Fans of aggressive, block-dropping puzzle video games had it fairly tough for many of the final decade. Creativity within the Tetris area was being stifled by a strict set of game-rules tips imposed by The Tetris Company, whereas Puyo Puyo was principally trapped in Japan, playable solely by these worldwide followers fervent sufficient to tread import waters. Thankfully, issues have modified considerably on each fronts, bringing us the bizarre mashup title Puyo Puyo Tetris in 2017 to vital and fan success. Three years later, we now have a follow-up within the type of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2. While it retains a lot of what made the unique sport a hit, it presents just a few new sport modes and on-line enhancements–but as a sequel, it lacks the identical punch as the unique.Like within the unique sport, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is constructed round an engine combining these two aggressive puzzle titans right into a singular sport entity. Players choose both Puyo Puyo or Tetris gameplay and go up towards an opponent, with guidelines adjusted in keeping with which model they’re using–or they will play a mode that switches between Puyo Puyo and Tetris gameplay at set intervals. If you feel particularly courageous, you may try Fusion mode, which places Puyo blobs and Tetromino blocks on the identical board in a fancy guidelines mashup that can put your puzzling expertise to the true take a look at.But that is just the start. There’s so much on supply in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for each solo and multiplayer play. The Adventure mode presents an all-new story, full with a pleasing new overworld interface and that includes a forged of colourful weirdos–mostly from the expanded Puyo Puyo universe–who resolve all of their issues and disagreements by tossing coloured blobs and blocks at one another. The sport modes change in each chapter, so Adventure Mode serves as a method to follow and be taught the varied kinds of gameplay accessible whereas additionally unlocking characters, in-game store credit, and numerous gildings to your profile. While the rainbow-colored characters and their jokey personalities are actually cute, the nonsensical nature of the narrative will both attraction you to bits or go away you mashing the skip button to get to the dropping sooner. This mode takes just a few hours to complete, and future DLC expansions have been teased.Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on Nintendo SwitchAfter you’ve got completed Adventure Mode–or if you wish to take a break from it–you have a number of choices for each solo and multiplayer play for as much as 4 individuals (or CPU bots). Besides all of the gameplay kinds above, you’ve particular rulesets like Party Mode, which places chaos-causing objects onfield, and Big Bang Mode, a problem of who can resolve sure puzzle formations faster. If you do not need the stress of competitors, there are problem modes like Marathon (clear 150 Tetris traces) and Tiny Puyo (make a big Puyo combo with an enormous playfield). Of course, solo limitless Puyo and Tetris modes can be found as properly for these instances once you simply wish to zone out and crush some blocks and/or squish some blobs.These modes are actually good, however most of them had been already accessible within the unique Puyo Puyo Tetris. However, there have been some revamps for the reason that first sport. For instance, the Lessons mode now presents a wealth of playable tutorials to provide you hands-on expertise with some extra superior methods. Need to work in your Puyo stacking prowess? Don’t have the slightest clue what a T-spin is or the right way to do it? You can now be taught shortly and simply due to this considerate new addition. There are additionally new visible prospers starting from the delicate to the flashy, together with an impressively elaborate background animation when a participant has a very excessive combo occurring.Of course, an enormous draw for aggressive puzzlers is on-line play, and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 delivers on that entrance. Besides providing a ranked mode within the type of Puzzle Leagues, you may as well play informal matches with associates or random gamers throughout a number of completely different sport modes with an easy-to-use foyer system. Online play is easy and hassle-free, and I had no connectivity points with gamers as far-off as Europe and Australia, even on Wi-Fi.Gallery
The marquee characteristic in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, nevertheless, is the Skill Battle mode. In this mode, you type a staff of three characters, every with particular person stats and battle expertise, to combat an opponent’s staff of three. You may also equip particular objects earned via sure quests in Adventure Mode to additional increase your staff’s stats and grant further boons, reminiscent of bonuses to chains.You then proceed to choose your sport of selection and sq. off towards a foe, however as a substitute of making an attempt to make them high out, you set off combos and full line clears to deal injury to their well being bar. You’ll additionally be capable of make use of the three character expertise you’ve assigned, which have a wide range of results starting from altering colours of Puyos to clearing up rubbish ready to be dropped–you may even spontaneously create an ideal set of traces for a Tetris or T-Spin combo immediately. Provided, in fact, that you’ve got the MP accessible to take action. It’s a cool thought, and the shift in focus to damaging an opponent’s lifebar as a substitute of constructing them high out provides a brand new means to consider offensive and defensive play–in some Skill Battle setups, topping out and getting a clear board to work with is definitely a superb factor in case you have restoration choices in place.Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on Nintendo ChangeHowever, essentially the most attention-grabbing components of Skill Battle are undermined by its implementation of RPG-style stats and enhancement objects. Characters acquire expertise factors in sure Adventure Mode nodes, which grants them higher stats, and useful objects to equip are additionally farmable in these areas. These objects and stats carry over to each different Skill Battle mode, each single-player and multiplayer, on- and offline, together with the Puzzle League. This results in some severe issues: If you are underleveled or lack good objects in comparison with your opponent, you are at a extreme drawback that expert play and method utilization can solely barely compensate for. Needing to grind for objects and ranges in a puzzle sport merely to be competitive–or even simply to beat among the harder Adventure Mode quests–is tedious and unfair on a number of ranges, and ruins a lot of Skill Battle’s enchantment. I think that finally the Skill Battle leaderboards will probably be dominated by degree 99 groups which have poured hours into securing optimum merchandise loadouts, leaving new gamers with an unbelievable hill to climb in the event that they even wish to change into barely aggressive.There’s no denying that Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 presents a whole lot of value–and even should you’re simply right here for easy Tetris or Puyo play, there’s lots to fulfill. But as a sequel, the brand new additions it brings to the desk really feel moderately insufficient, notably the flawed Skill Battle mode. If you’ve got by no means had a style of this flavorful mashup earlier than, then Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will definitely quench your thirst for wacky puzzle antics after which some. But should you’re a veteran in search of a really substantial improve to the unique sport, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 would possibly go away you feeling moderately unfulfilled.