First Hololive stars, soon the entire world: It's time for Suika Game, everybody!
Almost everyone is playing Suika Game now. You can see it on Twitter, on Reddit, and on YouTube. So, what makes this game that everyone is playing so much fun?
Suika Game is a game centered around combining gameplay. In the game, various fruits randomly drop, ranging from small grapes to large coconuts, and all of them can be further combined. The ultimate goal is to combine them into a big watermelon—hence why we call it Suika game. The gameplay of the game is very similar to the internet sensation of 2048 back in the day. The key rules in both games are strikingly alike, although Suika game presents these numbers in a fruity way.
However, Suika Game has its own unique features. There are random physical collision effects between different fruits. Players can control the movement direction of these fruits by eliminating them. The game also introduces some randomness: first, the random placement of fruits, and second, some random rolling during the combination process, leading to unexpected chain reactions. It's simple to play but offers endless randomness.
I think our Polygon friend can't stop playing it.
This "simple randomness" forms the core fun of the game, creating many dramatic moments for players. Everything is going smoothly, but a surprise small grape appears, bringing you within reach of the watermelon. Or, you might think you're stuck with no chance of further combinations, but then a missing puzzle piece falls from the sky, and the situation turns around, allowing you to enjoy the big watermelon.
Big Watermelon Synthesis
The currently popular version of the game is on the Nintendo Switch, and you need a Japanese Nintendo account to download it. However, they didn't invent this set of rules. In 2021, during China's New Year event, a game called Big Watermelon Synthesis was already online and received a tremendous response. During the long journey back home, almost everyone opened their phones to play this game or share their progress.
It's indeed fun, but is it really enduring or can it become a classic? Well, probably not.
As we introduced in the gameplay above, Suika Game itself doesn't have many complex systems or particularly fascinating rules. All its fun is built upon "simplicity" and "randomness." Simple means it's easy to pick up, and randomness implies you'll need to rely on a bit of luck. You won't really learn anything from this game or figure out the rules of randomness. It becomes a passerby in your phone's memory, keeping you entertained during those brief moments while waiting for the bus.
Truth be told, even the most hardcore gamers occasionally get hooked on some inexplicable games. Suika Game is one of these examples. Moreover, its sudden popularity owes much to various VTuber groups and game streamers. Whenever you open any video or social media platform, you can always find a new message: "I just set my personal high score in Suika Game!"
The game's developer, Aladdin X, isn't a professional game developer by trade; their main business is home electronics. Suika Game is their first foray into the gaming world, but they certainly know how to promote a game. The marketing team reached out to well-known VTuber groups in Japan, inviting these streamers to play their game online for promotion. This generated buzz on platforms like Twitter and Reddit, leading to the current success.
It's a marketing victory, similar to what happened during the Spring Festival holiday in 2020.
As the saying goes, "What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun."
Finally, in case you don't have a Nintendo game console, we'll introduce some ways to play Suika Game for free. Don't download paid or suspicious pirated software. We want to keep your phone safe, so try this website. Just click to play.
This is what we wanted to share about Suika Game.
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