Evil, yet beutiful.
Flappy bird is simple: You tap the screen to make the bird jump. Fly through the gaps in the pipes. Don't die. That's all there is too it. There's a sorta skill to it, but it's still mind-numbingly difficult, yet it still manages to engross you. Why, I ask myself.
The answer is, surprisingly enough, in those rock-hard video game platforms from past days, and maybe somewhat even Mario. Hell, the aesthetics of the game are almost Mario-esc, in many ways. At The fish is reminiscent of a Cheep-Cheep from the Mario series. The pipes are just there, in many ways, yet might simply be a call-back to Mario. Because, surprisingly enough, this game may[footnote]Still have no idea what I'm saying.[/footnote] actually be, in many ways, the ultimate simplification of the platformer.
Platformers, are in many ways, about skills. Knowing when to jump and how to jump, mastering the jumping patterns: Flappy bird is that in it's purest form. And it's that for however long your bird lives.
Another common thing is frustration. You hear stories about the anger, the rage you feel when you play, the difficulty of the game. Yet, in many ways, that's part of it's charm. While Dark Souls is difficult because of it's complexity and design, flappy bird is difficult as a simplistic choice. It just is difficult, and like Dark Souls, the satisfaction of rising to the occasion and beating your high-score to be the best feeling in the world. Doing well, executing that single move in the best form possible, rising above your previous methods: That feels great. That is why it's so addictive, you rise above your past failures, and succeed in flying above it!
I'm afraid I simply must admire it's sheer simplicity. It's managed to make itself work by simply standing there, and offering the simplest form of platformer it could, with a understanding of the undertones of the platformer genre, the difficulty, the challenge, and the feeling of overcoming. That's why it's amazing. And it's also why it's evil as shit, but it's evilness is overshadowed by it's beauty.
Recommendation:
Avoid it. It's evil. Pure evil. It will break you. 10/10. Now play it now.[footnote]Feel free to review the review in the comments! If this is well-received, I might make another. If not, I'll escort my way out after the thread has been burnt down.[/footnote]