This is a guide for Epic Plane Evolution, specifically the YouTube Playables version. If you didn't know, YouTube has Playables. They are little games that run in your browser. They're meant for mobile but you can play them on desktop (and mobile too) by going to Menu (left side) > Explore > Show more > Playables. You can access Epic Plane Evolution directly here.

Here's what Epic Plane Evolution looks like:

Gameplay Loop

In every level you start with a basic plane attached to a slingshot. You can pull the slingshot back to launch your plane, and where you land determines the gold you earn for that launch. While you only start with a fuselage most times, you can take the gold you earn and upgrade three possible things over the course of the level:

  1. Slingshot
  2. Plane
  3. Income

Plane upgrades are by-far the most important. Typically you get 3 control surfaces (eg left wing, right wing, tail) and a propeller. In every level at least up to 7, which is the terminus of the YouTube Playables version and the only version of Epic Plane Evolution I've bothered playing, there are at most 4 Plane upgrades. Upgrading further does not get you any new parts and is actually throwing money away.

Slingshot upgrades determine the launch speed of the plane. For most levels, once I mastered the mechanics (I explain below), I only needed at most 3 upgrades for the slingshot, sometimes only 2. Listen and you shall learn.

Finally there is the Income upgrade. Upgrading this one increases the multiplier applied to the money you receive per launch. Because money is the only currency in the Playables version this is generally a good investment.

So to recap, for each level:

  • 4 plane upgrades
  • You probably only need to upgrade the slingshot 3 times
  • As much for Income as you deem necessary

Plane upgrades do not carry over. Slingshot upgrades do not carry over though the aesthetics of the slingshot do, weirdly enough. That means for each level, regardless of what you brought, money aside, you need to follow this upgrade path. Upgrades get more expensive as the game progresses and as you put more money into an upgrade, though this seems to reset to a baseline increase in cost after moving to the next level.

There's no way to put it lightly: this game is a massive grindfest. It has its roots as a mobile game launched in June 2024 that joined YouTube Playables in September of that year.

It didn't stop being a mobile game but the mobile game now has so many ads it seems to be near-unplayable. Compounding this, in the mobile game you need Plane Tickets to fly. These regenerate slowly over time. This is a common mechanic but the only other game I played with an energy mechanic was Love Live School Idol Festival. And that was a grind-y game!

Screencap of my SIF account from June 2018 when I was at Sophia University. I know what a good mobile game looks like!

In Epic Plane Evolution you can watch 2 ads to get more tickets (3 at a time) or you can buy them with money: $2 for 20, $5 for 80 or $10 for 200 tickets. Now that's epic!

Flight Controls

The actual flying part of the game is very fun. Once you've finally acquired the money, upgraded the plane and upgraded to a decent slingshot upgrade, the next hardest part of the game is actually flying the thing to the end of the level.

  1. Make very minimal in-flight adjustments
  2. Pitch up or down lightly to maintain constant or steadily increasing airspeed
  3. Plan how to avoid obstacles well in advance

Level 1

Looks like the Vaught F4U Corsair. The upgrades you get are:

  1. Left Wing
  2. Right Wing
  3. Tail
  4. Propeller

Level 1 is a lagoon and is easy to navigate once you get up and over the initial trees. It transitions into a desert with some snow dotting the ground and ends soon after.

Level 2

Indoor biplane challenge. Controls similar to Level 1.

  1. Bottom Wing
  2. Top Wing
  3. Tail
  4. Propeller

As for the stage, dodging two chairs and maintaining enough speed indoors is easier than it looks once you get the controls down. After dodging the furniture and a bath you fly out a window and coast along a sidewalk towards the level's end with no remaining obstacles.

Level 3

Fly a jet treacherously close to buildings. Reminds me of that tragedy. Respectfully, one of the harder levels in this game.

  1. Left Wing
  2. Right Wing
  3. Tail
  4. Engines

It will take some time to find a path. My fortuitous path is as below:

Level 4

Fly a paper airplane. Most EPE- (Epic Plane Evolution) heads consider this the hardest level. Traditional upgrades don't apply here but still only take 4:

  1. Great Paper Airplane
  2. Super Paper Airplane
  3. Hyper Paper Airplane
  4. Mega Paper Airplane

Once you get over the meeting room desks and out the window you're home free. But until you do it's an exercise in managing airspeed.

Level 5

Another biplane. Epic!

  1. Bottom Wing
  2. Top Wing
  3. Tail
  4. Propeller

Not bad. Dodge the trees, grain silos and Windpumps and you won't crash.

Level 6

Solar glider. Your wings glow gold when in the sun and you gain a significant speed boost. Otherwise you're as slow as molasses. Keep airspeed steady in every case. This will involve trading speed for altitude when you're solar-powered and pitching down to gain speed when you're in the dark.

Level 7

Most challenging level in my experience. Even when fully upgraded the plane is so touchy, especially at the start. Once you clear the church you probably have a good handle on altitude so focus on airspeed here on. I crashed so many times before getting out of the field. Here was my winning run: