Dominik Diamond has spoken out about his recent struggles with mobile gaming advertisements, characterising his experience as a 'descent into hell'. Diamond, who turned to video games to cope with depression while separated from his wife, initially sought a brief escape through iPhone gaming.
His journey began with games like Sled Surfers, where he encountered standard freemium tactics requiring players to watch ads or pay cash to continue. Diamond reported downloading several games, including Royal Match and Slap and Run, only to find they did not match their advertisements or were disappointing.
As he continued, the ads reportedly became more distressing, shifting from other games to slot machine apps, games promising cash rewards, life insurance for seniors, AI dating assistants, and erectile dysfunction pills. Diamond described feeling 'force-fed slop' and likened the experience to the cinema scene from A Clockwork Orange.
He also noted issues with ads being unskippable for 60 to 120 seconds and privacy notice screens freezing. Diamond concluded that he would instead play 'proper, well-made video games' and consult his doctor about antidepressants.