Merge Master

Genre: Misc.

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local)

.

Review:

Merge Master, released on Nintendo Switch in 2023 and loosely based on a 2021 mobile game called Merge Master: Dinosaur Monster, is… dumb. I know that’s not a very professional way to start a review, but I can’t think of a better way to describe this game. This is the videogame equivalent of that thing that kids do when they mash together their action figures to make them “fight”. And mechanically this game is about as intelligent as pulling a lever to see if you got a prize, and if not then pull the lever again.

The idea behind Merge Master is that you have a game board on which you can spend coins earned in-game to populate with dinosaurs or, inexplicably, Medieval fantasy archers and wizards. Why? Your guess is as good as mine… if your guess is that the developer acquired assets for two completely different genres and mashed them together because “why not”. Anyway, players can also combine two of the same type of character to create a bigger, stronger variant of that character. Using these, players go up against increasingly tougher opponents with their own selection of dinosaurs, archers, and wizards.

Upon starting combat, you have no control over things, you’re just watching them fight (kids mashing action figures together). Did you win? Great! Get some money so you can add more units and go on to the next fight. Did you lose? Well, here’s some money so you can upgrade your units and try again (pull the lever!). There’s no real strategy here beyond “keep slamming your head against the wall until the wall breaks down”.

Despite the mindlessness of it all, I have to grudgingly admit that there is a little base enjoyment to be derived from adding another fighter to your little army and then seeing them head into action, ripping apart the enemy’s forces. In fact, the instinct to keep upgrading your forces is so strong, you might find your attention creeping over to the pink gems in the corner, gems that are apparently used for nothing in this game, but I’d surely bet that this was a part of some sleazy monetization that this game was derived from. Ugh.

The presentation here is… well, only as good as it needs to be. The 3D character models look okay, even if they have no business being together in the same game, and their sense of scale is absurdly bad. There are roar sounds for the dinos and grunting sounds for the human characters, but no real music to speak of. Basically, the presentation works, but in no way does it work well.

I suppose that some may find Merge Master to be an acceptable time-waster, but I feel like this game is so completely mindless, so pointless and lacking in variety or compelling content, that surely there are better ways to waste your time. Play one of those games instead.

tl;dr – Merge Master is an odd game where players send dinosaurs, archers, and wizards out into battle, and if they fail they just spend more money to upgrade them and try again. The gameplay here is brainless, the units in your army have no business being together, and this game gives off all the surefire indicators of being a low-effort microtransaction-fest that had the microtransactions taken out before being slapped onto Nintendo Switch. Some players may get some dumb fun out of this game, but wouldn’t you be happier playing something that’s more interesting than doing the same thing over and over again until it works? Please play something else instead.

Grade: D

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Exlene, Homer Simpin, Johannes, Francis Obst, Gabriel Coronado-Medina, Jared Wark, Kristoffer Wulff, and Seth Christenfeld. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}