Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest

 iOS
  • Publisher: D3 Go!
  • Release Date: Dec 10, 2015
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 5
  3. Negative: 2 out of 5
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  1. Cipher_8
    Dec 18, 2015
    7
    First of all I highly recommend this game if you like Puzzle Quest or for fans of Magic the Gathering. For myself its a perfect mash up of two of the games I enjoy but yet it isn't without its own flaws. Flaws that almost ruin the game for me.

    I've been patiently waiting on this game since it was announced but now that I've played it I can't help but be a bit disappointed with it.    First of all I highly recommend this game if you like Puzzle Quest or for fans of Magic the Gathering. For myself its a perfect mash up of two of the games I enjoy but yet it isn't without its own flaws. Flaws that almost ruin the game for me.

    I've been patiently waiting on this game since it was announced but now that I've played it I can't help but be a bit disappointed with it.

    For me because Puzzle Quest was one of the only mobile games I enjoyed I was really anticipating this one.

    I applaud the developers for coming up with new interesting mechanics and ways to change puzzle quest enough to be fresh but yet stay true to the basics of both Puzzle Quest and Magic the Gathering. I think the way support gems stay on the board is a genius way of implementing non-creature permanents such as Enchantments/Equipment without making them too overpowering or hard to destroy.

    The publishers on the other hand with this crap freemium model/game structure messed up a great game. This irks me to no end.

    The game itself is solid from top to bottom it is well designed and it's unique gameplay is well concieved and thoroughly enjoyable. The match three game play standards of Puzzle Quest titles mixed with different strategies of differing colors of Magic the Gathering is done to perfection.

    Each Planeswalkers and their associated colors has a distinctive feel and playstyle. Themes of each color do stay true to the MTG tcg and the flavor established there which it's good to see they got that right.

    One of the things I have always liked most about playing Magic the Gathering tcg is the art and lore that Wizards of the Coast put into their products (D&D also) and I think that artwork and 'flavor text' that brings the lore into it on loading screens before/after each match is part of the reason why I really like this game.

    I can't wait to see how deep the games meta goes with multicolored Planeswalkers to be released later but so far they've covered the basics.

    Red rushes hasty small creatures and Chandra directly damages their life points with burn spells.

    White can do a lot of life link healing yourself as Gideon and his creatures with Vigilance are in it for the long fight.

    Blue and Jace can bounce the enemies creatures back to their hand effectively unsummoning them and doing a lot of board manipulation countering their threats.

    Black can bring back killed off creatures or make them discard their threats straight from hand. Death touch is present and Zombies are not only effective but a fun theme.

    Green can ramp mana and cast larger creatures faster for the Nissa beat down, she can also draw cards to hand via her first ability.

    Which by the way it's important to spend coins leveling your Planeswalkers because each of their abilities changes and improves as you level your Planeswalkers up.

    First thing I suggest doing after tutorial is purchasing all the Planeswalkers for 10 gold each. This not only will ensure you always have someone to play with but each offers a differing playstyle and strategies.

    Deck building is easy to understand once you get the hang of it. There are multiple ways to play each color or each Planeswalker. And there is multiple ways to set up your decks for each colored Planeswalker. Cheaper creatures, more support, or powerful but expensive creatures.

    The Planeswalkers health regen mechanic forces you to wait or speed up recovery with IAP which they clearly deliberately chose by design to make more money off suckers.

    I absolutely hate games that make me wait because a required energy is depleted and regens slowly over time. Yes, I'm aware many mobile games do this and its the reason I hate most mobile games. Puzzle quest was never about this!

    Also I know I can just continue as another Planewalker but I want to play the color of my choosing and one I prefer how it plays and that I have cards unlocked for.

    Deck building is more than half the fun in the trading card game version of MTG and that's because you get to choose your colors and playstyle, not be forced to play a color or playstyle you don't enjoy because your first choice is on cooldown.

    This really would be a great mobile game if not for this Freemium IAP game progression structure.

    I would gladly pay $20+ for this game to purchase it outright but no they want you to pay that weekly/monthly with their structure of the game. In app purchases can work as a way to speed along and skip leveling up but don't favor that by design, that's a greedy money grab. You can still make plenty of money off IAP's selling boosters.

    Which brings me to my next complaint.

    The other major gripe I have is duplicate cards from boosters and how they are utterly pointless. This might be the games biggest design flaw of all! Duplicates do nothing but disappear. What entices me to spend real money when they'll all be duplicates and disappear forever?

    Continue reading part 2 for the complete review.    … Expand
  2. Cipher__8
    Dec 17, 2015
    7
    Part 2 of my review, read part 1 first. 

    Other similar games (someone else suggested Hearthstone) do it right. Atleast let us sell or trade with other players or break them duplicate cards/creatures down into currency.   That would be nice considering how much some of us weak-willed players spend on purchasing boosters only to get duplicates of cards we already have. I highly suggest    Part 2 of my review, read part 1 first. 

    Other similar games (someone else suggested Hearthstone) do it right. Atleast let us sell or trade with other players or break them duplicate cards/creatures down into currency.  

    That would be nice considering how much some of us weak-willed players spend on purchasing boosters only to get duplicates of cards we already have. I highly suggest let us break them down for nominal coins/currency used to purchase more boosters.  

    Maybe being able to gift or trade cards, especially duplicates, from inventory to friend or other users would be another good feature. 

    Which brings me full circle, let us challenge friends from Facebook or by user name. I wanna play vs my friends not against a random person who is leveled way higher than me and has way more rare cards. That being said I don't think there's a real way to balance random matchmaking, in terms of a true skill.  

    I haven't gotten very far yet so I cannot comment on difficulty at end game or cheapness of AI challenges versus your own BUT like any puzzle quest some matches feel like the board of orbs just don't fall your way or is almost set up against you from the start. Just retry is all you can do, the game would be beyond bland if you won every match. 

    As it stands now I'll play sparingly and progress and unlock as much as I can. I appreciate how they are fairly generous with their daily rewards. 

    But i will not support this by spending my money. I suggested fixes for all my complaints/flaws. I'm looking forward to this games future potential. Please address these issues and reconsider. 

    I also want to say the game run fine on both Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S3) and on iOS tablet (iPad Mini 2), which do I prefer? Tablet because bigger screen.    … Expand
  3. Outersider
    Mar 1, 2019
    0
    If you like getting screwed for playing a game.... try this one..... After years of playing they decided to screw veteran players. Not a game worth investing in at all anymore. Sad to see it hit rock bottom.

Awards & Rankings

54
#54 Most Discussed iOS Game of 2015
64
#64 Most Shared iOS Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. CD-Action
    Mar 4, 2016
    90
    Puzzle Quest’s simple mechanics work great along MtG’s tactical complexity. [02/2016, p.68]
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Jan 18, 2016
    80
    Magic: The Gathering - Puzzle Quest is a genuine quality free-to-play game. As with all match-3 games, it's not the most in-depth or complex experience available, but the Magic: The Gathering license is used well, and the aesthetic design makes is the perfect casual time-waster for those train trips or quick breaks.
    Read full review
  3. Vandal
    Jan 10, 2016
    88
    It gets the best of both genres, and it gets it right. It works pretty much for every kind of player, but if you enjoy Magic, then it's a game you should try.
    Read full review
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