On my way to an appointment, I was stopped by someone with a controller in their hand and they asked if I wanted to try out a quick puzzle game. I turned toward the monitor and the first thing that hit me was a feeling of nostalgia. I see a banner for a game named Tumblestone, but on the screen is something that looks like Tetris Attack. I made this comment out loud and I was told I was right on the money for where some of the inspiration for the colorful aesthetics came from.
Tumblestone is a match three game that goes much deeper than a typical puzzle game. There is an expansive single player campaign that introduces players to evolving mechanics that will unlock in multiplayer modes after they are completed within the campaign. Examples of these mechanics include not being able to match the same color block twice in a row, having to use two blocks instead of one and a blocking mechanic that disallows the use of columns from your previous match.
Multiplayer is a mode for two to four players where the host can select one or multiple matching mechanics before each match. The goal is to clear your board first, or to be the last player standing. The catch is, the game will let you make a mistake, but will punish you for doing so. If you make an illegal or wrong move, the board will reset completely and you have to start over. While there will be the urge to rush through the stage, speed is not always the answer. On difficult stage setups, there will be many times where it will be beneficial to plan more than a few moves ahead.
Even though this wasn’t something that I booked an appointment for, I had that familiar feeling of wanting to keep playing. I wanted to keep playing to keep getting my fill of brain teaser and quick, competitive action. Keep on the lookout for Tumblestone to release sometime in 2016! The game is set to come to Steam, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, Vita, Wii U, Mobile, Facebook and even Ouya or at least the website states.
