Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games

Action/Arcade

Android

Android, iOS

Intermediate

Metro Trains

Welcome Time  Wasters!

Ever heard of Dumb Ways to Die? Of course you have. It was a popular YouTube video a few years ago and it spawned its own mobile game that I reviewed as a Time Waster a couple of years ago (Wow, a couple of years! What’s my age again?). Well, now there’s Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games.

Dumb Ways to Die 2 follows the same basic formula as the first game. Players have to complete runs of mini-games in an effort to increase their high-scores. The games get progressively more difficult the longer the player goes without losing.

Dumb Ways to Die 2 has a focus on having players complete sporting events. Not sporting events like football, hockey or soccer, but instead those that you would see Olympic athletes competing in.

The first Dumb Ways to Die game has several different mini-games for players to enjoy. Dumb Ways to Die 2 continues this and adds even more games. There are 24 different mini-games in total and they’re separated into three areas. These areas are Freezerville, Dumb Dome and Drown Town. There’s also an area called Adrenaland in the game, but it’s listed as “Under Construction”. Players will notice that some areas do include mini-games that are copies from others area with a new skin. This is a little disappointing.

The different areas for games sport eight each and act as training for the main event. This event takes place in the Dumbest of the Dumb area. It acts as a competition for players to score the most points and is a mix of all the different mini-games. Scoring so many points here can unlock more characters that wander around the map and die in horrible ways if tapped on. There’s also a leader board with high-scores.

To compete in the Dumbest of the Dumb competition, players will need a ticket. The game gives players 10 tickets starting out and more can be obtained from the Wheel of Misfortune, which appears every time the player finishes the competition. If players run out of tickets, they can buy some for real money. One thing I loved about the first game is that it didn’t feel like a mobile game. There weren’t microtransactions and ads were very limited if they showed up at all. Dumb Ways to Die 2 has video ads every time the player moves to a new area and offers to take them away for a minimal fee. I don’t enjoy the added attempts at my wallet, and frankly, it’s why I don’t play a lot of mobile games.

The graphics in Dumb Ways to Die 2 are nice. The animations are fairly fluid and there are a lot of small touches and details added into the presentation of the game. I also enjoyed the cameos of several characters from the first game and YouTube video.

The audio in Dumb Ways to Die 2 is a simple version of the song used in the YouTube video with the words taken out. It’s still catchy to listen to and makes for a pleasing background song. The sound effects in the game are also spot on with a simple but effective sound for the actions they’re related to.

Overall, Dumb Ways to Die 2 is a great way to waste some time. It has plenty of mini-games to entertain players and a nice, clean presentation. The addition of microtransactions is a little annoying and I hate the constant barrage of video ads, but they don’t harm the game enough that players should avoid it.

Dumb Ways to Die 2: The Games earns 3.5 GiN Gems out of 5!

I’ve embedded the original Dumb Ways to Die YouTube video below for any of you that haven’t seen it (or those that just want to watch it again).