Puyo Puyo eSports came and went with a month between announcement and release, with not much shown off apart from presentation changes, new characters, and online modes. The game launched with Traditional Chinese and Korean subtitles on October 25, 2018, the same day as the Japanese version, and a recent playtest shows off singleplayer and extra features not highlighted by Sega. [Thanks, Bahamut!]
Single player mode is included in Puyo Puyo eSports, although it’s nothing fancy like a story mode. It lets you face off against CPU opponents in order to hone your skills, in preparation for online mode.
Handicap settings are available in Puyo Puyo eSports, and range from Sweet, to Mild, Medium, Hot and Spicy, just like Puyo Puyo Tetris. There’s also a separate option to strengthen opponents or yourself by making the loser of the previous round come back easier, such as giving easier Puyo pieces to clear.
Both Puyo Puyo Tsu and Puyo Puyo Fever rules are available in Puyo Puyo eSports, and Tsu rules are recommended for those two are just starting out with the series.
Local multiplayer offers the ability to do simple versus matches, or knockout tournaments for 3-8 players. You can add CPU players in tournaments as well.
Online Mode lets you play casual matches against random opponents, play with friends, or join the Puyo Puyo League. When in rooms against opponents, you are able to chat via preset messages.
By selecting Puyo TV, you can check out recordings of other player matches, so that you can see how you can improve your play.
In terms of extra features, the game actually will actually automatically record every match you’ve played, whether in single-player or multiplayer. That said, there is a limit to how many can be kept at once, and keeping too many causes the oldest match video to be overwritten. However, it’s a good way for beginners to see how they can improve, and for veterans to check out their opponent’s strategies.
When you’re watching the videos, you can speed up, slow down, and pause the video whenever you want.
Overall, Puyo Puyo eSports is focused on the multiplayer aspect, with not much to offer in terms of single-player. However, it’s also a very good game for newcomers to start off with.
Puyo Puyo eSports is available for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan and Asia.
