Game ports mobile play to PC without becoming quaint

“Timberman” (2014), developed by Digital Melody, was one of 2014’s more successful mobile titles, occupying the top spot in various regional app stores for a time. The game falls very much into the “easy to learn, hard to master” genre of one-touch games that was most recently popularized by “Flappy Bird” (2013). In fact, the influence was so clear that Tech Crunch went so far as to dub "Timberman" “the new Flappy Bird” in a July 14, 2014 article.

Like many mobile games before it, “Timberman” appeared on PC last week, apparently in search of an expanded audience. Such mobile to PC ports are infamous for being shoddily put together and for attempting to shoehorn a comparatively thin experience onto the PC, a platform better suited to long playing sessions and mechanical complexity. For the most part, the game's PC release is technically competent, and though the entirety of "Timberman" can be experienced in minutes, its PC port supplies more than enough fun for its $.99 asking price.

In “Timberman,” players work against an ever-ticking clock to chop logs out of an infinitely tall tree. As the tree shrinks, branches appear on either side, that, when touched, kill the player. This forces the player to switch from one side of the tree to the other to avoid the deadly branches. The player also dies if the timer ticks down to zero. A little time is restored to the clock with each log cut, so the player must keep cutting -- while dodging branches -- to stay alive. The other challenging aspect of the game comes from the rhythm the player gets into as they rapidly click back and forth. This invariably leads to being crushed by a descending branch or switching sides and tripping over a branch lurking at ground level.

These rather simplistic mechanics are wrapped in some surprisingly endearing art. Pixel art has become something of a cliché recently, but the execution in "Timberman" of such a worn concept is fantastic, so it gets a pass. “Timberman’s" backgrounds -- randomized renderings of a forest during different seasons at various times of day -- are delightful; the night and evening settings have an ethereal quality that alone almost justifies the game’s asking price. The unlockable character skins are also well put together and fun, with everything from a hazmat suit-clad lumberjack to a caricature of President Obama available.

Unfortunately, the game's rhythmic chiptune soundtrack doesn’t measure up to the game’s visuals. While appropriately beat-heavy for a game based on clicking rapidly, the soundtrack, which speeds up as your score increases, has ominous undertones that are out of tune with the game’s gorgeously rendered forests. There also appears to be only exactly one short song on the soundtrack, which quickly degenerates into annoying thump and whine over even relatively short play sessions.

The addition of multiplayer is the flagship feature of PC release of "Timberman," and it is a mixed bag. The game’s multiplayer mode allows two players to compete in tug-of-war style tree chopping either online or locally via split screen. The multiplayer is technically flawless, both online and off. Matchmaking took seconds, there was no discernible lag during online play, and the split screen worked exactly as advertised. Matches are normally over in seconds, however, which makes for disappointing online experience, with one player or the other normally killing themselves with the first branch they encounter. The multiplayer experience is a much more compelling one locally, with the banter of a couple of friends more than making up for the short matches.

“Timberman” is not a revolutionary experience by any means, but with a low price, technically competent port and some entertaining gameplay, it’s worth your $.99. If you’d prefer to live your lumberjack fantasy without ponying up any cash, the mobile versions can be had for free on both iOS and Android.

“Timberman” is available now on Steam, iOS and Android.