Puzzle Quest returns!
The once mocked and snarked at fusion of genres is back for a third time following on from the original 2007 release of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords and 2019’s Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns.
Since then, there have been spin-offs and sequels – including Puzzle Quest 3. But this time around, we are going back to the beginning; the Immortal Edition, a remaster of the first game, packs together all previous DLC into one package, and includes a brand-new playable class.
Mocked and snarked at may seem a bit harsh, but think about it for a second. A high fantasy RPG with turn-based battles all sounds good, but what if I told you those battles took place on a match-3 style grid, like a Bejeweled or a Candy Crush.
However, it bloody works, and this new shiny version is the best way to play a cult classic.
It Shouldn’t Work On Paper
Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition takes place in the same universe as the iconic Warlords series from yesteryear. It starts off fairly tame, with you, as a new hero performing errands whilst investigating a series of undead sightings. This in turn will lead you to look at the orcs who may or may not be involved in the undead’s return. The story is a bit of a weak point, and is only really there to get you from point A to point B. This may be partly down to the lack of voice acting; to say that this is a 4K remaster of the game, it is still a bit disappointing that every character interaction is done through text boxes.
But I highly doubt that anyone playing Puzzle Quest will be doing so primarily for the story. Instead, it is that intriguing mix of RPG elements and match-3 gameplay that will be bringing people here.
Surely, at some point in your life, you will have at least dabbled with a tile-matching or match-3 type game before. But for those that haven’t, here we go. On a grid of tiles, you’ll have shapes, gems, candy pieces and more, all of which can be swapped around to make the same item appear three times in a line. Doing so, will remove those tiles, dropping fresh ones in from above. Match four or five in a row for bonuses and try and get a combo going for even bigger rewards. It’s as simple as it comes, and Puzzle Quest doesn’t change up this formula too much.
The grid here contains four elemental tiles – earth, fire, water and lightning – along with coins, stars for XP and skulls. Skulls aren’t all that frequent, but should be sought out as these can deal direct damage to your opponent. Matching up the elemental tiles will bank them and allow you to perform spells and attacks when you have enough of them.
On the RPG side of things, Puzzle Quest has what you would expect, but also goes a fair bit deeper than you were maybe anticipating. Yes, you can level up, equip items, learn new spells and recruit companions, but there is more to do also. You have a home city that can be upgraded, enemies can be captured to learn new spells, forge new items using runes, or to find yourself a new mount to make traversing the world map a little easier, and there are side-quests a plenty.
Be Prepared To Match Tile After Tile After Tile…
Unfortunately, most of these side activities involve you repeating the same match-3 gameplay as when you are battling an enemy. The only one to change things up of note is when capturing an enemy. This goes from a traditional battle to a puzzle board, where you need to plan your moves and remove every tile from the board. Other than that though, you best like match-3, because you will be doing a hell of a lot of it.
The more you play, the more likely you will start to think that the AI doesn’t like to exactly play fair. Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist too much, but it does seem a lot more common for the AI to get fortunate drops from the new tiles than for you. Add skulls into the equation and, if the AI goes first, you can find yourself with a huge chunk of health gone before you make a move. It feels slightly cheap, but I cannot confirm it either.
A Packed Immortal Edition
This being the Immortal Edition, it comes with all the previously released DLC, and some new content too. DLC packs Revenge of the Plague Lord and Attack of the Golem Lord are woven into the main game so that they don’t feel like DLC packs anymore. As for what the new class is included in the Immortal Edition, it is the Swordmaster. But this isn’t hinted at anywhere in the game, nor the press release stuff (I found out on Reddit). So, for returning players, this may be a worthwhile starting point. For new players, existing classes are all present, and some have been reworked also.
On paper, this is a mash-up that shouldn’t work. But testament to Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition, and with this being the second remaster of the original game, it proves that it does indeed work. Be prepared to play an awful lot of tile matching gameplay with very little variation in between. But if you want a game to dip in and out of, a game that is deep enough to be called an RPG too, you could do a lot worse than Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition.
Important Links
The Original Match-3 RPG is BACK! Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition is the Definitive Version! – https://www.thexboxhub.com/the-original-match-3-rpg-is-back-puzzle-quest-immortal-edition-is-the-definitive-version/
Buy Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/puzzle-quest-immortal-edition/9P4Z7DCGDXMP
