Let’s jump into comp.

I’ll be the first to admit, I suck at Puyo Puyo. I always have. When Puyo Puyo Tetris came out, guess what I played all the time? Yep. Tetris. At the same time, I always enjoy a good puzzle game, and Puyo Puyo is still a fantastic one. While I may not be any good at the game itself, even I can see the quality in the series, and when it comes to Puyo Puyo Champions, the same quality is here.

Puyo Puyo Champions leans directly into the competitive side of the game. In fact, when playing solo, players are always going up against AI controlled opponents. This is a competitive game all the way. Players can choose between two major rule sets, the Puyo Puyo 2 rules or the Puyo Puyo Fever rules. From there, they can then set different parameters to customize their games. They really put this in the players’ faces by having quick play directly from the start screen.

Platforms: XB1, PS4, Switch, PC
MSRP: $9.99
Price I’d pay: $9.99

For those that don’t know, Puyo Puyo is a puzzle game much like Dr. Mario. Colored Puyos fall from the top of the screen and players can rotate them and adjust where they would like to put them on the board. Matching four of the same color will erase the Puyos and will have Puyos on top fall down to the empty spaces that were left behind. This is where the combos come into play. Setting up Puyos to fall and match even more creates combos that will then set up and send garbage Puyos to the opponent blocking their progress. It can get rather complicated, and being able to think on one’s feet is a must to succeed.

Since this is geared toward the competitive side of the game, online play is really where the bread and butter modes excel. Players can take on standard player matches as well as the ranked matches that can give them higher ranks to take on the more difficult players. It can get a little harsh when going up against someone that knows what they’re doing. Once the garbage Puyos began to drop on my side, I was pretty much done for. There are some high level Puyo players out there. Champions also offers local play as well for those that want to play with friends on the couch.

The biggest misstep is the lack of any kind of training mode or real tutorial. It had been a while since I played a Puyo game and a nice refresher could have helped me a lot when trying out even the regular AI. I couldn’t imagine a new player trying to grasp the intricacies of setting up combos by just fighting the AI the entire time. I was lucky enough to find some tutorial videos on this particular game on the Sega YouTube channel. Still, in-game prompts and explanations would have been a better option.

Finally, the look and the overall presentation of the game are really well done. Everything is very colorful and pops off the screen, and the music is both catchy and fits right in with the cutesy look of the characters and board. Everything is unlocked from the beginning, so progression is pretty much limited to the ranked play.

Puyo Puyo Champions is a fine puzzle game. It leans heavily into the multiplayer aspects of the game, and while it may turn off beginners or people out of practice, for the price, you still get a really good puzzle game.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

Good
  • Great look
  • Fun gameplay
  • Decent options
Bad
  • No tutorial
  • Limited solo play with no unlocks
7.5
Good
Written by
Drew is the Community Manager here at ZTGD and his accent simply woos the ladies. His rage is only surpassed by the great one himself and no one should stand between him and his Twizzlers.