Common Sense Media Review
By Chris Morris
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Monkeys pop balloons in tower defense game; needs tutorial.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 7 parent reviews
Based on 20 kid reviews
Kids say this game is enjoyable and easy to learn, with cute monkeys popping balloons and providing a fun, strategic experience suitable for children. While it can become overwhelming and includes in-game purchases, it is generally well-received for its engaging gameplay and family-friendly content.
- fun gameplay
- strategic challenge
- kid-friendly
- easy to learn
- in-game purchases
Summarized with AI
What's It About?
Players must repel incoming waves of enemy balloons by placing defensive units (largely monkeys with varying abilities) to shoot and pop them as they progress. As the levels advance, the enemy becomes harder to defeat. Players will have to upgrade units (by tapping them and selecting from a menu) and more strategically place new units (found by tapping on the left hand side of the screen, then sliding them into position) and "agents" that are more effective, but cost in-game currency (by tapping on the bottom right side of the screen).
Is It Any Good?
It's hard to find true originality in the tower defense genre these days, and while Bloons TD 5 doesn't quite reach that point, it does manage to stand out from the crowd a bit. The gameplay is mostly the same as you're used to -- and doesn't vary tremendously from other Bloons titles, but the new units add some diversity, and the use of balloons as the enemy certainly makes the game more family friendly.
The cost to purchase units is high, though. And the lack of any sort of tutorial is annoying, since this game does a few things differently than other tower defense games, meaning it can be baffling for a few minutes when you first start playing and try to figure out what's what.
App Details
- Devices : iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Skills : Thinking & Reasoning : prediction , strategy
- Release date : November 15, 2012
- Genre : Strategy Games
- Publisher : Ninja Kiwi
- Version : 1.0
- Minimum software requirements : iOS 4.3 or later
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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