Cut The Rope

Cut the Rope to feed large pieces of candy to a hungry creature called Om Nom. Collecting all the stars for the highest rating and progressing to more challenging levels with new puzzles.

This is a physics-based puzzle video game developed by ZeptoLab. And Chillingo published it for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, web browsers, Nintendo DSi, and Nintendo 3DS.

About Cut the rope

This is the first game in the Cut the Rope franchise. Moreover, it is a series of physics-based puzzle games where you have to cut ropes, collect stars, and feed your hungry monster friend.

Gameplay of Cut the rope

On each stage, a candy is hung by one or several ropes, which the player can cut. The goal of each stage is to get the candy to a green monster. It is Om Nom by cutting the ropes in a particular order while utilizing the game's physics to get the candy to Om Nom. As the game progresses, they add new elements to the puzzles. Examples include bubbles that can float the candy offscreen and spiders that can steal the candy. Such elements require the player to utilize them in such a fashion that the candy can reach Om Nom.

There are several levels in the game, each divided into 25 stages. Each stage has three stars that play can collect by having the candy touch them. Though players can do the stages without collecting all three stars, the stars are necessary for unlocking later levels.

Development of the game

Creative director Semyon Voinov and director of development Denis Morozov of ZeptoLab are the creators of Cut the Rope. The inspiration for Cut the Rope was during the development of their debut game, Parachute Ninja. Originally. Parachute Ninja was going to use a rope mechanic that ninja would use to swing. ZeptoLab became unsatisfied with the controls of the rope and swapped it with a parachute mechanic.

Eventually, ZeptoLab fine-tuned the rope physics to use in their next project. As a result, this would become Cut the Rope. The game started as a basic concept of delivering an object from point A to point B. When they had the idea of delivering candy to a little green monster, they found the idea both absurd and adorable. And they developed the game with this idea in mind. Much of Om Nom's features were designed after a two-year-old baby to make it cute.  Then ZeptoLab worked on its animations and sounds to give it charm.

Release

In contrast to Freeverse, the publisher of Parachute Ninja, ZeptoLab selected Chillingo as the publisher. ZeptoLab decided to go with Chillingo over Freeverse. Because they thought that Chillingo's player base would be a "good fit" for Cut the Rope's intended audience. On October 4, 2010, Cut the Rope debuted for iOS. Following this, Cut the Rope Free and Cut the Rope HD Free appeared, free versions with fewer levels for each device.

In June 2011, the Android version was made available. On Nintendo DS (DSi), the DSiWare version was available on September 22, 2011. It was for use in Europe, on November, and August 22, 2013, respectively, for Nintendo 3DS owners.

A limited version of the game was released in January 2012 as a browser game for HTML5 browsers. After BlackBerry 10 was announced in January 2013, the BlackBerry version of Cut the Rope was available to BlackBerry World.

Reception

Critics highly recognized the game. The aggregator website Metacritic has a score of 93 out of 100 based on 14 reviews. This is a rating of "universal acclaim". IGN has praised the game for having "the addictive qualities of Angry Birds – great puzzles, near-perfect use of touch controls, and cute personality". GameSpot has described it as "fresh, challenging, gorgeous, and highly entertaining". Jon Mundy of Pocket Gamer was equally positive, calling it "bright, imaginative, and supremely polished".

At the 11th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards (2010), Cut the Rope won in the "Best Handheld Game" category. The game beat such prominent contestants as Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker and God of War: Ghost of Sparta. This game debuted on PSP that year. At WWDC 2011, Cut the Rope won an Apple Design Award for the iOS platform. In March 2011, it won the 7th British Academy Video Games Awards in the "Handheld" category and a BaFTA Award, the first iOS game to do so.

Nine days after its initial release, the game had been purchased one million times. It rose to the top of the App Store's charts. According to Chillingo, this made it the fastest-selling iOS game to reach that number of sales.

Level pack

All games in the Cut the Rope series (except for Cut the Rope 2 for Android and Cut the Rope: Magic) group content into "boxes" or "level packs". Boxes in the original Cut the Rope contain 25 levels each. However, Boxes in Cut the Rope 2 contain 24 levels each. And boxes in Cut the Rope: Time Travel contains only 15 levels each.

Most boxes introduce a new element in the game. They were challenging the player with a new set of game mechanics. New boxes continue to be added from time to time through updates. Three stars can be collected in every level. While an extra star, known as the power star as of Remastered, can be found in each level when using superpowers. In Remastered, a special magenta world star can be found for some levels by interacting with items on the world map.

Adaptation, spin-offs, and merchandise

Om Nom Stories is an animated web series on ZeptoLab's YouTube channel. It specialized in selling to several kid-oriented streaming sites. The game is based on the game series and revolves around Om Nom's life outside of the game.

In July 2011, ZeptoLab and comics publisher Ape Entertainment published a comic book series. The comics tell the backstory of the candy-eating monster Om Nom and introduce new characters.

The character Om Nom has become the subject of a viral video, plush toys, and a Mattel Apptivity game.

In August 2014, ZeptoLab and McDonald's Europe announced a multi-market Happy Meal promotional campaign, which featured various Cut the Rope-themed kitchen accessories, such as a banana splitter and juicer. "Hungry for fruit and fun?" was the key message of the campaign. As part of the promotion, ZeptoLab also released the game called Cut the Rope: Hungry for Fruit.

In June 2015, ZeptoLab partnered with Blockade Entertainment for a feature film based on the games, titled Om Nom: The Movie, they set for its release in 2016, but it never came to fruition.

In March 2021, Zeptolab created a personalized book for children in collaboration with LionStory. The book features Om Nom, Om Nelle, Toss, Snail Brow, Roto, Lick, Ginger, Blue, and a personalized character of a child (appearance, name, dedication, and a back cover photo).