Wordscapes

About

Wordscapes is a single player casual puzzle game. It was developed by PeopleFun and was released on June 14, 2017. It received neutral reviews from players.

Wordscapes is a puzzle game that combines word searching and crosswords, offering over 3,700 levels of brain-challenging fun. The game starts off easy and becomes progressively challenging, with delightful graphics, fantastic music, and occasional humor. However, it has been reported to have bugs and may include lots of grinding and intrusive ads. The game describes itself as incredibly addicting, stimulating players' minds as they progress through various beautiful destinations.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

51%

Audience ScoreBased on 10,000 reviews

music50 positive mentions

monetization8.3k negative mentions

Fun and engaging gameplay that challenges vocabulary skills.
Beautiful graphics and relaxing background music enhance the gaming experience.
The game offers a variety of puzzles and events to keep players interested.

Excessive ads interrupt gameplay, with ads appearing after every level and sometimes in the middle of puzzles.
The game has become cluttered with unnecessary features like animals and collectibles, detracting from the core word puzzle experience.
Inconsistent word recognition, where common words are often rejected while slang or abbreviations are accepted.

monetization
8,564 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
2%
96%
The monetization strategy of this game has drawn significant criticism from users, primarily due to the overwhelming number of ads. Players report being bombarded with ads after nearly every level, often experiencing lengthy, unskippable ads that disrupt gameplay. Many users express frustration over the inability to permanently remove ads without incurring high costs, leading to a perception of the game as a cash grab rather than a balanced gaming experience. Despite some players enjoying the game itself, the excessive ads have led to a decline in overall satisfaction and increased consideration of uninstalling the app.
- “Great game when you could pay $3 for no ads (permanently).”
- “I paid for no ads, so at least I don't have that problem, but based on the devs' responses - it's all about the money for them.”
- “I paid for no ads years ago too.”
- “I have really liked this game and I've put up with ads for such a long time, but it is just ridiculous!”
- “I already bought the game to get rid of ads; your offers are a different type of ad.”
- “The ads are incessant and sometimes interrupt the flow of playing.”
stability
417 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The stability of the game has significantly deteriorated, with users reporting frequent freezes, crashes, and a plethora of glitches, particularly following recent updates. Many players express frustration over the game's performance, often having to restart the app or their devices to continue playing. While some users have experienced minimal issues, the overwhelming consensus is that the game has become increasingly unplayable due to these persistent technical problems.
- “Wordscape is fun to play if you have a good working version (2.xx) that is more or less bug free.”
- “The game is smooth, no glitches.”
- “Software runs great though and is an overall fun game.”
- “This was once a great game (yes, I paid for it) but it has slowly devolved into very pretty but very buggy eye candy; there is no UI smoothness at all, but there is plenty of jerkiness.”
- “The original game was great, but they've kept on adding more and more unnecessary features that cause loads of glitches and stop the game from functioning properly.”
- “Game has become unplayable, freezes after puzzle completion and needs to be ended and restarted.”
music
260 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
76%
5%
The music in the game is generally described as soothing and relaxing, enhancing the overall gameplay experience with its calming ambiance. However, many users express frustration over intrusive ads that interrupt their music, often overriding sound settings and requiring them to restart their audio after each ad. While the game's music is appreciated for its tranquility, the frequent disruptions caused by ads significantly detract from the enjoyment for players who like to listen to their own music or podcasts while playing.
- “The music is perfect, the sounds are soft and not overbearing.”
- “The music in the background is soothing, and so inviting to continue playing.”
- “I really like this game... it is really relaxing despite having the stress of having to figure out the words and the music especially makes it really relaxing.”
- “I understand ads are needed to fund the apps, but when you play for 2-3 minutes and are confronted by a full-screen, musically enhanced ad timed to last 30 seconds, it takes away from the experience.”
- “The ads also shut off whatever other media you have playing, like music or books, so after the ad is over, you have to go back into your media app and restart your music!”
- “I love the game, but I'm ready to uninstall it based solely on the fact that your ads cut out my music.”
gameplay
257 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
9%
Gameplay in this game is generally enjoyable and engaging, with many players appreciating its relaxing and challenging nature. However, the experience is significantly marred by intrusive ads that interrupt gameplay frequently, leading to frustration and a sense of imbalance between playing and watching ads. While some users find the core mechanics solid and the visuals appealing, the overwhelming presence of ads and occasional technical issues detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “I genuinely enjoy the gameplay, as I've been playing this game for years.”
- “The gameplay is fun, but at high levels you just get the same words over and over, and they use a bad dictionary.”
- “The gameplay is solid, the challenge is steady but not steep, and it's aesthetically pleasing in terms of the user interface and the overall style of the game's screens and systems.”
- “The last update has really impacted gameplay in a negative way.”
- “The constant interruption of gameplay made it difficult to get into a rhythm.”
- “Overall frustrating gameplay.”
graphics
172 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
39%
2%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising their beauty and aesthetic appeal, describing them as colorful, relaxing, and well-designed. However, some users express frustration over recent updates that have introduced glitches and distracting ads, including inappropriate content, which detracts from the overall experience. While the visuals are generally appreciated, concerns about performance issues and excessive ads persist, impacting the enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “The graphics are great as well!”
- “Beautiful graphics, relaxing, yet very addictive and fun word game!”
- “Great game with stunning graphics.”
- “Since this huge graphics update, the game is ruined.”
