Generally when you think of roguelikes, you picture painfully difficult games that can take thousands of repetitions before actually making any progress. This genre is the perfect metaphor for the life of the lowly Magikarp, the weak Pokemon that can’t catch a break even in its scathing Pokedex entries. Since the titular fish of Magikarp Jump can only bounce, the goal is to train up one to jump as high as possible. Actually beating the game requires a bit of repetition, mimicking other portable rogue-likes.
Randomness is the main way any rogue-like will keep things from getting too monotonous. Magikarp Jump puts it’s own spin on this by having 34 different events, with many that can happen any time after the player finishes an activity. These events can range from getting some extra currency to extreme high risk/high reward situations. The more harrowing events are clearly dangerous, making the gamble more of the player’s choice than a way for the app to take more money. Every load screen becomes an exciting opportunity to roll the dice and hope your Magikarp doesn’t bump into an exploding Voltorb, rather than a moment that might make them bored. Players are actually encouraged to take these chances as each Magikarp has a level cap. At the end of this cap the fish is forced to jump until it can’t win anymore and then it retires, forever becoming a decoration drifting in the aquarium. Raising the Magikarp isn’t a total waste of time as the resources gained aren’t lost afterward.
Both the food and training that Magikarp partakes in can be upgraded to help with the next run, taking cues from the likes of Rogue Legacy to give players a creeping sense of omnipotence. Magikarp Jump even copies the passing of progress through generations, with each new Magikarp being slightly better than the last. The game is split into 3 different modes, giving players reason to check their phone almost hourly. This game design can be addictive as it doles out a ton of smaller rewards between bigger accomplishments in order to maintain the player’s attention. Even events that kill off your powered up Magikarp aren’t too much of a setback since they add to the trainer’s overall experience. Each level the trainer receives allows them to fish for better Magikarp, creating a constant feedback loop that would make other free-to-play games blush.
Surprisingly all the unlockable content isn’t hidden behind a paywall, allowing players to get it the old-fashioned way. In fact the game consistently reminds players of this with a screen whenever the app is started. Even if someone tries to pay their way to victory, they still need to play the game a bit to see many of the events. Some of these events have strange requirements, like tapping on Magikarp a ton to evolve it or breaking the tv to encounter a ghost. There are also timers in the game that can’t be paid away, making the game perfect for killing time in small chunks.
