Viber’s games are a disappointing start to its social gaming ambitions

As a messaging app, Viber has been slow to hop onto the games publishing bandwagon, pioneered in recent years by KakaoTalk, Line, and WeChat. But yesterday Viber released the Viber Games platform, which integrates social games. So we decided to take a look at Viber’s social gaming titles to see if they’re good enough to help the app in its close battle with Line.

While the press release indicates three games in its launch line-up – available only in limited countries for now – I was able to access just two: Viber Candy Mania and Viber Pop.

Viber Candy Mania is a Candy Crush clone, while Viber Pop is a bubble shooting game. Both make use of iconic Viber sticker characters Violet and Legcat, just like how Line games make use of Line’s cutesy mascots.

After playing these new titles, our verdict is that Viber’s games so far are disappointing. There are three things wrong with how Viber has plunged into the mobile game arena. Firstly…

Its games are clones

Viber Candy Mania (left) and Viber Pop (right)

Viber is late to the party and it needs a strong launch line-up to show it can keep pace with the likes of WeChat and Line. A tiny launch lineup of heavily cloned games isn’t very promising and says a lot about how Viber evaluates entertainment for its users.

Clone games are typically seen as a safer choice for big players looking to go into casual gaming, and they are also the ones expected to make the most money. As such, an onlooker might wonder if Viber is doing games to enhance the user experiences or simply to establish a new cash cow.

Uninspiring

Clone games are safe games, in the sense that players are always willing to try something familiar. Just look at the myriad of farming games or Candy Crush clones out there. But at the same time, a clone game that doesn’t innovate much on an existing formula has little incentive for users to try it out. Viber’s games are… ordinary, and mimic games that have been on the market for a long while. Why would a user play them when there’s something newer and cooler, like Candy Crush Soda Saga?

They don’t make full use of Viber’s characters

The Line games I’ve enjoyed the most have always been the ones that take full advantage of how cute its mascots are. Line Rangers, while very similar to Japanese hit Battle Cats, does this incredibly well. Brown, Cony, and friends are milked dry. But Viber hasn’t done this.