into 19 different groups which are general categories for their respective elements.

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This initial style of gameplay was actually a decent amount of fun when I first started playing. Using logical guesses, I’d put two objects together, and I’d be treated to a new element. This type of excitement is fun a handful of times – not more than 180. That’s the main issue with Doodle Devil: it doesn’t have any variance outside of its main gameplay, so what you see is what you get.

The game offers hints to those who have a hard time finding combinations, and hints are almost completely necessary if you aren’t using a guide to help you along the way. While the initial combinations make some sort of sense, the later ones seem almost unfair to figure out. There isn’t an objective stating what you’ll need to make, so it literally becomes a guessing game of what elements the game could include. Since the Vita version includes groups like monsters, it can be a crap-shoot to figure out what to mix together.

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You’d better get used to the same screen from Doodle Devil, as that’s the only screen you’ll see when playing the game. There aren’t different backgrounds between the two chapters, and the only visual variance is the decent artwork provided for each grouping and element. Since the gameplay becomes stale, it doesn’t help that the visuals become stale, too.

I did experience a fair amount of crashing while playing Doodle Devil. I noticed this mostly happened whenever I used the hint button in the game. While the game auto-saved where I was last, it was incredibly frustrating to be kicked out of the game and then having to reboot it.

Doodle Devil can be a decent time-waster, but its initial appeal dissipates fast as the tedious nature eventually rears its head. Creating combinations can be very rewarding, but the initial logical guessing is replaced later by sheer luck if you combine one right. Interestingly enough, Doodle Devil can be played for free online; the only difference between the Vita version and the online version is that the former has more elements and groups.

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Depending on your cleverness, Doodle Devil can be completed in a handful of hours, and it has very little – if any – replay value post completion. If you’re looking for a good pick up and play game on the Vita, Doodle Devil can be serviceable, but there are much better options that you can find on the platform for around the same price or cheaper. Doodle Devil has a great idea at hand, but the execution was fumbled, and it could have been a much stronger title.

This review is based on a review copy of the PlayStation Vita version of the game Doodle Devil by JoyBits LTD. and distributed by 8 Floor Games.

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Mix, Match, Repeat | Doodle Devil Review
Positives
  • Initially fun...
Negatives
  • ...but it becomes boring
  • No Replay Value
5Overall Score
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About The Author

Josh is the handheld and mobile editor for New Gamer Nation. He'd love to chat about video games with you on twitter!