Puzzle Quest goes free-to-play, ruining what made the original match-3 RPGs great
The Puzzle Quest match-3 series started strong on the Nintendo DS and Playstation Portable in 2007. It’s an enjoyable match-3 game that combines casual matching gameplay with RPG mechanics, with the game eventually finding its way to a multitude of platforms in the years following. With that success, a sequel was released on Android as well as consoles in 2010, but that Android version is now long gone, leaving fans hungry for a new title in the series.
This hole in the market has finally been filed with the launch ofPuzzle Quest 3on Android, but today’s follow-up differs significantly from the original two games. Now that the series has gone free-to-play, Puzzle Quest 3 offers all of the horrendous mechanics one would expect from a F2P mobile match-3 game.
The above trailer for Puzzle Quest 3 offers a quick glimpse of the match-3 game in action. What the trailer doesn’t mention is that the RPG mechanics the series is known for have been simplified for casual play, to the pointSteam reviews are overtly negative.
Grind walls hit early, within the first hour, and little improves from there. Gameplay is slow, where you match gems to build power for your special moves at a molasses pace, which you’ll unleash on your enemies once filled. While I can admit the animations for attacks are pretty slick, even though the graphics are pleasing, the missing mechanical depth of the originals is quite apparent, now replaced with casual grindy gameplay where player skill rarely matters.
More or less, Puzzle Quest 3 plays just like the rest of the F2P match-3 games on the Play Store, with a forced tutorial, multiple currencies, and paywalled loot crates. This is why the game contains in-app purchases that range all the way up to $99.99 per item. Plus, the UI is atrocious, filled with menus for the game’s many perpetual upgrades, all pointing squarely at the endless grind. No matter how you slice it, Puzzle Quest 3 is a pale imitation of the first two games in the series. Oh, and if you think this is bad, wait until you see the Play Store reviewscalling into question the recent rebalancing for today’s launch. In typical fashion, everything is now much more difficult to earn, and skills have been nerfed.
Still, if you’d like to take a look for yourself, there’s no harm as Puzzle Quest 3 is free to install. So if you’re curious to see how things have changed, you can grab the latest iteration in the Puzzle Quest series by clicking on the Play Store widget below.
Yes, it’s free to play
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