Indie Game News: PC Indie Puzzle Game Review

Tuesday, 29 March 2011

PC Indie Puzzle Game Review - Purify Puzzle

Purify Puzzle is a Match-3 game by Paper Child Studios – don’t groan, this game puts a new spin on the idea. You get to choose what you throw onto the game board next – though you can’t just indiscriminately use this, keep swapping around and your options will reduce. There’s an extra layer of strategy therefore, making it a little more interesting than your average Match-3 game. In addition there are different game modes – Arcade (where you play 30 levels of increasing difficulty, with a storyline told in cut scenes between the levels); Time Attack (where you play against the clock) and Survival (well, just try not to die, okay?!). These game styles have a bit of a different feel to them even though obviously the basic game mechanics are the same.

I found it did take a while to feel comfortable with the controls – which is a bit sad of me considering how few control keys there actually are! You can move left and right, send up a skull (hey, matching skulls is a recognised pastime isn’t it?), swap the skull you’re going to throw, or rotate the available skulls. When you rotate the skulls a different coloured one is available to transfer to your throwing hand, but you lose that skull of the swapping ring (thus you can’t simply swap repeatedly, in the end you only have one option, and thus must use your swaps wisely). If your skulls go above the line and you lose; achieve the required objective and you beat the level.

The game has bright, appealing, cartoony graphics and a nice soundtrack, and the game plays well. There are online high scores to add to the fun, and a tutorial mode if you need it. There are a number of trophies you can be awarded for achieving different things in the game. I haven’t mentioned the best part of the game though – the vs mode. You can play against a local opponent or over a network – obviously most games are more fun against a human opponent, and Purify Puzzle is no exception.

Overall Purify Puzzle is a solid puzzle game, with enough non-standard features to make it stand out. The artwork is very stylish and it sounds great too. If you really dislike Match-3 games I’m not convinced this will change your mind, but if you like puzzle games and in particular like the idea of being able to compete locally or across a network, there’s plenty for you to enjoy here.

Purify Puzzle is available from Blitz1Up

Official Purify Puzzle Website

Purify Puzzle Official Trailer: