Upgrade
Fifth week of my Video Game Genre Guides!
Logo by my friend Upgrade! This is a style of game that condenses the traditional loop of games into 2 phases. The first of these phases is a gameplay phase, where you play the game to earn money. The second phase is the upgrade phase, where you spend the money earned to improve the gameplay in different ways. Upgrade games focus on a repetitive cycle of this gameplay, sometimes with exponentially increasing progress to keep the player engaged. Here's what that would look like on a Genre Tree!
Surprise! This is the first "parent-less" genre we've covered! This means there aren't any genre this is a sub-genre of, or any umbrella "meta-genres" either! Here's 5 Upgrade games (in no particular order) and how I would categorize, or "tag", them in pink!
Upgrade, Launch Number 1 is Learn to Fly 2! Upgrade and Launch game have tons of overlap, and Learn to Fly 2 might be my favorite. A super fun snowy launch game from my childhood that showcases both genres off well!
Upgrade, 2D Auto Runner, Endless Runner, Racing // Virtual Pet, One Button Runner Number 2 is DuckLife! Another childhood classic of mine, DuckLife is an upgrade game where the upgrading and gameplay takes place as training your pet duck in different auto runner/endless runner gameplay to have them compete in races. Super fun, cute, and nostalgic game that's pretty quick and simple to beat!
Upgrade, Scrolling Shooter Number 3 is Bloons Super Monkey! A super underrated spin-off of the iconic bloons franchise, Bloons Super Monkey deserves more attention! Seeing how the upgrades add to your super monkey and just how many bloons you can pop is immensely satisfying.
Upgrade, Vertical Launch Number 4 is Knightmare Tower! Another upgrade + launch game, however this time it's a vertical launch game! Rather than trying to get as far horizontally, in this game (and other Vertical Launch games), the aim is to hit boosts to keep upwards momentum and not fall back down. Super fun upgrade game with fun graphics and gameplay!
Upgrade, RPG // Dodging & Catching, Shooting Gallery Number 5 is Swords and Souls! Similar to DuckLife, the gameplay phase is focused on training your character to have them compete in RPG automatic battles. The fun mini-games and challenges with unique RPG elements combine to make a very engaging upgrade game That concludes my fifth Video Game Genres Guide! Thank you for reading!
