Cut the Rope for Windows Phone gets three new level packs at last

When Cut the Rope: Experiments arrived on Windows Phone last month, fans of the Cut the Rope series were of course pleased to see another installment on our platform. But the sequel’s arrival also reminded us that the first Cut the Rope had yet to receive an update since launch. The original game on Windows Phone had only 275 levels - 75 less than other versions.

As mobile Xbox gamers surely know, Rovio has been busy updating several of its Angry Birds games lately. Now it looks like Russian developer ZeptoLab has decided to join in the fun, because they’ve updated Cut the Rope at last! The update brings our version up to par with the iOS and Android games and gives players a great reason to rejoin Om Nom on his quest for candy.

Moar levels

The key feature of the update is the addition of three new level boxes:

  • Spooky Box – iOS release date: August 23, 2012 – Adds ghosts to the game
  • Steam Box – iOS release date: January 10, 2013 – Adds Steam valves to the game
  • Lantern Box – iOS release date: February 7, 2013 – Adds Chinese lanterns to the game

Each box contains 25 levels, so Cut the Rope on Windows Phone now has 350 levels – just like every other version. Nice!

iOS promo screens (all other images from Windows Phone)

Interestingly, the level packs are now divided up into seasons instead of one long list like before. Players can jump between seasons at any time, regardless of a previous season’s completion. The first box in every season starts out unlocked by default. However, stars from one season don’t contribute to unlocking level boxes in future seasons. So you’ll need to put the 11th level pack, DJ Box through its paces before you can unlock the new boxes, even if you already have piles of stars from earlier boxes.

More cartoons too

At the bottom of the new season selection screen, you can also jump to the Cartoon menu. Previously, the game only linked to the first episode of Om Nom Stories via an option on the title screen. Now, players can easily access and enjoy the cartoon series’ first 13 episodes (14 and 15 are MIA). Kids and the young and heart will certainly have fun watching the game’s protagonist Om Nom get into trouble.

Experiments next?

It’s fantastic that ZeptoLab released these new level packs and revised the game’s UI with this update. We know that updating games through the Xbox Live certification process can be time consuming and costly for developers. Perhaps those factors inspired this dev to hold out until they had a sizable amount of content to add before working on the update.

That begs the question though - what about Cut the Rope: Experiments? ZeptoLab’s follow-up game launched with 150 levels on Windows Phone, whereas other versions have an extra box (Ant Hill) for a total of 175 levels. Check out our review for more details.

The developer might just choose to hold out for another level box to release on other platforms before they choose to update Experiments on Windows Phone. But we can hope it comes sooner, just as many of us hope for Cut the Rope: Time Travel to hurry up and come over!

Lotsa gameplay for ya dolla’

Cut the Rope – Windows Phone 7 and 8 – 99 cents – 37 MB – Store Link

Cut the Rope: Experiments – Windows Phone 7 and 8 – 99 cents – 29 MB – Store Link

Thanks to Dome85 and Guilherme for the tip!

QR: Cut the Rope

QR: Cut the Rope Experiments

Paul Acevedo

Paul Acevedo is the Games Editor at Windows Central. A lifelong gamer, he has written about videogames for over 15 years and reviewed over 350 games for our site. Follow him on Twitter @PaulRAcevedo. Don’t hate. Appreciate!