Several years ago I wrote about Dragonvale, a dragon breeding game that dominated my mobile gaming time for nearly two years. Through sheer force of will I was able to shake the compulsion to breed giant lizards. It’s sequel, Dragonvale World, arrives tomorrow, and I am already lost.
The first Dragonvale was and remains to be a fiendish combination of colorful characters, collectibility and random chance. Players start with one dragon, say a fire dragon. Then they get an earth dragon. Raise those two to appropriate mating level by feeding them, let them simmer in the breeding cave for a bit and bam, magma dragon. Since its 2011 launch, Dragonvale’s been adding new dragons, new combinations, new elements and new gameplay features. Its most evil feature is special event dragons that only show up during certain holidays or other special occasions.
Dragonvale World takes that special combination from the 2D hit and fleshes it out into a full 3D game.
Players build and decorate their own dragon park, clearing debris and adding decorations. They breed dragons and grow food to feed them. All the good stuff is in there, only now it’s much prettier.
Here’s a Backflip-provided screenshot, showing what could be achieved through patience and planning.
And here’s my park, patience and planning be damned.
Several new elements have been added to give players more to do between birthing sessions, but the core elements remain the same.
Best of all, Dragonvale World is a chance to start over from the beginning, before you missed that one holiday dragon, or took a long break only to return to what seemed like a completely different game.
DragonVale World, already soft-launched in certain countries, arrives in the U.S. for iOS and Android tomorrow. Enjoy the CG launch trailer, which is all about dragons getting it on.