What is Bomber Crew?
The game is a historic WW2 bomber setting. Outside the theme and aesthetic, that’s where the historic realism ends. The game is very much a product of the times checking boxes, a missed opportunity to learn about history engagingly.
What it’s not? Realistic. If that’s not obvious from the style, that’s not what Bomber Crew is going for. Instead, it’s more of a task management game set in a WWII setting.
The primary gameplay loop performing tasks that an otherwise competent crew would normally perform. As the crew levels up they will be able to handle more themselves, freeing time and tasks for you to do other things. The game is rewarding you to not play it, the longer you’re engaged.
Here’s the crew questioning their life decisions.
Bomber Crew UI problems
Bomber Crew suffers from horrible UI design. There’s nothing intuitive anywhere. Some simple examples are; You can’t use white space to go back, Outside of buttons it’s not clear what is clickable. You will spend most of the tutorial figuring out how to navigate the clunky UI.
Need to go to the mission area? No heading for the pilot, the navigator just stares at the map. What looks like a map to navigate, you can use that right? No, it’s just decorative. You have to use the main mechanic of ‘focus selecting’, where you point at something to highlight it on a timer. All designed not to be easy, but time-consuming.
Missions and crew
The primary part of the game is going on missions, they vary from recon, bombing targets, and delivering supplies. Some mission types are missing from bombers did in that era but again, we’re not going for realism.
The progression system is pretty standard with other games. Upgrades for your crew, new skills. New plane parts and an economy to purchase new equipment and gear. Pretty straightforward progression system, enough to keep it somewhat engaging.
While the game has a lot of potentials, I can’t get past the Skinner boxes the game has. Combined with a terrible interface and gameplay that’s just busywork, it feels like work that I don’t get paid for.
Can I fly the plane? No.
Can I shoot the guns? No.
Can I fix the parts? No.
Can the crew do it without me specifically telling them to do it? No.
A fresh new crew heads into the battle, untrained, underfunded, and alone.
In conclusion
I wouldn’t hire anyone of this crew regardless of their experience or skill. They’re all lazy and slothful and need to be instructed in everything.
While the style is great, the aesthetic is enticing, something that could be considered fun… It’s a frustrating experience and misses almost every mark. It feels like it would be right at home with every mobile game trope. Perhaps it was supposed to be? I’d be pretty upset if I were forced to play this game.
