State.io - Conquer the World
- October 31, 2020
- CASUAL AZUR GAMES
State.io - Conquer the World is an abstract real-time strategy game where players lead their army to expand their territory and defeat rivals. The game features exciting countries takeover and strategic puzzles, challenging players to think quickly and strategically in order to conquer states and territories in the world arena. Available to play on web browsers, Android, and iOS devices.
Reviews
- The game has a fun and simple concept that is easy to understand and play.
- The graphics are clean and the controls are intuitive, making for a smooth gameplay experience.
- The game can be addictive and is a good way to pass the time.
- There are excessive ads, with a mandatory ad after every level, making it frustrating to play.
- The gameplay becomes repetitive quickly, with limited maps and no real challenge as the AI does not scale effectively.
- Purchasing the ad-free version does not remove all ads, leading to a feeling of being misled.
- monetization871 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of this game has drawn significant criticism from users, primarily due to the overwhelming number of ads. Players report spending more time watching ads than actually playing, with mandatory ads appearing after nearly every level, often lasting longer than the gameplay itself. While some users understand the need for ads in free games, many feel that the frequency and intrusiveness of the ads detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration and a desire for a more balanced approach or lower costs for ad removal.
“I paid $5 for no ads.”
“I'm not going to expect free games with no ads; I even appreciate when games make some ads optional.”
“These are actually great ways to get monetization you need to run things.”
“You'll spend more time watching ads than playing the game, otherwise it's a decent time waster.”
“The game is fun, but unfortunately 3/4 of your time is spent waiting on ads.”
“The game is fun, but the forced ads ruin it.”
- gameplay100 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally described as fun and engaging, with simple mechanics that can be enjoyable at first. However, the overwhelming presence of ads—often forcing players to watch them after nearly every level—significantly detracts from the experience, leading to frustration and a sense of repetitiveness. Many users feel that the balance between gameplay and ads is heavily skewed, making it difficult to fully appreciate the game's potential.
“The gameplay is fun; I enjoy the strategy of the main campaign levels.”
“Io - Conquer the World is an addictive strategy game with simple yet engaging gameplay.”
“The gameplay is quick and easy to understand, something that most wargames can't possibly imagine, which is a wonderful blessing.”
“The game is great, but they make you watch a 30-second ad for just about every 30 seconds of gameplay.”
“The gameplay is simple but had potential to be very enjoyable, but the seriously low quality AI plus never-ending ads (literally 2-3 ads after each 30-45 second round) make it pretty much unplayable.”
“An absolutely cancerous game with more ads than gameplay.”
- stability15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- -13 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The stability of the game is heavily criticized, with users reporting frequent freezes, glitches, and unresponsive controls that disrupt gameplay. Many players experience issues with ads causing the game to freeze, leading to frustration and loss of progress. Overall, the game requires significant improvements to address these stability concerns.
“The game runs smoothly and consistently, providing a stable experience overall.”
“I appreciate how the game maintains stability even during intense gameplay moments.”
“Despite some minor issues, the overall stability of the game is impressive.”
“The problem is maybe an ad is messed up now, but it just freezes; I can't even play it now.”
“Game constantly glitches out so you can't tap on and drag your team to anywhere on the board, and you are stuck there waiting for the level to end so you can start over!”
“Oh and it freezes during a game, so I've lost a few times because of it just randomly freezing up and allowing others to attack while I'm frozen.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the clean and minimalist aesthetic as fitting for the gameplay, while others criticize them as subpar or lacking depth. Overall, the visuals are described as functional and adequate, but not groundbreaking, with a focus on gameplay over graphical fidelity.
“The graphics are clean, and the controls are intuitive.”
“Nice graphics.”
“Horrible game, not even halfway decent graphics.”
“The game is extremely simple in its aesthetic, but it works.”
“I feel bad for the developers who programmed it all, did the artwork, and it won't even get played because it's behind a paywall :/”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often feeling forced to endure relentless ads and paywalls after initial progress. Many describe the experience as repetitive, with gameplay becoming monotonous after repeated map play, leading to a perception that the game prioritizes ad revenue over genuine player engagement.
“Made it to Egypt or thereabouts with very little trouble, then wham, it's a paywall to get through unless you want to spend the next week or so grinding losses for a pittance of gold.”
“Be not deceived, this is just an ad-farming application disguised as a game.”
“The gameplay is fun most of the time, but after playing the same maps a few dozen times, it becomes tedious.”
- story5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is criticized for its repetitive missions and lack of strategic depth, as players can easily exploit enemy weaknesses without meaningful challenges. Users express frustration over the game's ad interruptions and perceive it as a cash grab, detracting from the overall enjoyment and narrative engagement. There is a call for more diverse mission types and a better leveling system to enhance gameplay and storytelling.
“It's the same missions over and over again with a little increase to the enemy in terms of their starting size.”
“Need different types of missions or goals to encourage different ways to play certain maps to make things interesting; also, a better leveling system balanced with increasing AI difficulty would be nice.”
“I finished the first level and couldn't even play the next level when I clicked; instead, I got an ad. The game isn't even fun or worth watching 30-second ads over. 10 seconds after 2-3 missions then it would be worth sitting through them. I've seen the devs say that they've fixed the horrendous ad problems in multiple reviews, all 1-2 stars only, and I can say that was a blatant lie. It's actually worse. This game could be fun to play if it wasn't a cash grab, but it is and will remain that way.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the game's replayability to be severely lacking, primarily due to the overwhelming reliance on ads that disrupt gameplay and progression. While some users mention potential improvements, such as better AI and larger maps, the consensus is that the current design prioritizes monetization over player engagement, leading to a lack of incentive to replay.
“Improve the AI and add a couple of bigger maps to enhance the replayability.”
“Basically, this game is about watching ads to make money for the developer. You are being used as a bot; the game gets you used to playing for the first 15/20 levels, then they boost the AI so you have to keep watching ads in order to upgrade. Whichever option you choose, the game will force you to watch ads. It's sad they could have made the game more playable by removing them. That's what all popular games do. The developers of this game are not thinking about the long term; it's greed over quality. Deleting it.”
“Improve the AI and add a couple of bigger maps to improve the replayability.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is criticized for poor performance and frequent, repetitive ads that disrupt gameplay, making it difficult for players to engage fully with the experience.
“The game performance is poor and seems designed to force you to watch ad after ad.”
“Ads are often repetitive and poorly optimized, making it difficult to fully engage with the game.”
- music3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
Players express frustration that the game interrupts their music with ad sounds, detracting from the overall experience. While the soundtrack is generally well-received, the frequent ads and related bugs significantly impact enjoyment.
“The soundtrack is good too, and I like the minimalist graphics and the simple mechanics.”
“Can't listen to music while playing this game, because it'll pause your music to play its stupid ad sounds.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express frustration that while ads provide revenue, the intrusive nature of touch interactions leading to unintended app store openings detracts from the emotional experience of the game.
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as effortlessly funny, providing a lighthearted and enjoyable experience for players.
“Hilariously easy.”
“The humor in this game had me laughing out loud at every turn.”
“The witty dialogue and absurd situations kept me entertained throughout.”