Beth: Puyo Puyo Tetris Demo Discussion

Hi guys! Today we're here to talk about Puyo Puyo Tetris! As you know, this has been recently released on Nintendo Switch, and I decided to give the free demo a go.

The Game

Puyo Puyo Tetris combines classic Tetris and the Japanese game Puyo Puyo. In 2014, the two games were merged by Sonic Team. Thus, Puyo Puyo Tetris was born!

I had a quick look at the tutorial, which briefly explains how to play. It seems like a pretty simple game though, so I soon moved to the main game.

I had a go at Puyo Puyo, choosing an opponent playing classic Tetris. It's an interesting idea that you can choose your opponent - and you can choose whether you're playing different games or the same!

Puyo Puyo is a simple puzzle that is a little different to Tetris - as the bubbles fall in pairs, you can rotate them as they fall. To earn points, you try to make groups of four. Once four meet, they disappear from the board.

Tetris, as I'm sure you all know, is also a puzzle. As the different shapes fall, you can rotate them. Once you create a full line of shapes, the line disappears.

For both games, the one who's shapes reach the top of the board first loses.

There are many different versions of the game - but only two are unlocked in the demo. The one I talked about above is 'Versus', and the one I'm about to discuss is 'Swap'.

Swap is exactly what it sounds like. The game swaps between Puyo Puyo and Tetris, about every 25-30 seconds.

If you're wondering, the game swaps for both you and your opponent.

My Thoughts

Overall, I had mixed feelings about Puyo Puyo Tetris. I've always loved Tetris, but I actually wasn't that keen on Puyo Puyo. It was pretty...simple, and it just felt like a free mobile game.

Another thing I'd like to mention is the controls. It's pretty natural to use the joystick on the Joycon to rotate the Puyo Puyo bubbles and the Tetris shapes, but it's way too responsive for my liking. Even just a tiny touch can move the Tetris shapes over further than you want. As Jeff pointed out to me, you could always use the arrow buttons on the left Joycon, but that doesn't solve the problem on multiplayer!

This game overall just seems quite simple. If it was maybe a small release at around £5, I can see the appeal. But a full, big release at £35 just isn't worth it. It's too easy, there's no story, and the 'perks' (characters and mix of Puyo Puyo and Tetris) just don't seem worth it.

Maybe it's different in the full game, but I am a big lover of online Tetris and I just don't see the appeal of a full game like this.