Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition Review Summary

Faithful and Improved Remaster: Players are overwhelmingly positive about this new edition, praising it as a faithful and well-done remaster of the original classic. Many highlight its success in retaining the core essence and addictive gameplay while introducing significant improvements.

Excellent Steam Deck Performance: The game performs exceptionally well on the Steam Deck, making it a highly recommended title for portable play. This includes improved UI and controller support, enhancing the overall experience.

Diverse Hero and Build Options: The game features a great number of new classes, many types of heroes with diverse functionalities, and a huge number of active abilities, leading to extensive build options and replayability.

Deep and Engaging Gameplay: The game offers incredible depth, tons of gameplay, and engaging core mechanics that are still considered a blast. It successfully blends match-3 puzzles with RPG elements, providing a challenging and addictive experience.

Genre-Defining Classic: Many reviews emphasize the game's status as a genre-defining classic that pioneered the mix of match-3 and fantasy RPG. It is often stated that no subsequent imitation has surpassed the original's quality.

Poor Visuals and Aesthetics: Players are largely dissatisfied with the game's graphics, character models, and overall aesthetic, describing them as cheap, outdated, and generic. Many feel the game resembles a mobile or flash game, and the UI elements appear to be stock assets.

AI Cheats with Gem Drops: Players frequently report that the AI consistently receives favorable gem drops, often getting multiple 4+ gem matches in a row. This perceived advantage makes the game feel unfair and difficult.

Unsatisfying and Long Combat: Combat encounters are described as too long and lacking satisfaction. The game's difficulty, combined with the AI's perceived advantages, contributes to a frustrating and unpolished experience.

Reduced Character Portrait Options: A significant number of players are disappointed by the drastic reduction in character portrait choices compared to previous iterations. The game offers only 12 portraits for 13 classes, a substantial downgrade from the 50+ options previously available.

Lazy and Uninspired Remaster: Many players feel the remaster is a lazy and barebones effort, offering little new content beyond a few items and a class. It's perceived as a 'shovelware release' that fails to improve upon or honor the original.

Core Match-3 RPG Gameplay: The game is fundamentally a turn-based match-3 puzzle game combined with fantasy RPG elements. Players match gems to gain mana and attack, utilizing active skills to enhance combat. It's a remake of an RPG that uses match-3 for battles.

Deep Character Progression: The game offers extensive character progression and replayability, with various classes, each having unique stats and skill sets. Players can develop characters through attribute points and equip up to 6 out of 15 available spells.

Enhanced Remake Features: This version is a remake of Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords, featuring updated resolutions, new content, rebalancing, and gameplay improvements. It includes all DLC and new spell icons, offering a refreshed experience.

Variable Difficulty & AI: The game offers three difficulty levels, with 'easy' being very simple and 'normal' requiring careful planning. However, there are concerns that the enemy AI can be unfair, sometimes appearing to 'cheat' or receive better tile combinations.

Side Content & World Interaction: Beyond the main story, the game includes side quests and grinding opportunities for experience and money. Players can explore a map, join sects, capture monsters, create magical weapons, and interact with towns.

Excellent Steam Deck performance: Players report that the game runs exceptionally well on the Steam Deck, providing a smooth and enjoyable handheld experience. This indicates good optimization for portable play.

Highly Recommended Game: The game receives strong recommendations from players, especially for fans of the original seeking a complete and updated experience. Many consider it a worthwhile purchase, even with some frustrations like RNG.

Nostalgia-Driven Purchase: Players note that the game's appeal is significantly higher for those with nostalgia for the original. Without this emotional connection, it might not be considered a good investment.

Consider Sale Purchase: Some feedback suggests that the game is a better value when purchased at a discounted price, indicating that the full price might be a barrier for some players.

Caution for High Blood Pressure: One player humorously warns that the game might be frustrating enough to affect players with high blood pressure, hinting at challenging or irritating gameplay elements.

Nostalgia for original game: Many players have a strong connection to the original Puzzle Quest, having played it across various platforms like PSP, DS, Xbox 360, and Switch. This long-standing relationship influences their current perception of the remaster.

Minor graphic/avatar concerns: Some players acknowledge changes in graphics or fewer avatars but generally state these are not significant issues for them. The core gameplay experience is prioritized over minor visual alterations.

Suggestions for future features: Players are looking for additional features and improvements, such as an intermediate difficulty level and a graphics slider to adjust visual 'sweetness.' Some reviewers are actively providing feedback in hopes of influencing future updates.

Desire for improved soundtrack: Players are requesting an option to revert to the original soundtrack or for the developers to hire a professional composer for more enjoyable music. The current music is a point of contention for some.