Imagine your life as one big explosion of expectations you feel pressured to meet, and responsibilities that never seem to end. For us Colegiales, this is probably a constant feeling we experience on a daily basis where we are constantly dividing what we come to understand as our version of the holy trinity, which is study to get the best grades, getting a healthy dose of 8 hours of sleep, or hang out at La Bosque and have a well deserve drink. Having little to no time to yourself during a busy and productive semester of coursework, meetings, writing, editing, personal life, and other issues which seem to appear as an unwanted surprise party. You are at a loss as you no longer have time for hobbies or some down time for yourself.
As a young adult, whom others identify as a workaholic, overachiever, or “too busy” to enjoy some “free time,” I am constantly searching for something fun and simple to do. This usually means finding a source of entertainment which does not consume too much of my productivity time or cost an insane amount of money. I was binge scrolling on Facebook to watch random videos on my news feed when a friend of mine sends me an invite to play Endless Lake. I gave it a shot, but was not too fond of it.
(Artwork of Endless Lake; all screenshots taken while using the gaming apps)
A few days ago, I gave up trying to beat my friend’s score in Endless Lake. As much as I tried following the game’s mechanics, and jumping from panel to panel, I usually ended up drowning, failing the game, and back to start again. A few weeks after, I noticed a lot of my Facebook friends were sending me annoying invites to play Everwing. At first, I hesitated because I assumed it was going to be a similar experience to the last game I played. Regardless, I pressed play and entered the rabbit hole of addiction in the mystical world of Everwing.
Everwing is a mobile vertical shooter game available on the Facebook Messenger app, developed by Blackstorm Labs in 2016. It is also possible to play it on your laptop or PC, but the image resolution might look different, and you will have to rely on your mouse or touchpad mobility skills to guide your character through the multiple swarms of monsters, over-excited fireballs, boss fights, and the occasional goblin that is trying to get your attention.
What I enjoy about this game in particular is the many options you have in playing. The game offers its normal mode, where you fight waves of monsters while obtaining a series of items such as gold coins and gems (your main source of income and score), trophies (needed to unlock chest opportunities and for power ups), and lightning bolts (the energy you need to play in boss raids).
Alongside normal mode, you can complete quests by completing a set number of challenges.This involves challenging your friends, improving your score, sending multiple invitations to your Facebook friends, or collecting a few coins as you defend your kingdom.
To further improve your experience in Everwing, boss raids, as well as completing quests will be your gateway in collecting more characters, dragon companions, and other prizes. For these kinds of missions, collaborating with your friends will make a huge impact on whether or not you will get access to legendary or common dragons. The design and power up of each dragon are particularly remarkable in their own way, and it will encourage your to not only collect them, but to evolve them as well. Dragon evolution is done after they reach level 10, but you would also need to unlock the same dragon and train it. Once you have two one-star dragons at level 10, they fuse into a two star dragon, and so on.
You will find yourself so immersed in the game that, eventually, you and your friends will start to form Facebook groups dedicated to playing Everwing, and you will find yourself randomly inviting people to join you in your quest for fame and glory. Collecting dragons is also a huge bonus, for you will feel the nostalgic “gotta catch em all” with a twist on “How to Train Your Dragon”.
The game may seem impossible at first for those players trying it for the first time, but it is a great way to distract yourself from your busy schedule, or to pass the time if you have to do errands that involve waiting in multiple never ending lines. Plus, the best part about this game is that it is FREE as long as you download the Messenger app. Just to clarify, when I mean free, I am saying Everwing has no in-purchase options in the game. Everything you will need to advance in the game is already within its features. One detail about the game that may bother people is having to send invitations to your Facebook friends in order to complete missions. Most people will ignore your invites, some will be willing to try the app and join you, such as my case when I first started with this game. The best you can do is invite the same people who do not seem to mind, again. This is possible once the game’s time restraint has ended, and it will allow you to invite the same person.
Again, depending if you enjoy or dislike these kinds of games, I like to see them as a good way to invest my time in something fun, entertaining, and something better to do while I continue doing my daily chores, errands, or adulting. Life does not have to be a bitter day to day struggle; make sure you find some time for yourself and reward yourself with some downtime and mental rest. Trust me, your mind will thank you later as you focus your attention on some low key gaming in your Facebook messenger app. For more information on the game, be sure to visit playeverwing.com.