Tappingo 2 (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Over 100 levels are featured here, with each puzzle taking a few minutes to complete. That may sound like plenty to keep an individual entertained, but the levels breeze by, with the main reason being the fact that they are generally too easy. A classic puzzler should take gamers on a journey from easy for beginners, to challenging as well as rewarding, and, finally, to rip-your-hair-out frustrating, creating a pleasing sense of completion along the way.

Tappingo 2 fails to do this. Whilst the puzzles do get larger as the game progresses, that increased complexity never really manifests itself into a higher difficulty, with larger levels just giving more options of things to do. In addition, when mistakes are made, they are usually relatively easy to correct, and, as such, completing a stage feels more like an exercise in box ticking exercise rather than an achievement. That's not to say that the process is not enjoyable, just that it's more of a relaxing than gratifying experience.

This feeling shows itself in other ways too, from the calming music to the pleasant and inoffensive puzzle pictures. This general atmosphere also means that there's no real desire to replay completed levels. Whilst times are recorded, and the option to try to improve a completion time is there, there is no reward for doing so. Overall, everything feels a little too simple, and something extra is needed to add a bit more value to the proceedings, whether that is a new gameplay mechanic, more difficult puzzles, or something more simple like a time limit.