Tetris as both a name and a franchise needs little introduction. Of Russian origin and the star of the original Game Boy launch in the West, it is one of the most beloved puzzlers ever. Puyo Puyo, whilst not having the same level of recognition and platform spread, has nonetheless garnered a strong fanbase over the years, and continues to accummulate official titles and spin-offs to this day. Somewhat repeating history is the merger of these two franchises on the release date of a new Nintendo console; the original Switch lineup contained the first Puyo Puyo Tetris game, and now both hardware and software successors have come together once again for Nintendo Switch 2.
Following on from the first stellar entry, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S continues what made the original one of the top Switch launch games, offering two simple-to-understand but tough-to-master puzzle game concepts in one package, and meshing them together in unexpected ways. Tetris retains its classic fiendishly-addictive structure; players start with an empty grid and need to clear lines with falling blocks of varying arrangements with the goal of avoiding building up to the top of the screen.
Puyo Puyo has the same objective but with quite the different framework; two joined blobs of varying colours fall from the top of the screen and are required to be lined up vertically or horizontally in bundles of four or more to clear them. Unlike tetrominos, these blobs are affected by gravity, so the key to high scores is setting up chains of each colour, all presented in smooth high definition and vibrant visuals.
Moving past the starting menu that offers simplified quick rounds of either Tetris or Puyo Puyo for those that want it, the main game selection begins again with Adventure mode. Once more following main Puyo Puyo protagonist Ringo, each challenge in the level-based overworld map features different opponents and tasks to play, backed by well-written and voiced character portrait interactions.
The Solo and Multiplayer sections of the menu contain mostly the same subset of playable modes, though in the case of the latter it can be done in splitscreen or local play with up to four Nintendo Switch 2 systems. Modes featured include regular Versus with either Puyo Puyo or Tetris gameplay, Skill Battle that introduces character abilities in a five-on-five gauntlet match, or even Fusion that uses both blocks and blobs in one grid at the same time.
Party mode brings in special items with a wide range of effects like bouncing back waste sent from the opponent’s grid, or blocking the view of said area. Big Bang is potentially the most frantic mode, as players are given a pre-made grid of blocks or blobs to clear as fast as possible under timer conditions, and in each round the slowest loses hit points, with the winner being the last entrant remaining.
Challenge Mode has its own subsection, and here is where the Endless modes of Puyo Puyo and Tetris are located; as high a score as possible being the only goal here. The fast-paced selections of 40-line Sprint and 3-minute Ultra, plus Tiny Puyo and the traditional 150-line Marathon modes make this the optimal selection for classic players.
With a new machine comes new features, and on the surface Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S boasts many additions. GameShare is front and almost center in the start menu and allows one copy of the game to broadcast to local Switch and online Switch 2 owners; a great feature for multiplayer bouts. Camera support is also here, letting players put themselves in the background of matches both online and off. Even mouse control is supported with a seamless transition between it and regular stick-and-button usage, though the actual implementation carries a significant learning curve that lacks the intuitiveness that traditional methods carry.
Sadly the main area that this version of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 falters is in its delivery states. Game Key Cards have been a controversial part of the Switch 2 since their inception, and what will put off many is that this game’s physical release comes in one, whereas the standard Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for the first Nintendo Switch comes complete on cart and can likely be found a lot cheaper than this version of the game. Echoing Sega’s other launch software like Raidou Remastered and Sonic X Shadow Generations is also the notable lack of an upgrade path for Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S, which isn’t ideal for any owners of the original Switch game.
Although the online features here are plentiful and robust in feature set and easy to use alongside GameShare, it does appear to have a separate player pool from the Switch 1 version, which makes finding matches very difficult. Though when one is found, modes like Boss Raids and the worldwide ranking system of Puzzle League make online quite the time sink.
Rounding off this package is the plentiful selection of the options menu and the shop, the former offering changes for colourblind players, control setups and Japanese voice acting, and the latter rewarding obtainable credits in other modes with character unlocks (including a certain blue hedgehog), Puyo and tetromino art style customisations, and player icons. It’s tough to argue against the value proposition of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S as there is plenty here, but the subjective question is whether the Switch 2 additions make up for its distribution failings, and if grabbing the Switch 1 version of the game will be enough for many interested parties.
