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Resurrecting an Abandoned Heritage
Puzzle and Dragons Story is a point-n-click
Furthermore, the narrative resides with you. All of this is because there was
once a protective goddess called Eschamali, who disappeared and paid no
attention to the kingdom of Libra. Once again, you are a Root Hunter this time
however you have to oversee a group of dangerous yet powerful monsters as they
retrieve valuable loot from terrifying dungeons. But this time there are
aimable objectives. Even though the narrative side of the game is rather sadly
weak, the game has been embraced by fans worldwide due to its intricate puzzles
and the variety of creatures within the game. Gung Ho created quite a master
piece.
Where’s Our Goddess?
As you start off, you are put under the supervision of
friendly wizard mentor Hermei who reminds one of Pokémon’s professors, Hermei
shows you three starter creatures which include: Flame Key Heir Gileon, Ice Key
Heir Menuit and Forest Key Heir Amlynea. After choosing your ally, you are
rushed into some tutorial dungeons that serve the purpose of teaching you the
basics of the game.
The game consist of puzzles in which three or more
elemental orbs of matching colors are used. When an elemental orb colored blue
is combined with a piece of blue allied colored orb, it activates an attack.
The more the orbs are used, the greater the damage impressively, if there’s
five used or even more, all enemies take a hit rather than just one. Every
creature in this round also has their own unique attacks and assistive elements
that trigger in specific circumstances.
Hermei gives you the Root Tree after the tutorial is
over, this is a special scroll that allows you to view the inhabitants of the
world of Libra and how to make them. Crystals collected from defeated enemies
as well as elemental mana allow you to call upon more creatures and add them to
your side. Though, once the tutorial ends, such particles of information only
come during loading screens.
An easy-going user experience, however, makes this
situation more bearable, but the absence of an extensive tutorial could still
leave some gamers, at least at certain times, feeling rather lost.
Potential Lost in the Shadows
I had always been a fan of *Puzzle and Dragons*, and
therefore I was really looking forward to this iteration of the franchise. Ever
combining match-three games with a unique RPG storyline was a good idea. As I
dive deeper into Libra, my interest started to fade rather quickly. The
introduction—starting with Hermei and Eschamali—doesn’t seem to integrate well
with the plot or NPCs or anything for that matter. And that sorely disappoints
me, especially in a game like this one that features such a variety of bizarre
but interesting creatures.
What *Puzzle and Dragons Story* really does well is
embed an easy-to-grasp overarching story while allowing the player to enjoy
solving the challenges connected to that story. The unrestricted movement of an
orb on the board combined with powers of the creatures and their positioning
proved strategic. The problem solving in this game is fun, or so I thought in
the beginning. Still, as the game develops, the early competition feels really
weak, and I found myself repeating most of the quests. Collecting enough
materials to upgrade my squad ends in becoming excruciatingly boring.
Eventually, the mix of difficult dungeons and the depletion of monsters made my
progress slow.
To Conclude: Multitude Puzzles But
Adventure Is Shallow, Needs More Depth
Fans of match-three puzzle video games will have a
good challenge in *Puzzle and Dragons Story.* Its orb innovative mechanics,
tactical depth as well as creature abilities will definitely keep many occupied
for hours. Nevertheless, the poor story line and the shallow character
development create the weaknesses of the game which could have been proved to
be its strength. So those who want a puzzle game which has some strategy
engrossed in it and can do without a great story history can play *Puzzle and Dragons
Story.* Just keep in mind that it is going to be a game that requires a great
deal of time and patience in order to achieve the goals of the game.
Does It Border On Extreme? It’s Almost
Perfect
*Puzzle and Dragons Story* provides fans with a number
of puzzles and some decent gameplay. However, it still suffers from a basic
plot and progression elements as well as time-consuming hurdles which often put
its success just out of reach.
