Mobile Game 3-Play Analysis: Infinite Farm by NFLY STUDIO

As of 2019.11.09

Released 2019.07.03

Currently ranked #19 in Popular Games

Appears to have resumed activity or changed strategy.

Rating: 4.5 — Downloads: 100,000+ — Reviews: 1,000

Developed by NFLY STUDIO, the creators of "Infinite Staircase" and various other games in the Infinite series.

First Impression

Infinite Staircase is still going strong, and seeing Infinite Farm get good reception suggests they are making solid revenue.

Design

• The story was unskippable at the start. That was annoying.
• The tutorial was simple, but the word-by-word text reveal was frustrating. A tap-to-show-all feature would be welcome.
• The rewarded ad featuring a character holding items is visually appealing and makes you want to tap it.
• After watching a rewarded ad, a short burning time bonus is provided.
• A truck appears with a mission that gives large rewards — builds nice anticipation.
• Occasionally, digging for a long time yields a high-level crop, and watching an ad upgrades it further. This seems to be a mechanism for overcoming past digging difficulty through ad engagement.
• Full-screen popup ads appear at random intervals when viewing collections or missions, but they were not particularly intrusive.
• The lack of an auto-play feature was really impressive.
• This is not a mindless clicker — the tension is well-paced.
• The ad-to-IAP ratio seems higher than expected.

Development

• This is clearly above typical indie developer quality, so there is nothing particularly worth criticizing.

Art

• The pixel art provides a sense of familiarity, and the sequence animations emphasize cuteness.
• There is a lot of charm packed into the pixel style, though this particular game does not fully capitalize on it.

Overall, this was fun. After reviewing so many generic Chinese ad-watching games, it was refreshing to find one where you actually want to watch the ads.