13 thoughts on “Game Review: Habitica

  1. I had a really difficult time getting into this game. It seemed like it could be beneficial for many reasons, but the interface felt unfriendly, and I had to force myself to use it.

    I think I also had a hard time getting into it because I’m really busy and already have my own planner/calendar/organizational structure. Trying to manually enter everything again was really annoying, and I eventually just gave up. I did want to see what the game had to offer if you kept playing, so I poked around the forum and other parts, and it seems like Habitica is something that can be really helpful (there are themed guilds where people can keep each other accountable that seemed nice). My reason for giving it three stars is that while it doesn’t work for me, I definitely see the merit in using something like this to help with daily organization.

    Rating: 3
  2. I really really love Habitica. I’m constantly looking for ways to organize my life in a fun way. This is super helpful, and my mind feels a lot clearer.
    I haven’t “battled any monsters” because I don’t have any friends, but it doesn’t matter much. I use the site more as a tool, and still feel bad when I lose health either way.

    The one thing I had trouble with is that I often go to bed after 12:00. I want to check off all my things before I go to bed, but twice the day reset before I could check everything off (even if I actually did them) so I lost health 🙁
    Over all great game/tool, though!

    Rating: 5
  3. I play this every day now. I cheated when I first started playing it though. I had a feeling that all the interesting fun prizes would come with being a higher level, so I just made a bunch of fake tasks for me to do and then checked them off until I was level 3 and I won a bunch of cool stuff. Kind of sort of wish I hadn’t done it. But it was also an exercise in seeing how fun the game actually was. After I got some eggs and stuff I actually started playing for real! Then the other day I earned (for real earned) a hatching potion and that was pretty nice. Now I have a royal purple wolf, and a sweet bardian robe. Anyway. I like this game. It’s definitely a more fun interactive space to keep my agenda than my agenda book!

    Rating: 5
  4. I sort of had a difficult time getting into Habitica. I wasn’t very drawn in by the graphics or the layout of the website, and I think I probably would have liked it better if I used it on my phone. But, my phone storage was full so I had to use it on my computer. I think the reason the “game” was not fun for me was because I already use a daily planner so it felt excessive to add this app to my daily routine. I also don’t work very well under reward systems like this because they feel so artificial. I like to congratulate myself, not be congratulated by a computer generated message!

    Rating: 3
  5. To be honest I don’t think Habitica is the game for me. I’m definitely not the most organized person so at first I thought it was going to be really helpful. Unfortunately, most of the time I would forget to put in tasks when I had to do them, so by the time I’d remembered to get them done or checked my other notebooks/planners to see what I needed to do, this game became secondary/irrelevant. I think if you used this with friends and could access the “RPG” elements it could be really fun but it also looks like it’s probably designed so that the experience is better when you spend real money.

    I think it could be a great game for someone else, but for me it just didn’t really work out. (I did get some sweet pets though!)

    Rating: 3
  6. I tried playing this game but it wasn’t that fun. It was more work for me to go to the website to check things off and write my to-do list than it was for me to write my to-do list and check it off in my notebook, which i always have with me. I don’t always have internet access and my phone is broken so that contributed to my lack of regular use with it. From what I could tell you needed to pay real cash to get new things via diamonds, and I don’t feel like the game is worth paying real money for.

    Rating: 3
  7. After playing this game for a week I don’t think I will keep using it. Although I did become a level 2 warrior I didn’t really experience any other game elements. Perhaps it would be different if I battled with friends. As a to do list too, I didn’t really benefit from using it. Although it was nice to have all my tasks that I had to complete before break in one place, I didn’t like how once it became midnight a new day started. I feel like someone else might really like this game, but I did not.

    Rating: 2
  8. Like some other students in the course, Habitica simply did not work for me. I was immediately turned off when I had to re enter all of my to dos and such that I have already put in my calendar and agenda. Checking off a to-do in the game provided no reward for me and felt like another task to complete. However, the concept of this game is very intuitive and feels almost needed in the fast paced world we live in. I can definitely understand how this game can be beneficial to a certain audience of players. I think what is more challenging about making this game popular is that most people already have a system in place that lets them track their tasks and calendar – and are unwilling to try something new as a result. With that being said, for those who don’t have a system in place and consider themselves unorganized – then this game will probably be helpful and fun.

    Rating: 3
  9. This is a really cool game, and it is a really good way to put a little bit of entertainment in otherwise menial tasks or chores. It’s also just a cool to-do list, with little arbitrary rewards to keep you going (which is better than the usual check mark). That being said, the website itself was kind of hard to navigate, and I found it difficult to keep checking it when I needed to. It was kind of ironic, the way that updating my Habitica profile added another thing to keep track of. If I were to do this for a while and make it my go-to for goals and objectives, I would probably get into it and it would be a great tool.

    Rating: 3
  10. I actually enjoyed this game more than I thought I would, writing down my tasks for the day and receiving points for completing them gave me just the nudge I needed to get to work some days. I felt more organized and the rewards were cute in their own way and that made it fun in a way that is distinct from an ordinary to-do list app. I will say that I have my phone apps organized into file-like boxes including entertainment, games, appliances, extras, and utilities. I put Habitica in the games box but every time I would go to use the app I would open the utilities box looking for it. I really like the app and I will likely continue to use it, but it’s difficult to think of it as a game. I feel like it is closer to a self-help app with the image of a game but not the mechanics of one.

    Rating: 5
  11. Habitica was not my cup of tea. I didn’t like the interface, I wasn’t particularly drawn in by the avatar choices, and putting in all my tasks felt like time I could have spent actually doing those tasks. I feel like since most of our distractions are already on our phones, a physical pen and paper planner is the most effective way to disconnect and plan my day/week. I did not find my experience with Habitica to be particularly game-like. I understand how the points-for-completion system works in this age of numbers based validation, but I didn’t feel much better seeing my score go up than I did actually knowing I had accomplished something.

    Rating: 3
  12. This is a really cool game. You can set different goals in this app and get some “gifts” if you get your goal. However, for me, I don’t think this is a typically game, I think it is more like a schedule. Moreover, achieve or not depend on individuals themselves. For example, if i put a lot of schedule and goals in this app but i never check it, the meaning of this game is useless. Just like myself, i do put some goals like diet, homework on this game but I always forgot to check it. I know this is my fault but this is also the fault of this game because it doesn’t offer enough “gifts” or good “results” for his guests. I think this game is good for children because they are always interested in some cute, funny things even just a cartoon character can make them happy.
    Anyway, in general, this is a good game for people in a young age to inspect themselves.

    Rating: 3
  13. Honestly, I wanted to like habitica, but I really didn’t. It wasn’t engaging like the commercial made it seem and could have used some instructions to explain how the quests and actual play part worked. The productivity part of it was okay, but I have other ways that I’m used to reminding myself to do work so it kind of fell off my radar. Nothing about the app really made me remember it or want to open it, but the idea was cool.

    Rating: 3

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