Stack Rabbit Review

Disney's doing mighty well in the app world thanks to the success of their Where's My Water? franchise. So Stack Rabbit comes forth with high expectations, and even though it's using the dreaded freemium model, I was expecting a ton of game play before I had to pay the piper. Hopefully my good vibes for this veggie loving rabbit was merited.

Stack Rabbit is a puzzle based adventure, as you control Ben the rabbit in his quest for collecting as many vegetables as possible. Ben is able to place several veggies atop his square shaped head, but the key is to match the veggies together. Randomly hopping in a field, which is done by tapping on the screen, will do you absolutely no good, especially since you're given a select number of moves to match as many of them as possible.

Vegetables also have to be matched in order, so right now my first order of business is to collect six red blocks (let's assume they're tomatoes), before I move on to the purple and white squares.

The puzzles get trickier when you are forced at clearing a few different colored blocks to get to the one you really want. This compromise lessens the amount of moves you have to complete the level, and there might be a chance that taken out certain vegetables will bite you in the butt towards the end of the stage. For example, if you have to collect two more tomatoes, and have just a couple of moves, what if there are no red squares left on the board?

Learning where to hop and what moves you may have to sacrifice along the way give Stack Rabbit a refreshing dose of complexity. I was definitely hooked on the game for the first hour.

I also appreciated the app's whimsical appeal, which is colored by its catchy score, cutesy graphics, and the overall likability of Ben the rabbit. Even though he's stealing valuable food in the garden, he's the leader of the family. At the end of each completed level, we are treated to a several second sequence of the rabbit giving away his vegetables to his highly appreciative kin.

Stack Rabbit's freemium mechanic is a necessary evil to enjoying the app. Although you will probably sail by the first 10 levels without a hitch, you will lose energy and will have to wait a half hour to replenish one carrot. Each carrot is equivalent to one rabbit life, and once you get attacked by the dog and run out of carrots, you'll have to wait another half hour to play the app. Refilling the carrot basket costs $0.99, so if you're willing to fork some money to hop around, have at it.

If I didn't have such a fun time on my first few levels, I would have deleted Stack Rabbit off my app, especially since it really takes way too long to get that much needed carrot. Still, the puzzles kept me intrigued and glued to my device, and since I have other games to play, I'm fine with returning to this app after a few hours of waiting. Impatient gamers who are adamant about not spending any cash may hold another opinion.

I eventually forked over a dollar to refill my carrot basket, and it earned me another twenty minutes of uninterrupted puzzle solving. Although I won't spent another dime on this app,  it's an engaging enough experience to keep me coming back for more. I may have to wait another half hour for my next adventure, but my rabbit days are far from over.

App Store Link: Stack Rabbit for iPhone & iPad | By Walt Disney | Price: Free | Version: 1.2.1 | 45.8 MB | Rating 4+