Take one of the greatest puzzle games, mix it with another great series and you get a mash up of epic gaming with Puyo Puyo Tetris. It is a mixture of the Tetris style of gaming mixed with the flavor of the Puyo Puyo series.
General Gameplay
Well let’s be honest, it is Tetris. A Tetris style of gameplay that has been around for the past 30 years that we are all used to seeing, from the original game on the Gameboy to the current generation consoles. As this is a mash up between two different brands, it is interesting to see how this worked out. General Gameplay is all about balancing out the pieces that you are given, making them fit, and just moving on. There is a story mode, Multiplayer, and Online Play. You can choose from either the Tetris mode (more traditional) or Puyo Puyo Mode (with little shapes like ink blobs) to play as your block pieces. There is a fusion mode for more advanced players to try out combining both Tetris and Puyo Puyo pieces on your board to match. Game Visuals are sharp, but then again this is a Tetris style game, so there is not much needed in the graphics department. The game uses shapes for the Tetris pieces, but the colors of the Puyo Puyo blobs can be hard to see for some gamers who have a hard time seeing the different red and blue pieces, so that made it harder to play on the Nintendo Switch. However, on the SMART TV screen, it was fine. The in-game characters are well drawn and very detailed, as well as the game objects and backgrounds. In our playtesting we did not see anything that would be offensive to any gamer. Audio is done with more of the J-pop style of music and the background music to the game is not as noticeable when playing; the game’s sound effects are mostly pops and landings of the pieces onto the board, and some spoken dialogue by the characters. In our playtesting, we did not hear any type of inappropriate language from the game; it is appropriate for all ages. The game does not support 5.1 surround sound but the audio from the Nintendo Switch and the SMART TV speakers sounded fine. There are settings to adjust the sound levels to your liking, just in case it is either too soft or loud for your taste. For gamers in your gaming family who are using a headset, please use caution for extended use as the game’s audio can get loud in the headset. Controls are very easy for the game. There is a button to turn the piece, as well the left thumb stick to move the piece and another button to “reserve” a piece to swap out for the current piece. The game is very easy to pick up and play, and during our play testing we did not notice any issues for anyone in our gaming family. Special note – if you are playing the game on the Nintendo Switch, it is best to play the game with the Pro Controller and/or the Joy-Cons in the game cradle as holding the Joy-Cons for an extended time will become uncomfortable on the hands. For the console play, there is no need for any type of special controller to play Puyo-Puyo Tetris.
“If you are a diehard Tetris fan, or a fan of the Puyo Puyo series then you will have a fun time with this game, otherwise best to steer away. ”
Family Friendly
In the testing phase of our review we ran into some concerns, mostly of the AI balance of the game. For veterans of the Tetris series, they will not have AI issues but for gamers who are not die-hard Tetris or Puyo Puyo fans, this is where some issues came in. As the game is very vivid and easy to play, the story mode had some issues. Mostly, as the game can take some time to finish, it was the AI’s level of play that caused some frustration with our special needs gamers. It wasn’t anything that was game-breaking, but more in the sense of how the AI can come back later in the match and suddenly, when you think that you are winning, the AI makes a comeback and wins the game. Also, we encountered some AI issues in the other modes as well. To say that the game is unplayable is not accurate, but more of something to watch for parents with younger children and kids with special needs, as this was a major cause of gamers quitting the match. Also we had a hard time getting to play the online portion of the game as it kept on failing to find online people to play with (however, with the new Nintendo Service launching later this year, this may change). If you play the game in local co-op mode there is some fun to have playing against others, but in all honesty, it is not enough to hold the attention of gamers and make this a title to own. We recommend that you pick up the game only if you are or have die-hard fans of the series. Otherwise, rent or pick up a used copy.
Closing
Tetris is still Tetris; adding the Puyo Puyo series to the game is not enough to make this a good family title.
Be sure to listen to our podcast about our real thoughts on Puyo Puyo Tetris!
