They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Perhaps nowhere is this truer than in Hipster Attack, an IOS game that somehow found its way to Steam. Lifting from whole cloth the ideas that made Plants vs Zombies a hit, this title by Televisor games skirts the line between homage and copycat.
If you’ve played Plants vs Zombies, you’ll find Hipster Attack to be eerily familiar. In this tower defense game, you take on the role of corporate coffee shop owners struggling to protect their beans from shambling hordes of charming little hipsters. From DJ’s to mimes, to a mini hipster dressed as Napoleon riding a balloon the social luminaries come in all shapes and sizes. As they slowly move across the screen it’s your job to fend them off by planting, erm… placing, various employees armed with various weapons like… job offers. Quote, “The mere thought of employment in a corporation is painful to hipsters, let alone physical contact with a job offer from such a place.” To buy these towers you must snatch up mugs of coffee, the currency, that falls from the sky. Hey, it made more sense when it was balls of sunlight in P vs Z. Certain enemies also drop wads of cash, the element that differentiates this game from its spiritual predecessor.
Hipster attack differentiates itself from Plants vs Zombies using special abilities. Each tower, be it coffee machines or corporate employees, has a special ability that can by unlocked by spending cash. The coffee machine blasts enemies with a huge cannon, while the lowly grunt turns into a storm of job offers that can batter away the largest swarms. These abilities become essential during difficult points in the game. It’s fun to unlock new characters and see them in action, every animation is hilarious. Other abilities, like turning enemies to stone, become available as the campaign progresses and do not require a tower to activate. Still, despite the addition of powers and a cute aesthetic what does Hipster Attack bring to the table over it’s more famous cousin?
The answer is not much, at least not on PC. Hipster Attack is a cheap game, only $2.99 without any DLC purchases. At that price it’s difficult to say no. However, Plants vs Zombies GOTY Edition is only a bit more at $4.99 and has far more long-term value. The features that this game pack into that small price tag crush any of those that Hipster Attack, a game designed for smart phones, could bear. These include: variable levels in pools, the roof and more, huge variety in both enemies and towers, an in-game store that allows for upgrades and new plant purchases, a garden where you can grow plants for big benefits, and a host of fun mini games and alternate modes. In addition, this title is clearly made with mobile in mind. Grabbing coffee and cash before they disappear is often quite difficult with a tiny little curser. I’d imagine using a finger that takes up a fifth of the screen allows for one to more quickly scoop up money. In addition, the lack of long term goals or rewards makes the game best played in small bursts, perfect for handheld devices. With these in mind, it’s difficult to recommend the game to players on Steam.
However, in a classic mid review turn around, I do recommend the game to smartphone users. While a somewhat shameless copy of Plants vs Zombies, it remains the case that the actual P vs Z app is sadly lacking in certain departments. Most notably, as a free to play game, it is designed to suck as much money out of its users as possible, creating artificial difficulty spikes and locking content behind pay walls. Despite its flaws, Hipster Attack is still a very competent game with a fun aesthetic, good graphical design and, most importantly, a single $2.99 price tag. When on PC play Plants vs Zombies. While on a smartphone play Hipster Attack.
Hipster Attack makes the mistake of not crediting Pop Games on either their store page or website for their inspiration. It rubs me the wrong way that a game the directly lifts their ideas fails to thank the creative team behind Plants vs Zombies. Obviously designed for mobile devices, the game lacks many features that already existing PC based tower defense games possess. While the port runs well there is little reason to play Hipster Attack over any of its competitors. Still, a fun art direction, clever powers and a lack of in-app purchases make this game a worthwhile play on the app store.
5.6 out of 10
Check Out the Hipster Attack Pickles Testimonial Trailer:
Hipster Attack is available for PC via Steam for $2.99.
Steam Review
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Overall Score - 5.6/105.6/10
I'm a lifelong gamer who, as a child, snuck away during recess to play Oregon Trail on my school computers. I'm an omni-gamer with a wide variety of gaming interests from Soulbornes to Grand Strategy to shooters and everything in between. I'm also a huge fan of the newly burgeoning board games hobby which has produced some of the greatest analog games in history. Gaming is more than a hobby, it's a part of my lifestyle and self identity.
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