Boring fighting robots on your Android phone

Real Steel World Robot Boxing is a free to play fighting game, the follow up to the original Real Steel game based on the movie of the same name.

No such thing as a free robot lunch

The core of Real Steel World Robot Boxing is what you’d expect. You take part in two-robot fights, which aren’t exactly “boxing” as you can also kick your opponents, but let’s not split too many hairs.

The fighting is simple, with a strong and weak attack button, block button and special attacks, which you can access by damaging your opponents. During matches, robots can also unleash boosts, which cause additional damage. This is one of the many problems with Real Steel World Robot Boxing.

Pay to win

Unlike its predecessor, Real Steel World Robot Boxing is a freemium game. That means you can pay to buy better robots, more boosts and so on, which will make fights easier, speeding your progress through the game. If that was all, it wouldn’t be a problem. But Real Steel World Robot Boxing tries to encourage you to make in-game purchases almost constantly, and you feel at a great disadvantage if you don’t.

Worse still, while you can spend credits you earn on upgrades, they often still require you to wait, which you can skip by spending real money. This feels very unfair. The freemium model robs you of winning through skill, instead making it a game of ‘only the strongest survive’, which is hardly compelling.

Text book example of how not to implement freemium

Slow loading times, unresponsive menus and an overall bland atmosphere add to the feeling that Real Steel World Robot Boxing is just a money making app, that puts fun and gameplay firmly behind in-app purchases. Avoid.