- “The most recent updates add improved graphics but introduce way too many glitches and now core features which no longer work.”
- “Update completed... still just as slow and glitchy... overkill on the graphics and the inlaid ads make the game slow and sometimes stops altogether.”
emotional
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional response from users regarding the game's ads is overwhelmingly negative, with many expressing frustration and distress over invasive advertisements that open the app store or redirect to other sites without any interaction. Players report losing in-game rewards and experiencing anxiety due to the constant interruptions and accidental purchases caused by these ads, leading to a significant decline in their overall enjoyment of the game. Despite some appreciation for the game's content, the intrusive nature of the advertising has left many feeling overwhelmed and dissatisfied.
- “I've experienced about this game, it's very useful and emotionally engaging as a student because it helps refresh my mind and boost my cognitive abilities.”
- “I absolutely love this app, it's so calm, wholesome, and beautiful for the eyes and mind.”
- “A few of the project makeover ads actually made me feel physically ill.”
grinding
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game increasingly tedious, with many expressing frustration over repetitive gameplay, excessive ads, and a lack of challenge. The introduction of new game modes and microtransactions has contributed to a sense of mindless grinding, detracting from the initial enjoyment and educational value. Many users are considering abandoning the game due to its tedious nature and the overwhelming presence of ads.
- “Over time, they've introduced other game modes focused on grinding for things like coins, hearts, butterflies, etc., as well as generally designing toward motivation of microtransactions and ad viewing.”
- “This takes away from the educational value of the game unless you have a very bad memory, so the gameplay turns into mindless grinding.”
- “The incessant barrage of advertisements after each level has become tedious and consumes an excessive amount of my hard-earned coins.”
story
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
82%
9%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with players expressing frustration over the shift from a focus on word puzzles to an overwhelming number of side quests and monetization strategies. While some enjoy the variety of missions and challenges, others feel that the game has become cluttered and less enjoyable due to frequent ads and the pressure to spend in-game currency. Overall, the narrative surrounding the game reflects a struggle between maintaining engaging gameplay and the developers' push for revenue through additional features.
- “This game is beautifully put together, with lots of cool side quests and competitions.”
- “Really fun game with tournaments, daily puzzles, and other seasonal side quest challenges.”
- “I need three portraits to complete the enchanted storybook set.”
- “Once-great app about mystery words and pretty pictures, now ruined by 1,000 features nobody asked for in an endless quest for your money.”
- “I notice that I would find a word that would fit into the space and it would reject it or put it in the bonus box... but once I used my hint, it spelled out the same word that I identified earlier... moral of the story, if you guess too many words correctly in this game without using the hints... they cheat and say it's the wrong word.”
- “I contacted you and got some cockamamie story about complaints that it was too easy.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
68%
18%
The optimization of the game has received largely negative feedback, with users reporting significant lag, glitches, and poor performance, particularly after recent updates. Many players express frustration over the game's reliance on ads and the perceived need to pay for an ad-free experience to improve performance. While some users note smoother gameplay on certain platforms, the overall sentiment indicates that optimization issues, including potential memory leaks, are detracting from the gaming experience.
- “The game's performance just got better all of a sudden out of nowhere.”
- “I have played on iOS and on Android platforms and it runs smoothly.”
- “Quite impressed with my daily performance.”
- “They're forcing the user/player to either ante-up the $9.99 to go ad-free or suffer with poor game performance.”
- “I don't know if this is an optimization problem or what, but it can be very frustrating at times.”
- “The developers are clearly maintaining accounts that grossly represent unrealistic performance in an attempt to encourage the purchase of items to aid performance.”
humor
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
94%
17%
The humor in the game is often derived from its marketing and the absurdity of its intrusive ads, which players find both amusing and frustrating. Many users enjoy the quirky word choices and the bonding moments it creates, leading to laughter during gameplay. However, the frequent interruptions from ads and the game's mechanics can detract from the overall experience, making the humor feel somewhat overshadowed by annoyance.
- “My husband and I usually compete to find the longest word and the bonus words, then we'll kiss the winner (more like giving each other a kiss lol). It's one of our bonding moments and we always end up laughing.”
- “I have played this game for two years or more and some of the words in this puzzle are hilarious; today I had 'soymilk'.”
- “Lol, their response is hilarious; of course, all free games have ads, duh!”
- “The ads waiting at the end of every game were just about manageable, but inserting them into gameplay every 75 seconds is not funny.”
- “The humor feels forced and often falls flat, making the game less enjoyable.”
- “I expected a lot of laughs, but the jokes are stale and repetitive.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game suffers from limited replayability due to repetitive content and frustrating ad bombardments, which can lead to quick uninstallations. Additionally, performance issues like battery drain and overheating further detract from the overall experience, making it less appealing for long-term play.
- “Also, replay value is limited.”
- “Fun for a bit but it's got no replay value because it's the same letters and words.”
- “You really need to make the game more playable if you want people to buy into it rather than uninstall it within the first hour of use because they're so frustrated.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized as peaceful and lovely, enhancing the overall experience. Users express concern that disruptive ads could detract from this serene ambiance, although it's unclear how ads are managed in the 'no ads' option.
- “The soundtrack and atmosphere is peaceful and lovely.”
- “With a game as atmospheric as this, a sudden ad for 'Zombie Death Strike' complete with heavy metal would be off-putting.”