Review: Puyo-Puyo Tetris

At a Glance

ESRB Rating: E10 - Everyone (Ages 10 and up)
My Rating: Everyone
Genre: Puzzle
License: Commercial
Fun-O-Meter:
Release Year: 2018
Review Published On: October 6th, 2021
Played on: Thaddeus & Giles

Available on:

Windows

Available from:

Humble Store
Steam

Areas of Concern:
  • Very mild violence


How to Save and Pause:

Your progress is always recorded after a level.

If you need to pause a single player game, press ESC to bring up the pause menu.

Time needed per session:

If it wasnt for the flashy menus and intros, youd be able to play this game whenever you had free time. To compensate for this, give yourself at least ten minutes for each game.

Does this game pose issues for Christian players?

No - this is a great game for Christians
During the story segments, players will encounter and battle a large cast of characters, some of whom have magical abilities or appear to be demonic. However, none of them are actually evil; like everyone else in this game, theyre really just overdramatic and goofy.

Screenshots

[view screenshot]
Puyo VS Tetris

[view screenshot]
Enter the Dark Prince, Lord of Mischief!

[view screenshot]
Playing Puyo and Tetris at the same time!



Game Overview

Take a cast of silly cartoon characters, an epic tale that determines the fate of two worlds, and two of the worlds most popular puzzle games and mix them all together. The result is Puyo Puyo Tetris, a fun and silly game that just about everyone can enjoy. Theres just one small problem: Puyo Puyo isnt very well known in the Western world.

Part of the reason people in the US or Europe arent familar with this series is that most of the Puyo Puyo games are exclusive to the Eastern market (ie, countries like Japan and China), but another reason we dont immediately recognize it is because the few times it was brought over here, it was repackaged under a different (possibly more marketable) brand.

Older gamers have seen this sort of thing before, the most famous example being Doki Doki Panic. When this game was released in America, it was rebranded as Super Mario Bros. 2, with the original cast replaced by Mario and his friends. A similar thing happened with Puyo Puyo. It was released on the Sega Genesis as Dr. Robotniks Mean Bean Machine, and on the SNES as Kirbys Avalanche. Both garnered favorable reviews, but since they didnt use the Puyo name, and only one other Puyo game has been released in the West since then, the brand has remained a bit of a mystery.

Now, Puyo Puyo Tetris obviously contains both Tetris and Puyo Puyo. Everyone already knows how to play Tetris, so let me explain how you play Puyo Puyo. Just like in Tetris, groups of colored blobs (aka Puyos) will fall from the top of the play field. You need to arrange them so that theyll settle into groups of four or more. It doesnt matter if they are in a straight line or not; two puyos will link together whenever they are touching and are the same color. When four or more puyos link up, theyll pop, and the puyos on top of them will fall down into the now empty spaces. Should this result in another group of four or more, a chain reaction will begin, popping even more puyos. The game ends when no more puyos can be dropped into your play area.

In battle variations of the game, clearing puyos quickly (or in long chains) will generate stone puyos that fall in your opponents play field. Stone puyos cant be matched with anything, so they cause trouble for your opponent by blocking potential matches and hopefully causing their play area to run out of space. You can clear stone puyos by popping colors puyos next to them.

If this sounds interesting to you, then you might want to check this title out. Theres an elaborate story mode that walks you through both styles of gameplay, and explains what in-universe events led to Tetris and Puyo crossing over into a single game. Its a fun way to introduce new players to the Puyo Puyo franchise, and its a solid game overall.

Points of Interest

Multiple ways to play

As mentioned above, theres a lengthy story mode that introduces the Puyo Puyo cast and a new group of characters based on the Tetris franchise, but theres a lot more to see. Theres the solo arcade mode, which lets on player play the six different styles of Puyo Puyo and Tetris available, but theres also an online multiplayer arcade so you can play with your friends.

Easy progression option

One of the problems with story modes in puzzle games is that you run the risk of stumbling into a level thats just too difficult for you. This creates an artificial wall, blocking off the rest of the game until you either improve or manage to get very lucky during a round. To prevent this from happening, this game will offer the option to skip a level if youre having trouble with it.

Many things to unlock

As you complete levels in the story mode, youll unlock new backgrounds, characters, music tracks, and even new designs for the puyos and tetrominoes. Some of these need to be purchased from the in-game store using credits earned during the adventure, but some are just rewards for doing well.

Steam community features

There is a set of Steam trading cards available, but youre probably going to be more interested in the 42 achievements that are up for grabs. Surprisingly enough, only a few of these achievements are releated to your progress in the story. Most of them revolve around completing specific actions a given number of times, so with a little patience, youll eventually earn them all.

Puyo Puyo is pushed at the expense of Tetris

While there are a number of Puyo Puyo variants, there arent many options for playing Tetris. In particular, theres no Endless or A-Type mode like Tetris fans will be expecting. Im not really surprised by this, just a little disappointed. After all, Puyo Puyo Tetris was published by SEGA, which is also the company that owns the Puyo Puyo franchise. Given that this is the first game to be released under the Puyo Puyo name in the West, they probably want to showcase their own product as much as they can.

Concerns and Issues

Very Mild Violence

When characters lose a game, theyll be shown being hit by falling tetrominoes or puyos. This is clearly just for comic effect, as nobody is actually hurt during the story.

Monsterous characters

Some of the characters have magical origins, most noteably the Dark Prince, who is supposedly this evil overlord. In reality, hes more of a large ham and just as silly as everyone else in this shared universe.