Wildwood User Reviews

Customer Experience

Positive experience69.6% of reviews
Neutral13.0% of reviews
Negative experience17.4% of reviews

~ Based on 23 written reviews from the US App Store.

Is Wildwood Safe?

Wildwood: Graveyard Defense appears mostly safe based on user ratings. AppsHunter Safety Score for Wildwood is 83/100.

This assessment is based on 67 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.3/5.

Safety Analysis

80.6% of ratings point to a safe experience
6.0% of ratings suggest some concerns
13.4% of ratings point to a risky experience

~ Based on 67 App Store ratings for Wildwood.

Is Wildwood Legit?

Wildwood: Graveyard Defense appears legitimate, with a few gaps. AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Wildwood is 73/100.

Based on 73 of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.

Top reviews

I like it but curve is bad

I don’t know if I’m simply bad at this game. The graphics are alright for mobile and the designs for the ghosts are minimal and good. The problem I have with this game is simply that the gameplay is repetitive and if you don’t want to grind for hours to get 500 ecto to get a better lantern then it’s not worth it. All the better lanterns are way too high a cost and there should be better ones that are maybe 150-300 but aren’t super good. Middle of the road kind of lanterns. It’s not really possible to make it past the 6th phase with the basic lantern as you die so fast due to being too overwhelmed, and ecto doesn’t spawn frequently enough for it to be reasonable to have the high cost of the potions and lanterns.
Show more

Simple and enjoyable

A twist on taking out zombie hordes. Simple gameplay but the increasing difficulty, variety of ghosts, and items make it enjoyable.

A bit hard, but very fun

It’s difficult to survive until wave ten until you get a new lantern. But it’s really fun and satisfying to watch and hear the ghosts… pop?

Great potential

The controls are too awkward for me; I’d rather it be a twin stick and be able to turn instead of just a shoot button on the right.

I love the Halloween vibe though, and hope that it gets expanded with more of that. There are hardly any quality Halloween themed games in the AppStore

Response from developer

Thank you for your feedback. The controls are a bit different but they do grow on you. Thanks for the suggestion on the twin stick style — I’m not sure it fits the current combat design but I’ll try out a few games that have it and see if it could work for Wildwood. Always room for improvement! 🐸

Way too short

It’s way too short, and I would tell you more but I just spent 15 minutes writing a review up only for it to be deleted. So just read other reviews

Great game for kids and adults!

Thanks for updating the game every so often, Owen loves playing your game.

Great work!

very fun game

updated review:
played the game again after the new update.
suggestions:
1) change the lantern button into a joystick button similar to the movement joystick. that way, players can run and attack the ghosts. to prevent this from being overpowered, limit the turn speed of the lantern joystick.
2) movement joystick activates when you tap the left half of the screen, lantern joystick activates on the right half of the screen.
3) i'm not sure whether there is a day/night cycle, but it could be nice if there were. maybe other mythical/mystical creatures that are day-friendly, and night-friendly creatures other than ghosts. that way you can get some ability and content diversity. to give players somethin' to attach to.
4) i have a ton of ideas about where you could take the game, and potentially the franchise. let me know if any of that resonates with you, maybe we could work somethin' out!

developer followed up, proactive devs are the best!

old review:
very fun game. i only played one round, and found myself enjoying it thoroughly. my main problem is that the joystick control doesn't always work. it can get sticky and cause you to get hit.
Show more

Response from developer

Hi! Thanks for the review and thanks for playing! A new version (4.0) just went live today and has a brand new joystick! I’d love for you to check it out. There’s a bunch of other new features too that I hope you’ll enjoy :) —Alan

very fun game

very fun game. i only played one round, and found myself enjoyingn it thoroughly.

my main problem is that the joystick control doesn't always work. it can get sticky and cause you to get hit.

Response from developer

Hi! Thanks for the review and thanks for playing! A new version (4.0) just went live today and has a brand new joystick! I’d love for you to check it out. There’s a bunch of other new features too that I hope you’ll enjoy :) —Alan

I enjoy it

The game is pretty fun good for killing time but it gets boring after a while. I like the style and general gameplay <3

Response from developer

Thank you for your review! I am working to add new content to the game this Halloween. Glad you enjoyed playing!

Good game

It’s a fun game and it get new content around Halloween.

Response from developer

Thank you for the kind review! I am working on another update for this Halloween — stay tuned!

Joystick does not respond well

Game joystick does not respond well enough to make it far. Seriously 80% of the time it does not move on first attempt. Fast ghost just kill you. If they can fix that looks fun.

Response from developer

Thank you for the feedback! Working on a new update that will come out later this year that has a completely redesigned controller. The new one works wherever you tap down on the screen and should be much better to play :)

Great game!

This is most definitely an underrated gem that needs more attention as I see so much potential for this game. I hope to see more updates and events soon!

Response from developer

Thank you for the kind words, and I really appreciate the time you took to play the game and write your review. Absolutely there is more on the way! In the next few months I have some releases planned to improve controls among other items, and next Halloween will see a major content update. Thanks again for playing!!

