Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 PS5 Review

January 23, 2021

There are times where we all need a break from the more gigantic and dramatic games that are releasing. Sometimes, we just need something a bit smaller. Something a bit more light-hearted that works our minds in a different way. Sometimes, we need some bloody good Puyo Puyo Tetris. I didn’t know what to expect when the first game released, but what I found was a fantastic puzzle mash-up with a surprisingly engaging and involved story mode. Now Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 continues with that same formula, along with a couple of extra additions to help differentiate it from its predecessor.

If you’ve never heard of Puyo Puyo Tetris before, let me give you a quick crash course. As you might have already guessed, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is an amalgamation of two different arcade puzzle games: Puyo Puyo and Tetris. Puyo Puyo is the lesser known of the two and has you placing two connected coloured blobs at a time, with the goal of joining 4+ blobs of the same colour to make them disappear and collect points. Tetris is of course the same block dropping game we’re all familiar with, as you aim to create full horizontal lines to cause them to disappear and gain points.

If you’re like me, you’re likely to spend much of your time in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2’s solo Adventure Mode, which is just as long and in-depth as its predecessors. Pitting you against other characters in battles, many of whom return from the original game, you’ll fight your way through the game’s overworld. Before and after these battles the game presents its story in the form of a visual novel, with plenty of dialogue and not much in the way of animation. There’s plenty of humour to the writing, which hits much more often than it misses, and its generally an enjoyable romp.

Where Adventure Mode falls over a little is in its rigidity. Specifically, the game has explicit challenges and battles you have to complete, which force you to either play Puyo Puyo or Tetris. If you’re not a massive fan of one of these or have a preferential leaning towards one (like myself towards Tetris) there might be some points where you get bored of longer stretches forcing you into the other game style.

If you prefer a more competitive or communal experience, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 has plenty to offer as well. There are six different battle rulesets that can be played by two to four players (or against AI), each with their own objectives and rules. Versus is your standard mode, where you compete in a classic versus match; Big Bang has you smashing through pre-set Tetrimino and Puyo patterns; Party introduces items into the action, while all players have infinite lives and compete for the highest score; Skill Battle brings teams of characters with their own special skills, with HP, MP, equippable item cards and more; Fusion causes Tetriminos and Puyos to fall at the same time; and Swap has you swapping between two games at once. There’s plenty of variety to Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 to keep you occupied and having fun.

Where Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 feels at its peak is when you’re in the thick of the action, setting up a Tetris or chaining together Puyo combos. Where it feels a little weaker at points is in its presentation. The colourful art style is nice to look at, but at times it feels a bit too flat and basic. This is especially true of many of the game’s backgrounds during story moments, which are fairly basic. This continues to the game’s visual novel style story sequences, which are lacking in animation and are too static to be truly engaging. A little more in the way of animation would’ve gone a long way here.

Overall, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is a great puzzle game to fill your time with. The story is funny and engaging, even if I’d have preferred more player choice in which game type I played, while there is heaps of variety in game modes to fill your time. The art style is interesting, however a little more animation and visual flair would have been welcome. With all that said, if you’re looking for a new puzzle game to play, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is a fantastic option.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 was reviewed on PlayStation 5 with a review copy provided by the publisher. It is also available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, with a PC version coming at a later date. For more information, check the game’s official website.

Positives:

- Story is zany and funny
- Heaps of content and modes to fill your time
- Nice, colourful art style

Negatives:

- A little more animation during the story conversations would have been nice
- Little to no choice of what game type you play during the story

Overall Score: