World of the Wild

3.8
Where to Buy

World of the Wild App Review

App Info

Price: Free

Overview

World of the Wild is a simulation game that allows players to participate in various ecology-based activities, including cleaning up oil spills, planting grass, trees and bushes, and rescuing endangered animals from various sorts of calamities. Each activity is interconnected, and earns points that can be used to complete other activities. Extra points can be purchased or earned by taking quizzes about conservation and the environment.

Features include:

    • Unlock new resources and animals as the game progresses
    • Learn through pop quizzes
    • Discover issues facing the environment
    • Learn about endangered animals

Kli>Experience the interconnection between all parts of the planet

Quality

This app is well-made, with each feature working as described. The tutorial could use a little work, however. The game is quite convoluted, with various types of points earned and spent for various aspects of the game, and it takes quite a bit of attention to keep it all straight. The tutorial is mostly made of visual demonstrations with a sentence or two of explanation, and I found it to be quite confusing and difficult to remember. It would be good to supplement it with a written explanation that is all on one screen, and perhaps a chart or two would help.

Education

World of the Wild does a great job of simulating the various things that need to be done to preserve and improve the environment. Game play includes activities such as planting grass, bushes and trees, cleaning up oil spills, scaring away poachers, and much more. Each activity costs some kind of points, though, so players will need to budget carefully and spend their points so they have the most impact on the environment. Players have an opportunity to earn additional points by answering questions on quizzes.

The reading level of this app is high, likely middle school level or beyond. For this reason, many younger children, though they might enjoy the game play and be interested in the information, may have trouble enjoying the game.

The quizzes are very educational, but some players may find them quite frustrating. The information required to answer does not seem to be readily available within the game play of the app, but rather things that might be learned in science class or through research. It would be better if the quizzes related more to the actual content of the app, or were easier to find within the app if it is indeed in there somewhere.

Entertainment

One of my most serious concerns about this app is the pace of game play. When players choose to spend points on planting grass, for example, it starts a countdown between placement and growth that can last 30 minutes (in real time). That’s quite a delay in the game play. Players have the option of “spending acorns” to speed the timer up, but it takes quite a while to accumulate enough acorns to make a difference after the initial bank provided is depleted. Acorns (and the other types of points) can be acquired through an in-app purchase, as well, and it seems like many young players may be quite tempted by this option.

Value

This app is free in the App Store. The information provided is valuable, and the concepts reinforced are outstanding. Game play can be quite slow, though, without acquiring extra supplies of the various points offered. There are, however, in-app purchase options that are unprotected by any sort of parent gate within the app. If a child clicked on them, the only thing between them and an unauthorized purchase is the parent’s Apple ID information. That being said, the developers indicate that the app provides options to support any of the 17 charities that it is connected with. It is unclear if the in-app purchase of points helps in this regard or if donations are made separately.

Child Friendliness

While most of this app is child-friendly, it is very disconcerting that children can access the in-app purchases so readily. For this reason, I would not recommend the app for players any younger than middle school ages, and only then if parents or teachers are certain that the kids can be trusted not to make unauthorized purchases of the various kinds of points. It is also easy for children to access unprotected links to social media and email.

  • NO 3rd party ads
  • YES unprotected links to social media and email
  • YES in-app purchase, unprotected
World of the Wild
World of the Wild
World of the Wild will encourage kids to think about conservation and the environment as they use their logic and reasoning to solve interactive problems for the animals.
Quality
Education
Entertainment
Value
Child Friendly
3.8
Where to Buy