Wildlife Match

wildlife match is the carbon copy of animal drop safari. both look and play like a cheap mobile game for kids, with a bunch of animals to rescue (and a human, much less important), but while safari has a mandatory move limit, this offers timed and relaxed game modes, no move limit in either.
205 levels unlocked one by one, 3-star rating based on score. goals are mostly the usual: remove 50 of this, drop that to the bottom, remove spreading hazards (really hate that even if it's turn-based and here it doesn't spread in every single turn), but there are less common ones. spreading green tiles all over the place is very cool, then there's collecting mushrooms or matching hedgehogs (or destroying them with boosters if they're in an unmatchable position). there's something new every few levels, but you don't necessarily want to go straight for the goal because that alone might not provide enough points for 3 stars and once goals are met, the level ends.
if you can't create big combos, getting all the stars can be a tedious task, but it was doable even with a timer, as every level has a 6-minute limit. I gave up on 3-starring everything after about 35 levels (and only tried the timer for a few stages), but even though freeing animals uses stars (and gets you some cash and consumbles besides their picture in the gallery), I had plenty left.
there's a skip finisher button, always appreciated, but can't match while animations are playing, which in turn is always annoying. it's not that bad here, and the clock stops while cascades are going on, so no time wasted. cascades also count towards the goals and destroy special tiles, plus the board is auto-shuffled if there are no moves left, so it mostly works as it should.
matching 4 tiles creates a 'super animal' (line-clearing booster), making a horizontal and vertical match at the same time results in a super animal bomb (clears a 3x3 area). have to match the marked tiles again to trigger the bonuses, or you can match two of them on their own to combine their powers. matching 5 in a row creates a rainbow gem, removes every tile of the color you switch it with, and can also be coupled with another special tile. combining power-ups is fun, but the audiovisual effects aren't that satisfying.
boosters can also be bought, and there are more power-ups in the shop, which is also accessible mid-level if you run out of something. everything is a consumable, 5 or 10 is cheaper than 1, in true mobile fashion. you can choose up to 2 boosters per level (the first slot is always occupied by a person occasionally explaining mechanics), they are assigned to random tiles, and when the actual power-ups unlock (hammer on level 7, shuffle on 19, etc.), you can use them as well. weirdly, the bomb doesn't simply destroy an area, only marks the chosen tile with a bomb that still has to be matched to explode, and there's a cloning token to create more of one color.
boss fights are also present, though not sure why there's a snowman in the middle of a snow-free forest, or why we're fighting an old man, for instance. they're part of the board, match stuff next to them to deplete their health, and of course every few turns they cause a ruckus. the snowman freezes a bunch of random blocks, the old man replaces golden tiles, the flower (they get scarier and scarier, don't they?) turns tiles into flowers, then there's one removing tiles, etc. there was one that could've turned ugly but the rest were kinda fun.
mouse controls are fine, except mouse wheel barely works on the map and in the store, easier to slide like you're on a phone. the presentation is what you'd expect from something like this: cute graphics and forgettable audio. no volume settings, only separate toggles for music and sound, plus windowed mode with a non-resizable window, but only audio settings are available while playing a level (alt+enter still switches to windowed mode). the game also offers multiple player profiles and hints for valid moves appear after a while.
surprising amount of levels and variety, but it's a bit too mobiley for my taste. no tapping anywhere though, and balance is much better than other mobile ports. levels eventually overstay their welcome and become more like tedious busywork than fun (with the last few levels turning it down a bit), and mobile shenanigans are also present in the shape of daily goals for extra bonuses (match the same tiles hundreds of times, complete levels fast, etc.). it's fine otherwise (except for the fucking spreading ivy), and you'll have plenty of boosters and money to make shorter work of levels if you want. overall, not a bad choice, especially for kids, should keep them (or anyone) busy for a long time.

It is a fun game with some problems. The biggest one is that the pointer doesn't respond after launching an extra. That takes maybe only a split second but if you played in timed mod than this can make the differences.
Also some of the obstacles are a little bit too fast. If you don't have the right postion to cut the bushes....than you can only forfait the game.
But hey, I bought this in a bundle for only €0.3 so it is OK.

Good game, interesting levels and new ideas and challenges introduced throughout the game. Very happy to recommend - just one slight thing to warn about - the game freezes mid-level occasionally and this means restarting the game and the level. If you can put up with that then you will enjoy this game.

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Wildlife Match is another tile matching game (match 3) derived from the well-worn genre of "Bejeweled" style games. Wildlife Match features a timed mode as well as a casual mode. In the timed mode, the player has about 7 minutes to complete the level. Most of the levels have some number of specifically matched items that have to be cleared. There is a level progression tracked between levels, with some unlocks for utility items and a vague backstory centered on wild animals, which can be skipped.
This version of the match 3 formula adds in locked tiles, panes, frozen tiles, and diagonal tile replacement (a spill-over effect). Some of the levels utilize these mechanics in surprisingly difficult combinations, making them difficult to clear, especially with a time limit. One early level features a snowman that sporadically freezes random tiles every 10 seconds or so. This makes for quite a time challenge to clear the board while tiles are being randomly frozen. There are limited use tools that can be acquired that give the player the ability to quickly knock out troublesome tiles, as is standard in this genre of games.
As is typical of the developers and publishers of these games, Wildlife Match is cross compiled for many platforms and is likely to be a bigger seller as mobile app than a PC game. The graphics are somewhat pixelated on a high-resolution screen and there are only a few options like music and sound volume. The sounds and music are appropriate and well made.
The same elements of pure chance exist in Wildlife Match as other match 3 games, however due to the powerups being more akin to Bejeweled, unwinnable positions don't appear to be likely. Most of the board layouts in the advanced levels have sharp choke points, but line and column clearing powerups go right through gaps and barriers. There is also a match 5 powerup that acts exactly like the Bejeweled version clearing all of one type when used. Something fairly unique to Wildlife Match are situations where tiles can't be replenished due to the diagonal "spill" mechanic, yet there may be "empty" panes that have to be cleared. These always have locked or frozen tiles above that have to be cleared first, this makes some of the levels much more difficult than average. Wildlife match is a skillfully constructed game, but it is one from a sea of similar titles. It is recommended for people that love match 3 or have never played one before.

A very solid Match 3. I played in both modes and will definitely play again.

Match 3 + modern graphics + 200+ levels = Candy Crush with animal theme. Fun for all ages. Complete missions for each stage go to the next. Buy powerups/boosters with gold. Unlock tools to help out.
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another fun match 3 game from HH.