I may have an unhealthy obsession with Puyos. Having played the series since the first North American release on the Sega Genesis, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, I’ve been playing Puyo Puyo games continually since the 90s. Over the past couple years, I’ve been reliving those games as they get released on the Switch, including the Sega Ages versions of Puyo Puyo and Puyo Puyo 2 as well as Puyo Puyo Champions. Now, Sega is back with Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, a sequel to the game that successfully melded two outstanding puzzler franchises, Puyo Puyo Tetris.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 picks up the torch where the first game left off. There’s a huge amount of content here with a substantial (and silly) story mode and so much more. It’s honestly hard to know where to even look first when getting started. There are seven solo modes, local multiplayer for up to four players, a tutorial mode that teaches how to play both Tetris and Puyo Puyo, as well as the combinations thereof, and Online mode, offering several modes as well! On top of all that, you can even simply quick select endless games of Puyo Puyo and marathon games of Tetris from the main menu to just chill out. It’s an absolutely massive buffet of puzzling goodness that will suck away the hours for many a player.
Focusing on the storyline, Adventure mode features a variety of Puyo Puyo Tetris gameplay as you follow the silly and rather outrageous exploits of Tee, Ringo, and their assorted wacky friends. I am particularly partial to Risukuma myself as he’s absolutely hilarious! Regardless, you’ll find yourself playing Tetris against Puyo players, Puyo Puyo against Tetris players, and an absolutely insane cast of characters. Battles have rankings from 1-3 stars and you can use the points you earn to unlock more features and alternate skins for your puzzle pieces along the way. It’s an excellent system that runs smoothly at every step. The entire menu system is smooth and gorgeous and the Adventure mode is an absolute joy to play. With a whopping 84 stages, it might take most players at least a bit of time to finish too! Pretty much the only people who won’t love it are those who for some reason might be expecting a serious storyline of some sort. Toss that out the window and you’ll be good though, as this is some outstanding all ages fun!
Once you get the hang of Puyo and Tetris matching strategies, you’ll be making some decent headway in Adventure mode and it’s time to check out what else is available. In the Solos section of the game, there’s the Skill Battle, pitting teams of characters against each other. This is a new addition to the series, and as you play various parts of the game, you’ll unlock items that can be used in the Skill Battle arena, up to a hundred of them in fact. Versus play is back, naturally, and just as good as ever. Next is Swap mode, where you literally play two games at once and the screen swaps from one to the other as you play (insanely confusing at first!). Fusion mode tosses both Puyos and Tetriminos at you at once, and the Big Bang game has you attempting to set off preset chain attacks at high speed (it’s harder than you think). Party Mode pits you against the CPU for a high score with items appearing to shake things up. Finally, there’s Challenge mode which has six more wild sub-modes that will test the limits of your puzzling skills. Whew! And all that’s just in the solo section of the game! There’s a seriously insane amount of content here!
As of the writing of this article, the online component for Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 still isn’t active and populated. The servers are up, there’s just no one on them yet, so it’s impossible to accurately review them, but assume there will be some absolute fiends out there that are completely prepared to decimate you. Playing against the computer is one thing, but as everyone knows, your skills are only as good as your first PvP puzzle battle. As with Solo mode, there are a ridiculous number of options available for Online play. Puzzle League consists of a Puyo Puyo Tetris League, a Puyo Puyo League, a Tetris League, and a Skill Battle League, which requires you to unlock player skills in Adventure mode. There’s also Online Free Play, which has Versus, Skill Battle, Swap, Party, Fusion, and Big Bang modes, replicating the slate of Solo mode options. You can also add a friend to play against online or tackle the online Challenge mode to prove your mettle by dominating the leaderboards in Endless Fever, Endless Puyo, Tiny Puyo, Sprint, Marathon, and Ultra modes. I mean, it’s only, um, around 30 different play options available. I’m sure you’ll get bored quickly, right? It’s not like its nigh-infinite variety of some of the best puzzle gaming ever or anything…
Not only is there a spectacular amount of content to enjoy in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, but the interface is smooth as silk. The menu systems are friendly and easy to use, the server connectivity is good, the controls are responsive without being finicky, and the entire menu is intuitive and visually pleasing. Sega also had the foresight to enable touch sensitive menus, so it’s easy to just tap what you want on screen when you’re in portable mode on the Switch. The visuals are just as good as the menus here as well, with everything taking on a cartoon-ish, comic book panel look to match with the art style of the Puyo Puyo Tetris series (and the Puyo Puyo series in general). Adventure mode has fun, lighthearted art with hilarious expressions and over-the-top anime reactions for pretty much every character. It’s a good choice for the game and story and it makes everything look crisp. There’s no real need for fancy graphics here anyway, so it’s better to refine the look of the series and the game manages it with no problem.
Surprisingly, all the dialogue in Adventure mode is also fully voiced. The voice actors are solid and quite fun, but honestly there was really no need for voice work and if you’re a fast reader, chances are you’ll be blowing right through the written dialogue and starting to skip the voice work within a few levels. The music matches the tongue and cheek look of the game with light, entertaining tracks that tend to be a little more generic than one might prefer. Unless you’re a huge fan of the light, spacey music prevalent in the soundtrack, chances are you’ll be in the turning down the sound. Oddly, there’s no option to adjust the music and effects or turn off voices, something that’s usually standard for most games.
It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is probably the most comprehensive and well-rounded release for both the Puyo Puyo and Tetris franchises. There’s definitely a slight edge for Puyo fans, especially if you’ve previously played titles like Tetris Effect and seen what Tetris games are capable of, but overall, this is one absolute blast of a game that you will absolutely get your money’s worth out of and then some. For $40, it’s well worth your time to grab a copy, either digitally or physically! Now get out there and catch the fever…Puyo Puyo Tetris Fever!
This review is based on a digital copy of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 provided by the publisher. It was played on a Nintendo Switch in both docked and undocked modes and was absolutely outstanding on both! Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is also available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and is forthcoming for Steam. All screenshots are of actual gameplay.