Puzzle Kingdoms: A Review of the ‘Kingdom of Curves’

Of course, this review will be inextricably linked to the cult hit [Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords](/games?search=Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords). Six years ago, it managed to find a way into the heart of every gamer and triumphantly visited almost every platform. The recipe seems incredibly simple: casual battles in the ‘easy to learn, hard to master’ category, RPG gameplay with spells, inventory, and leveling up, plus a global map with an epic storyline. But apparently, not everything is so simple if the creators of [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest) themselves have not been able to replicate that success even once. Essentially, since then, only one game has managed to follow that same path — Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes.

Or maybe they themselves attempted to grasp the formula? After all, three sequels came out completely differently. [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest) Galactrix radically changes the setting and the 'dimensions' of the puzzles, transforming into a puzzle game like ‘Space Rangers’. [Puzzle Quest 2](/games?search=Puzzle Quest 2) discards the epic scale and global map but offers a deeper RPG model and endless dungeons filled with goblins in a Diablo style. And Puzzle Kingdoms, which will be discussed, elevates the strategic level with kingdom conquests while significantly simplifying the combat gameplay, returning to the roots of the Warlords series.

Yes, we are once again in the universe of ‘Warlords’. In times long forgotten, they were the main competitor of Heroes of Might & Magic, but now only the subtitle of [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest) remains. However, in Puzzle Kingdoms, there’s no feeling of being part of a universe with a twenty-year history. It’s an ordinary fantasy kingdom with a standard set of elves, dwarves, and dragons. The story revolves around certain cursed boxes that defile this world in the name of a dark lord, but it hardly deserves any attention. The dialogues occasionally sparkle with funny jokes, but after several hours of gameplay, you will likely find yourself fast-forwarding them automatically. More likely still, you will close the game altogether.

The idea behind Puzzle Kingdoms is excellent. The gameplay operates on three levels: a global map for world travel, a kingdom map for army confrontations, and battles with a combat variation of Bejeweled. But none of these layers are engaging. In the world, you can only move through the storyline and excavate ruins in search of new troops and battle artifacts. The two types of puzzles — time-based and turn-based — are only enjoyable the first ten times. The hundreds of subsequent challenges elicit nothing but hatred: there’s no difficulty for the player. The second level — the kingdoms — is utterly pathetic. The player simply fights through enemy armies until they win. If you die, you pick another hero, buy an army, and continue from where you left off. Considering the supply of heroes and the complete immobility of enemy armies… Yes, I mentioned it was pathetic. There are also treasure houses in the kingdoms where you can gain money by defeating particularly tough monsters, but such monsters rarely get a hit off due to the local combat system.

On the left — your army and spells, on the right — the opponent’s. Each army unit has health, attack power, and a bar that must be filled to execute that attack. The spells work similarly. In the center of the screen is the familiar [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest) board where the fates of heroes are decided. You collect colors — you raise your warriors' readiness. When two or more units are ready at the same time, you can strike with increased power. Sometimes attack stones appear on the board, which, when lined up, trigger an immediate hit. There are no tactical tricks, and cascades make no sense. Just like connecting more than three elements in a line. Usually, the outcome of the battle is clear immediately from the deployment of troops on both sides, but if equal opponents clash, the battle continues until the first unit is destroyed. After that, linearity and tactical meaninglessness almost certainly predetermine the outcome of the battle.

But besides the dullness, the game is unforgivably easy and offers no challenge at any level of gameplay. As such, it provides no incentive to progress further. Leveling up, inventory, artifacts — why bother when any kingdom can be defeated with just one hand? Of course, it makes sense to play through it out of respect for [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest), but fortunately, we have options: [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest) Galactrix and [Puzzle Quest 2](/games?search=Puzzle Quest 2) are infinitely better than this one. Infinite Interactive, perhaps it’s time to finally stop trying to return to strategic roots and continue the great mission of [Puzzle Quest](/games?search=Puzzle Quest)? Especially since the new battlefield history once again brings Warlords up against Might & Magic, and in this new confrontation, the colorful stones have a serious chance to take revenge for the defeats of the last century. Such games are catastrophically scarce these days.