Angry Birds Bounce - Apple Arcade Review

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Genre: Puzzle

Developer: Rovio Entertainment Toronto

Publisher: Rovio Entertainment

Release Date: July 3rd 2025

Available On: iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS

Reviewed On: iOS

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Angry Birds has become one of the most successful mobile gaming franchises globally. The series began with an iOS game in 2009 and has since seen numerous releases across various mobile gaming platforms and home consoles. The latest release is Angry Birds Bounce on Apple Arcade. Most Angry Birds games are carbon copies of each other, and the only difference is slight changes in the visuals. Angry Birds Bounce is the first game in a long time where the franchise has changed up the formula. The same core mechanic of firing birds with a slingshot and taking down pigs is there, but there is a lot more thought put into the gameplay. Angry Birds Bounce for Apple Arcade is a surprisingly decent mobile game, even if the gameplay does get old very quickly, as is the case with any other Angry Birds game. 

High Flying Birds

Angry Birds Bounce for Apple Arcade may sound like nothing new for a franchise that is 16 years into its life cycle. The core gameplay remains the same, but Bounce has managed to make the experience more akin to a puzzle/roguelike than any other Angry Birds game. It may sound strange, but allow me to explain how a typical level works. 

Angry Birds Bounce starts you with one bird equipped, and you play the game from a top-down perspective. Every level is a grid, and a certain number of pigs are on the grid. Each pig has a health bar, and your goal, in true Angry Birds style, is to eliminate all the pigs. However, every level has a certain number of waves, meaning pigs will continue to spawn until you have reached the end of each wave. Once all the waves are over, you simply eliminate all the pigs on the grid, and you proceed to the next level. However, this is only the bare bones of the gameplay in Angry Birds Bounce.

Angry Birds Bounce on Apple Arcade does not have a limit on the number of birds you can fire; instead, you now have a health bar that will decrease anytime you take a hit. When you eliminate a certain number of pigs, you will have the chance to equip an additional bird with a different style of attack, adding further variety to the damage and power of your flock. You have the option to choose between two birds to equip, a very roguelike characteristic. You cannot hit some pigs from the front due to a shield, so you will have to angle your shot and bounce off the walls of the grid to hit a pig from behind. At the same time, some pigs like to jump huge distances across the grid, which can dramatically affect your strategy if you do not plan with the birds you choose to equip. You also have special attacks, which you can activate once you have eliminated a certain number of pigs. These special attacks are unique to whatever bird you have as your leader. You begin your playthrough with just Red as your leader, but you can then unlock different birds with currency you earn at the end of a level.

At the end of the island, you will fight a Boss Pig. These boss pigs are stronger enemies that take up a large amount of the grid and often have additional pigs that you will have to eliminate to reach them. These bosses may not be too challenging, but they do differentiate themselves from standard levels enough and, like the traditional levels, you have to strategise your shots in order to take them down. Once you have defeated the boss, you move on to the next island, and all the birds you had in your flock at the end of the previous world disappear. You essentially start from square one at the beginning of every world, and you can spend your coins to upgrade the power of each bird, or buy different birds to play around with in a level. That is the biggest piece of praise I can give to Angry Birds Bounce on Apple Arcade; it takes a couple of risks to stand out from the rest of the Angry Birds games, and it does its job surprisingly well.

Angry Birds Bounce - Apple Arcade Review: Verdict

I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of variety in Angry Birds Bounce. The game truly feels like a slight departure from the standard gameplay we have all grown accustomed to. I especially like the small roguelike elements in the progression and gameplay. However, despite being a slight change, the game remains an Angry Birds game, and it suffers from the same faults as any other Angry Birds game; it's a fun distraction for a few minutes, but it becomes boring rather quickly. I do prefer Angry Birds Bounce to the original Angry Birds from 2009 because it has a bit more strategy in its gameplay. However, while I did have fun and I enjoyed my time with Angry Birds Bounce, it is one of those games that I cannot see myself coming back to in the long run.