My hunger for puzzle games brings me to this new version of Puyo Puyo. Read on for my thoughts on Puyo Puyo Champions. BACKGROUND:
When it comes to tile-matching games, I'm more of a Tetris guy, but I definitely enjoy other games in the genre (Wario's Woods, Bejeweled, Dr. Mario, to name a few). Puyo Puyo is a game I've only played briefly, but I really liked its mechanics. When this game was announced, I saw it as an opportunity to properly sink my teeth into the game. PLOT: Considering there's an entire roster of characters you can select before playing a round of Puyo Puyo, I'm assuming there's a story somewhere in the previous games featuring these characters. In this particular title, however, there is no story. The focus is solely on the competitive aspect of the game, so you won't learn much about these somewhat interesting-looking characters. PRESENTATION: Well, it looks like Puyo Puyo. I don't know what to tell you. In all seriousness, everything looks bright and colorful. Character designs have a cutesy chibi aesthetic, and you have the option to swap out the game backgrounds and even the Puyo designs themselves. It's always nice to have some form of customization for cosmetics in these types of games. The music is upbeat, which lends itself well to the more competitive aspect of the game. On the other hand, the voice acting, while charming, starts to wear thin the longer you play. Frustratingly, there is no option to adjust audio settings anywhere in the game, and that should really be a standard in this modern age. GAMEPLAY: Puyo Puyo functions like your typical match-4 block puzzle game. Drop the Puyo into the matrix, match the colors to clear them, earn some points. Simple, right? The fundamental difference between Puyo Puyo and other games within its genre is that it's always been a competitive game (as opposed to the typical arcade experience, where you're just gunning for the highest score/trying to survive as long as you can). The goal is primarily to bury your opponent's face in the dirt with your sick Puyo skills. To do this, your game plan must have a heavy emphasis on chain combos (clearing multiple Puyo in succession). Doing so sends garbage Puyo to your opponent's board, fucking up whatever combos they may be setting up for (or generally just blocking their shit). The first one whose board fills up to the very top loses. In Puyo Puyo Champions, there are two rulesets you can play. There's Puyo Puyo 2 (which is essentially classic Puyo Puyo rules) and Puyo Puyo Fever, which adds Fever Mode. This mode occurs when you fill up a corresponding Fever meter (by counterattacking your opponent's garbage Puyo). Once Fever Mode activates, your board changes into this pre-designed arrangement of Puyo, and you have a limited amount of time to clear as many of those arrangements as you can and rack up the largest combos while doing so. To put it simply, Fever is normal Puyo Puyo on cocaine. As I mentioned before, you have a roster of characters you can choose from. In Puyo Puyo 2 rules, these characters don't do anything (other than dictate which voice actor/actress you hear while playing), but in Puyo Puyo Fever, these characters have abilities that favor various play styles. It usually ends up not being too important, however. You can either choose to play against the CPU in Solo mode (where there's an additional Endurance mode, in which you try and take down as many CPU opponents as you can before getting a game over), go online against people in a ranked mode, or set up a sort of custom lobby where you can play casually, or with friends. Online matches work in a Best of 3 format, with the rules depending on what you set as your preferred ruleset before playing. Fair warning: I have seen high-level play of Puyo Puyo before. Trust me when I say: you do not want to be on the receiving end of it. VERDICT: Though you won't get much in the way of robust single player content, Puyo Puyo Champions is an excellent entry point for those looking to get into the game. It's got a serviceable solo mode where you can learn the ropes against CPU opponents, and an online mode where you can test your skill against players who will wipe the floor with you 99% of the time. If you're looking for a competitive puzzle game with decent replay value (and a really affordable one, no less), look no further. Puyo Puyo is up there as one of the greats in the puzzle game genre, and regardless of what version you pick up, it's worth trying at least once. It requires a more elaborate strategy than, say, Tetris, but once you get a sense of the chain combo-heavy gameplay, it's sure to be a satisfying experience. Try finding some of the older games to get a sense of how it plays. Get Puyo Puyo Champions on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/971620/Puyo_Puyo_Champions___e/ - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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