When Flappy Bird was pulled from app stores back in 2014, both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store were quickly flooded with clones mimicking its gameplay and art style. Even though the game made an official comeback last year, developers haven’t given up on releasing their own takes on the classic. The latest one, called Foldy Bird, adds a unique twist that might just end up breaking your phone.
Foldy Bird is a browser-based Flappy Bird remake designed specifically for foldable phones. The game turns the device’s hinge into a controller, requiring players to physically fold and unfold their phone to make the bird flap. It features the same pipe-dodging gameplay as the original, but driven by real-world hinge movements instead of taps.
In addition to challenging your reflexes, Foldy Bird puts your phone’s durability to the test. As 9to5Google notes, foldables come “with a perceived folding limit set by the manufacturer,” meaning there’s only a finite number of open-and-close cycles before something breaks. While it’s unlikely you’ll reach that limit with everyday use, Foldy Bird could potentially speed things up.
Fold at your own risk
Despite the risk involved, Foldy Bird has already drawn significant attention, with developer Rebane’s announcement post on X surpassing 16 million views. However, if you’re considering giving it a go, you may want to reconsider. The repeated folding action could impact your phone’s long-term durability, and the developer explicitly warns players to try it at their own risk and only on their devices.
Foldy Bird feels more like a novelty than a serious mobile game, highlighting an unconventional way developers can experiment with foldable hardware. It will be interesting to see if other developers take inspiration from it and come up with more practical use cases.