Review: Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition (Nintendo Switch)

Out of respect for your time and finances, I’ll state straight away that if you already own Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns for Nintendo Switch, you absolutely do not need to upgrade to Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition. It’s really just more of the same, although that “same” still offers plenty of (often infuriating) fun.

Puzzle Quest debuted on Nintendo 3DS and PSP back in 2007, and the core gameplay remains. It wraps familiar RPG elements and story beats around a match-three system to create an addictive, engaging experience.

It begins with you selecting a character class from an impressive set of options. Some are better at defense, some are better with different types of magic, and all of them can be leveled up with new abilities that either enhance their strengths or compensate for weaknesses. And it’s all important, because this game gets difficult quickly.

The point of each “battle” is to match gems in a way that whittles down your opponent’s health. Matching skulls does the damage, but that doesn’t mean you’ll want to do that every time you have the opportunity. You and your opponent will have class-related skills you can use, and those can often be much more damaging. Therefore, it’s often more important to prevent your opponent from getting a big boost to a particular gem color than to hit him for a few points of damage. (There’s a hint system you’ll definitely want to turn off, as it often leads you down the wrong path.)

You can also occasionally match 4 or 5 gems in one move, which gives you an additional turn. I played as the monk, who’s able to stock up on “focus” to utilize special moves while gaining an additional turn. This meant I needed to bank red and green gems, so I often chose to focus on that while allowing my opponent to get some hits in.

Of course, the gems disappear when you match them, causing new ones to slide down. You don’t know what these will be, so what looks like a good move can sometimes benefit your opponent. This is the infuriating part. More often than not, the enemy benefits from the new gems that slide down, almost as if it knows what’s off screen and exactly where to match. I rage quit often because of this (but almost always hopped right back in).

In some battles, you’ll be given the option to capture the opponent instead of defeating him. To do so, you must solve puzzles that require you to remove all the gems from the board. These are often quite challenging, but that’s what the Internet was made for, right?

In addition to your class’s magic abilities, you can also stock up on armor and weapons that will improve your defense and attacks. This is purchased with money you get from completing quests or matching coins during battle (if your victory is a foregone conclusion, be sure to stock up on cash before making that final blow). There’s even a citadel that can grant special powers as you add facilities.

The story’s narrative helps, too. Various people will join your party, each coming with some kind of enhancement that can aid you in certain battles. The story itself is perfunctory, serving mainly to push you around a map and into various combat situations. That’s a good thing, though, as it doesn’t interfere with the core gameplay.

With this Immortal Edition, these story segments look better than ever. The character artwork, especially, is very good. The gameplay design and animations have been improved, too; everything looks great and plays well in both docked and handheld mode. I do wish there was more variety to the music, however. What’s there is fine, but it gets repetitive very quickly. It does help that the tone changes as you near victory or defeat.

My only real gripe with the game (aside from the unbalanced “luck” factor) is that it doesn’t clearly state the challenge level of the various battles in front of you. You’re able to accept four quests at a time, and you have to move your character across the map to get to them. Only after moving to its location and accepting the challenge will you see how tough it will be. You have the option to back out if it’s above your pay grade, but the game could save you time by just displaying challenge level in the open quest screen.

At only $14.99, it’s very easy to recommend Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition…but with caveats. First, the RPG elements are so integral to your progress that they may put off more casual match-three gamers. Second, the random luck inherent in match-three gaming may put off RPG fans who are accustomed to being rewarded for proper party management. And finally, even with the included DLC expansions, new items and character class, and enhanced graphics, the overall experience has barely changed from the previous version (which has now been removed from the eShop).

That said, this is very much the type of game you’ll buy now and keep on your home screen years…or at least until Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition Enhanced Edition Returns is released.