Cute good looking game but lacks and depth or variety

Before I start, I understand this is your first game, kudos, that’s an amazing achievement and should not be taken away! You have the foundation of a promising game, it just needs a lot more content. On the plus side, it’s simple enough that anyone can play it, it’s pretty to look at and you have a good premise. On the other hand, there’s no depth, customization and after you play one wave, you quickly realize there’s nothing else to do. There’s no point or endgame to the game and no reason to keep going out wave after wave. Ecto accumulates too slowly and the only thing you can buy are potions which are one-off. The ecto spawning point next to the pot should be based on how well you did the previous game, or how long you’ve been away, instead it’s just one ecto each time. Might as well not be there. There’s only one location and it’s a small map. You could introduce a free-roaming stage or world map with a progression of levels or visit other graveyards, and help them out against a pandemic of ghosts. Introduce a little story and mythology.



Immediate suggestion: this game needs an in-game leveling up system like every Roguelike game ever made. You should gain exp when you defeat enemies and when you level up, you can power up your character or lantern. Speed boost, Def, HP, Atk power. Lantern can increase in strength, duration, width of its arc, length of its arc. Flame light, ice light, knockback, arc lightning with bouncing between enemies, slowing enemies. Explosions. The possibilities are endless and seems like such an elementary aspect to a game like this, frankly I’m surprised it wasn’t part of the initial design. Ditch the potion system and one-off brews and create this system ASAP.



Also, you can introduce currency or repurpose the ecto drops. Instead of potions, you should be able to buy armor, accessories and other gear to improve your character. Permanent stats, things like that. You can spend it on improvements to the hut or the grounds, traps, defenses, you can hire other characters/monsters/frogs to help you as mercenaries.The enemies get tougher in the waves, but the hero doesn’t so every game is super finite and there’s no point in ever playing more than a few times before getting quickly bored.



Basically, go play Solomon’s Boneyard/Keep and get inspired. Like I said, you have something solid here, and should be praised for a first-time effort, but if you want to sustain it, it needs a whole lot more. I’m sorry for being so critical, I’m truly trying to help! Good luck!
Show more

Response from developer

Hi bobbawaffle! Thank you for the kind words and all your suggestions. You make some very good points and I'd like to respond in as much detail as I can in this format. Btw, I think you win the award for most in-depth review!! First, you are absolutely right about the lack of any kind of progression system and expanded content! To give some more context, this is not only my first game but also my first foray into learning how to program (I unofficially consider Wildwood to be in “Early Access” and am so glad people are leaving their feedback and helping shape the future of the game). The current feature set is pretty much a reflection of my programming abilities. Second, I have LOTS planned for Wildwood :) but development is slow as it’s a hobby. My goal is to complete one major update per year (usually right before Halloween) with a couple mini updates throughout the year as I learn how to do new things. Next year's update is already in the works, with a focus on wave systems and player progression - very similar to what you've outlined. Last year I rebuilt the entire game from scratch to have a decent foundation to start building new features on top of. I decided to implement the Potion system first because it was a good way to learn how to build systems, and the design was kept simple to make sure I could get it shipped. Now that I have that experience, I feel confident moving on to creating bigger and better systems for the game! As with past updates, these new features will be added incrementally and will grow in complexity over time. You’ve also mentioned some really great ideas that I hadn’t considered yet - especially about hiring minions to help! That’s an awesome idea! Ecto will also have more purposes, but I don’t want to reveal too much yet. The game’s design is living document right now and I want to make sure I don’t over-promise if I have to make changes. Finally, I am so thankful that you took the time to play my game and give your thoughts on it. I hope one day I can earn a 5 star rating from you! And I’d like to invite you and anyone who’s reading this to feel free to drop me a line on my website’s contact form if you have additional thoughts you’d like to share. Thanks again! —Alan

Eh

Just a high score game, and gets old quick. Lost pretty quick the first few rounds. Then made it to 5k score and change pretty quick. Current high score is 80k. Could easily achieve with practice. Except there isn’t a pull to master the game. Potions are one-time use.

You’re better off playing Solomon’s Graveyard - a 10 year old game. Significantly more depth, and controls aren’t as wooden.
Show more

Response from developer

Thank you for your feedback! I appreciate the time you spent playing Wildwood and your review of my game. The next major update will include a defined wave & progression system, and add more depth to the gameplay (~2023). In the meantime, I'm implementing a new input system which should drastically improve the controls. 5k is a great score btw and the person who got 80k blew my mind!! Thanks again for your review —Alan

I ain’t afraid of no ghosts

A fun little game. You are a frog and go out into the graveyard to use your flashlight to make the ghosts disappear. The flashlight has stamina which goes down when you use it. Starts off easy yet gets more challenging.

It’s great though I wish there was the following: a pause button (though when you click on Game Center it’s similar to pause), being able to change the sound settings, playing the game in vertical mode, and that there were more areas to unlock/ explore.
Show more

Response from developer

Thank you for the kind review sarAAA! I appreciate your feedback.  A pause button is a great idea, and should be easy to integrate. Sounds settings will take a little longer. It's funny that you mentioned being able to play vertically - that used to be in the game a couple years ago, but I removed it! I will consider adding it back in.  Regarding more areas to unlock: there is a roadmap for the game's development on my website. Version 5 and Version 6 of the game are currently marked as "SECRET"... but maybe you're on to something... :) Thank you for playing! It means so much to me

Great!!

Such a great game!!

Simple and Fun

A great fun little game when you need a break from everything else!

Raine

“I’m taking the long way home,
where everything’s overgrown.”

Awesome!

Fun little game with a great design and neat graphics. Highly addictive. I keep coming back to try and top my high score.

Love it!

Beautifully-simple design. Addictive gameplay!