For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out BLEACH Soul Puzzle from KLab, on my iPhone 14 Pro.
I'm a fan of Bleach and have been for a long time. i've played a few games from Bleach, like the PS3 game Bleach: Soul Resurrección https://youtube.com/shorts/2ml6Ik5EuqI, and KLab's Bleach: Brave Souls on PS4. looking at the screenshots, i knew that it was going to be a Match 3 game, but because it was Bleach themed i wanted to try it so that's why i gave it a go this week.
Maybe i'm a little jaded with Match 3 games, but going in i wasn't expecting too much from BLEACH Soul Puzzle. it does make a nice first impression. i thought that it's tutorial was simple but effective and it got across the basics of gameplay. the graphics looked HD and appropriate for Bleach, and while the music was repetitive and a little generic it also felt appropriate. BLEACH Soul Puzzle didn't feel like a match 3 game that was reskinned to be Bleach themed.
the biggest surprise, in a nice way, was how simple BLEACH Soul Puzzle was. Match 3 games tend to add mechanics to try and differentiate themselves from each other. whether that's challenge mechanics, score mechanics, or something with the power-ups. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, as long as their tutorials are decent enough to get it all across then i have no issue with them. But BLEACH Soul Puzzle has none of that. it's goal is simply erase a set number of things, whether that's a gem, gems, or other stuff on the game grid.
As the game's tutorial is solid, the goals are explained, and the overall presentation being polished, BLEACH Soul Puzzle works very well. i'd even recommend it to Match 3 fans, who like myself, may find the simplicity of the experience refreshing.
BLEACH Soul Puzzle does have one or two issues. the game did have an extra download. it wasn't huge, 107 MB, but i wasn't expecting there to be one at all. i also think the game should explain some of the menus, like collection and gallery, before they're unlocked, and that the Exchanges menu should be locked until a little later in the game. as there's no icon for a Store, the game should direct players to the coins.
With BLEACH Soul Puzzle being based on the current Thousand Year Blood War and that series not being finished, i feel that this game is going to be around for a while, maybe even years. once that series is finished, it's possible they'll rebrand the game for the next story arc or even go back to previous arcs. BLEACH Soul Puzzle is well worth playing now and it could be a game you return to on and off for a lot longer.
Version 1.0.4 Played.
