COOKIE RUN KINGDOM

Annika Peterson | Arts and Entertainment | April

  Cookie Run Kingdom (CRK) is a popular mobile game chock full of lore, gacha, games, and exploration. CRK starts by introducing the player to a simple cookie named Gingerbrave and his other cookie friends, Strawberry Cookie and Wizard Cookie. The game introduces the player through the different currencies, crystals and coins, and walks through the uses of each. Then, the player is given a tour of their kingdom. While initially small, the player is given instructions on how to expand, decorate, and run their kingdom.

   The player is guided through the multiple production buildings available to use, and is informed of how each material produced by one building can be used to make something else in another. The player is also introduced to the Tree of Wishes, which is a tree where cookies in the kingdom leave requests for items for the player to fulfill. From fulfilling these requests, the player gains coins, which are used as a currency, and kingdom experience, which is what levels up the player’s kingdom. 

   From there, the player is cast into the story, brought to the first stage of the game’s world exploration, “Land of Little Big Dreams.” Here, the player is guided through how to complete world exploration stages and is introduced to stamina jellies, the resource required to attempt any world exploration stage. Additionally, the player is introduced to the game’s gacha system, being given one free pull. From this pull, the player is introduced to Chili Pepper Cookie. Chili Pepper Cookie follows Gingerbrave and his friends into the first battle of the game, and the player is introduced to the basic mechanics of the battle system.

   The battle system consists of the cookies running down a lane, being faced with various cake monsters along the way. The cookies have a standard attack that they do without player interference, but they also have special attacks. To activate these special attacks, the player is instructed to click on the photos of the cookies lined up on the bottom of their screen. Upon clicking these photos, the cookies begin to perform their special skill, accompanied by a special animation.

   After the player’s first battle, they are then able to explore the game more freely. The player is able to progress through more of the world exploration stages, build, expand, and decorate their kingdom, and discover other features of the game like guilds, cookie alliance, arena battles, and more.

   Guilds are an optional part of the game, consisting of a group of players, up to thirty, who work together to fight bosses and increase their guild rank. The bosses come in waves, four waves making a season. At the end of each wave, a player is rewarded with items like crystals depending on the guild’s rank. Each wave, two bosses arrive for the player to fight. Each player can fight each boss nine times per wave using guild tickets, which are replenished at the start of a new wave. Another part of the guilds is the cookie alliance.

   The cookie alliance is similar to the world exploitation stages, except it comes in waves and the player makes five teams of cookies instead of one. The player can build their teams however they like, the only restriction being that a cookie can not be used on more than one team. When the player starts the alliance, one of their created teams will be equipped to battle the various enemies. The player can freely switch through their teams and fight until they either run out of time, defeat all the enemies, or all their cookies are defeated.

   Additionally, the game offers Player vs. Player (PvP) combat options through its arena feature. The arena allows players to build their own team of cookies and face off against other players’ teams. Over time, the player is able to climb the ranks of the arena, earning crystal rewards as they do, and are granted a large reward at the end of an arena season. The arena also has its own special shop where the player can use medals earned in combat to buy cookie upgrade items and a variety of other things.

   The game has a somewhat complex cookie upgrade system, using a variety of means to slowly increase cookies’ strength. The most common methods of upgrading cookies are through promotion, leveling up, and equipping upgrade items known as toppings and beascuits.

   One of the quickest and most effective ways to increase a cookie’s strength is through leveling up both the cookie and their skill. To level up the cookie, the player must gather experience jellies to give to the cookie. Currently, the maximum level a cookie can be is one hundred. The same level limit also applies to the cookie’s skill, but rather than using experience jellies, skills require coins and special skill powders. 

   The next best way to strengthen cookies is through equipping toppings and beascuits. Toppings can be earned through various means, but are most prominently found from world exploration stages. Toppings  come in many different types with a variety of effects, and they can be upgraded using topping pieces and coins. Beascuits can also be earned through world exploration stages, but they can only be upgraded using coins and a resource known as beascuit bites.

   The final way to upgrade cookies is through promotion. To promote a cookie, the player needs to collect an item known as “soul stones.” Soul stones are specific to each cookie, and they can be earned through the gacha or other shops in the game. By collecting soul stones and spending coins, the player is able to promote their cookies and increase their overall statistics.

   Along with the battles, the game mixes in the elements of Gingerbrave’s story. Snippets of the story can be seen at the beginning, end, and sometimes even in the middle of world exploration stages. While the story starts off slow and simple, it quickly takes off and dives into a world of action and emotion, bringing in new characters along the way. Additionally, the stories are voiced over well, allowing the player to get a full sense of immersion.

   However, with the length of the story and the amount of data needed by the game, it can sometimes lag and crash on phones, especially older models. Even on newer models, phones can sometimes overheat and feel extremely hot to the touch. The game also drains phone batteries quickly, requiring a recharge after an hour or two. On top of this, the deeper and more intricate features of the game can be a struggle to comprehend for new players, and it can feel like there is so much going on all at once.

   While not everyone may like a game like CRK, it can be an enjoyable experience for those who like games containing gacha, strategy, and extensive lore. So long as someone has a modern enough device and an adequate amount of storage on it, CRK can be played almost anywhere by anyone.