Some gamers – may it be mobile, PC, or console – prefer in-depth sports simulations with high-end graphics, detailed management options, and loads and loads of real players and teams. Others prefer the exact opposite, meaning bare-bones titles that focus on casual arcade action, and often come with 2D graphics reminiscent of the gaming days of old. Dunkers falls into the latter category of sports simulations, and it’s now available on both Android and iOS mobile platforms, as you would likely expect from a highly-touted game in the casual category. Developer Kappsule describes this game as “crazy physics basketball fun,” and there’s nothing to it except stealing the ball from your opponent, then dunking it. You can play against friends on the same device, and choose between career mode and arcade mode.
Although, this is a game that doesn’t come with any bells and whistles, that also means it’s a title that falls into the “easy to play, hard to master” category, meaning it could be quite frustrating for you to get good at it. However, you don’t need to worry, as we’ve come up with list of Dunkers tips and tricks that can help you win more games, regardless of which of the two game modes you prefer.
1. Know How To Manage Your Jumps
In this game, you control the height and duration of your jump by the time you hold down on the jump button. Long holding motions mean high and long jumps that could get you far on the court, while quick taps result in short, quick jumps that wouldn’t really do much for you in most cases. So if you want to win more consistently in this game, the most essential thing you have to do here is to properly manage your jumps; they should be strong and confident, yet also precise, because you can’t expect to dunk the ball into the hoop without precision.
2. Stay Airborne For As Long As Possible
You probably know how the contestants in the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest do it – a lot of them want to stay in the air for as long as possible, which allows them to add more style to their dunks, potentially scoring them more points with the judges. So with the aforementioned first tip in mind, and also remembering that this is a super-simple game where style points don’t matter, you should try to stay airborne for as long as possible, as that’s going to prevent your opponents from stealing the ball.
3. The ‘Steals’ Aren’t That Realistic
Call it nitpicking, but since Kappsule emphasized physics as a selling point in this game, we’d like to clarify one thing about the physics when someone tries to steal the ball from the other player; they aren’t especially realistic. As you may have noticed, your opponents would often steal the ball from you by bumping into you, or by wildly moving their arms around. Combining this tip with the one above, you should make sure your arms aren’t wildly flailing toward your opponent’s direction if you happen to be trying to get close.
4. If You Need To Practice, Play In Arcade Mode
Career mode is where the stakes go higher, although there isn’t any real difference in terms of on-court mechanics. But since the stakes do get higher, as your rank will slip after you lose a match in career mode, you should definitely give Arcade mode a try. That’s where you can practice your moves, and try to dunk against your opponent as often as possible before they are able to score a dunk on you.
5. Backpedal To Get A Better Position, Or To Do A Fake-Out
The backpedal button will be, and should be very useful to you. By tapping on this button, your character will hop backwards ever so slightly. You’ll want to do this for two reasons – first, so you can reposition your character, allowing you to have a better chance of successfully dunking the ball, and second, so you can fake-out your opponent with some fancy moves. This may be a simple game, but you shouldn’t fall into the trap of making your strategy too simplistic for comfort.
Another thing you should remember about the backpedal button is that you can make quick taps on that button and not get penalized. And you can actually do so for as often as you want, even while you’re in the process of dunking the ball. Think of the potential fake-outs you can pull off while airborne, and think of how useful this button is on a broader sense.
That’s it for now, as far as our list of Dunkers tips and tricks are concerned. If you happen to know other hints for the game, let us know by commenting below!