Puyo Puyo Tetris is a game that released on multiple platforms in the past but never saw a localisation. It has been popular in Japan and among import gamers for a while now thanks to the low language barrier of entry. Well, now that the Nintendo Switch released, SEGA decided to release Puyo Puyo Tetris on both the Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation 4 (albeit physical only on PS4).
Puyo Puyo or Puyo Pop as some people know it is a puzzle game about forming chains of combos of Puyos or the circular blobs you see on the cover art of the game. Tetris is basically known to everyone by now but it is a game about Tetriminos falling down and you having to form horizontal lines from the pieces to clear them out. Puyo Puyo Tetris combines these two or well brings them both together to create a package that is chock full of gameplay modes and one that will keep you entertained for a long time. It is also a great party game but more on the multiplayer in a bit.
Adventure Mode is basically story mode. There’s a story told through various visual novel like segments that are split up by stages of the in game modes with modifiers. There are characters from both universes meeting up for the first time and often these segments are just an excuse to get into battle or show off your puzzle solving skills. While the story isn’t as terrible as I expected, it is pretty filler. The characters are voiced mostly well. A lot of the story levels are quite hard if you aren’t used to the Puyo style of chaining combos. Thankfully there’s a nifty lessons mode that teaches you the basics in the main menu. There’s also a help mode that lets you skip a level if you fail too many times like the mission skip option in GTA V.
The bulk of the game modes that you will spend time in are the online mode and multiplayer arcade mode that is the local multiplayer mode. Puyo Puyo Tetris makes for a great party game with splitscreen up to 4 players. The online mode on the other hand worked great in our tests and it lets you play against players worldwide by creating lobbies or just joining games. It is fun but expect to get your butt kicked if you haven’t spent time learning the basics or just improving your skills.
The solo arcade mode has all 6 of the main game modes. Versus lets you just play against the CPU in Puyo Puyo or Tetris. Fusion is hilarious and difficult initially as both types of blocks fall on the same board. Swap is the best mode on offer here as it swaps boards between Puyo and Tetris and you play two games at the same time. The Party mode adds items to the fray and the Big Bang mode has preset patterns to clear. The Big Bang mode will feel super unbalanced for new Puyo players as the Tetris patterns are much easier to clear. Challenge mode is more modifiers added with time limits and more.
Puyo Puyo Tetris isn’t just a simple puzzle game. This is evident in the visuals as well. A lot of care has gone into making everything look colourful and plain great overall. Even small interface animations are nice but the best bit is the ability to buy new art styles for Puyos or Tetriminos. The music in game is catchy and there are many arrangements of the classic Tetris tune you probably know well by now. Some of the voice acting in Adventure Mode could be better though.
If you’ve been looking for a fun party game on PlayStation 4 or just want some great puzzle action, look no further. While the Adventure Mode could have been better, there’s no lack of quality content and modes you can’t sink dozens of hours into already here.