Backyard Monsters: Inferno Review (PC Online)

Inferno Campaign

Now that Backyard Monsters has grown in popularity, the developers at Kixeye have released an expansion for the game called Inferno. One of the biggest changes that Inferno brings to Backyard Monsters is the addition of a storyline to the game. Once the player’s Town Hall reaches level five, a large stone formation begins to protrude into the yard. This is actually a portal from which the monster Moloch intends to launch an invasion of the yard from his subterranean domain. Each day as the cavern rises, the player must fend off a wave of Moloch’s nefarious minions. On the fifth day, the entrance to Inferno is fully revealed, allowing the player to initiate a counter-attack against the invaders. To defeat Moloch, the player must destroy several bases that lie in the tunnel to the surface. While accomplishing this objective is far from difficult, it does show off the new monsters and buildings in an interesting manner. Each base features a unique design that posses a new challenge to the player. Eventually, the player must assault Moloch’s stronghold, ending his campaign of terror once and for all. As a reward for defeating Moloch, the player is granted a brand new yard in the depths of Inferno. In essence, the player must start the game all over again. The only difference is that there is no way to purchase additional workers, meaning that the whole process takes even longer. As far as endgames go, this one is down right disappointing. While I have to applaud the developers for attempting to give a Facebook game more depth, I really don’t feel like I accomplished much.

Inferno Yard

This lackluster reward is worsened by the fact that the Inferno town is not that different from the original one. Sure, everything has a hellish, underground look to it, but it’s all the same beneath the surface (no pun intended). The town hall, harvesters, and production buildings function in the same manner as their above ground counter parts. In fact, the first two defenses that the player has access to are merely re-skinned versions of the Sniper and Cannon towers. Even the new monsters don’t make much of an impact. I’m actually a bit annoyed since the toughest Inferno monster, the King Wormser, is essentially an already existing monster on steroids. In reality, Inferno only has two truly unique features. The first is that idle monsters can help defend the yard against enemy attacks. I find that this is a very useful addition that only just fails to make up for the lack of a champion. The other unique bit is the Quake Tower, which is essentially an enormous weight attached to a pulley. As the name implies, it causes earthquakes that inflict massive area of effect damage against nearby invaders. The Quake Tower makes for an incredibly effective defense, and it can now be used in the surface yard. Sadly, it can’t be built above or below ground until the Under Hall is upgraded to level three.