PopCap games have likely appeared more in your life than you realise. This quirky developer — which is now owned by Electronic Arts — has been pumping out colourful puzzle games on computers, consoles, and mobile for most of this century. Several games in its library have achieved mass appeal thanks to their design, tight mechanics, and abundance of character.
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From shooting colourful orbs out of a frog’s mouth to mowing down a horde of zombies with…well, lawnmowers, PopCap never fails to surprise and delight with its brand of eccentric, thoughtful, and memorable games.
10Dynomite!
Dynomite! is an early title from PopCap that has all the trademarks of what makes its games so great—an easy-to-grasp concept, sharp presentation, and loads and loads of personality. Its gameplay takes a lot of inspiration from the Puzzle Bobble series, as you sling different coloured eggs into a gradually descending cluster in the hopes of clearing it out before it hits you.
The dinosaur characters and stone-age aesthetic continue to be endearing, and thepuzzle gameplayis challenging enough to feel compelling, yet accessible enough to always encourage a ‘one more turn’ mentality.
9Insaniquarium
The dubiously named Insaniquarium is one of the more unique games in the PopCap catalogue — and that’s saying something. You take care of an aquarium of fish, making sure they stay fed and remain healthy through simple interactions. And sometimes you also have to fend off an alien attack.
It’s this totally bizarre blending of ideas that makes Insaniquarium stand out amongst the crowd. Marrying together a pet simulator with action-strategy gameplay shouldn’t work on paper, but the game’s design is so carefully considered that it all comes together to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience.
8Bejeweled Twist
It’s wild how the smallest of changes can make the biggest of differences sometimes. Case in point: Bejeweled Twist, a spinoff of the popular PopCap series that makes one crucial change to its gameplay mechanics. Instead of swapping two gems, you now twist four of them to try and line up the colours.
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There are other changes Twist makes to the Bejeweled formula, but subverting that core mechanic completely changes the way you perceive the game. Otherwise, the slick presentation and fun gameplay that you would expect from a Bejeweled game are still all on display here.
7Heavy Weapon
Heavy Weapon signalled a change to the typical PopCap formula. This horizontal scrolling shooter is far more bombastic and action-packed than most of the developer’s library, but that doesn’t make it any less refined in terms of its mechanics and design.
In Heavy Weapon, you control a tank that does battle with the enemy’s air force in increasingly more chaotic levels. The game is charged with kinetic energy that makes it a blast to come back to even after all these years.
6Chuzzle
Chuzzle is a game about popping cute little fuzzballs by matching them with other cute little fuzzballs of the same colour. While you may initially feel some guilt over exploding such adorable creatures, you’ll soon forget about their wellbeing as you get hooked on thispuzzle game.
Playing Chuzzle involves dragging the rows and columns across the screen until the colours match. There’s a variety of modes that mix up the standard Chuzzle gameplay, allowing you to enjoy the game at whatever pace you wish.
5Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
The original Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare was a family-friendly third-person shooter set in PopCap’s iconic series. Its sequel took everything that made the first great, and added in new classes and new modes, while tightening up the design to create one of PopCap’s most polished games to date.
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The visuals are stunning, the music is catchy, and the multiplayer gameplay has all the depth you need without alienating younger gamers.
4Zuma
The Aztec frog from Zuma is almost as iconic as the unicorn from Peggle or Crazy Dave from Plants vs. Zombies. Zuma has just left that much of a mark since its launch and continues to be well-loved by puzzle game fanatics to this day.
There’s just something so satisfying about spitting out different coloured orbs into a snaking trail to stop it from closing in on your frog. Lining up that perfect shot is just about the most rewarding feeling you may experience in a PopCap game and is just one of the many delightful aspects of playing Zuma.
3Bejeweled 3
If you’ve owned a computer this century, chances are you’ve played a Bejeweled game. While each game in the series has its own merits, Bejeweled 3 is the most fleshed-out and polished entry to date.
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Everything that you love about the series is at its best in this third mainline title — exciting tile-matching gameplay, a myriad of special gems, and super sleek presentation that lives up to the game’s opulent title. Make sure you set aside a decent chunk of time before playing Bejeweled 3, because once you start, it’s difficult to put this game down.
2Peggle 2
One of the most euphoric feelings in all of gaming is the sensation you feel when pulling off a great shot in Peggle 2. There is simply nothing else quite like it. The utter glee of hitting multiple pegs and getting a crazy score multiplier makes the price of this game worth it alone.
Thankfully, Peggle 2 has so much else going for it. With charming characters, a whimsical score, and some truly creative puzzle designs, Peggle 2 is near the peak of PopCap’s development output.
1Plants Vs. Zombies
Plants vs. Zombiesstarted a mini revolution when it first launched back in 2009. All of a sudden, the tower defence genre — which had traditionally been targeted towards adult gamers — was given a burst of colour and personality that appealed to all ages and created a legacy that continues almost 15 years later.
PopCap has yet to top the elegance of Plants vs. Zombies’ gameplay, which strikes a perfect balance between being easy-to-learn, yet difficult to master. The absurd concept of defending a suburban home from a zombie attack with a militia of garden plants is so bizarre, you can’t help but get completely drawn into this world.
