Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns

 Switch
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. Nintendo Life
    Oct 4, 2019
    70
    More than a decade after its initial release, Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns is a worthy upgrade of a solid match-three RPG. It adds new quests and new classes for both veterans and newcomers to enjoy, and manages to resist the ‘freemium’ business model that plagues a lot of games in the genre these days. It falls down a bit on graphics and presentation, with the artwork particularly showing its age, but if you’re after a surprisingly deep puzzle adventure to get lost in, then look no further.
  2. Digitally Downloaded
    Sep 25, 2019
    70
    If you've never played Puzzle Quest before, The Legend Returns will be a nice surprise. Sitting underneath that humble presentation is a game with an awful lot of content to it. Existing fans would do well to jump in and remind themselves why Puzzle Quest is such a great game, as this release on Switch suggests, to the very subtitle of the name, that it's an active franchise again, and we may well see a new one in the near future. However, it's clear that Puzzle Quest is aging with anything but grace, so The Legend Returns also shows that this next Puzzle Quest, should it come, will need to do things significantly differently to have the same impact.
  3. RPGamer
    Sep 23, 2019
    70
    Having played numerous Puzzle Quest offerings, including Nintendo DS and Xbox 360, as well as iOS, Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns is the definitive way to play the first adventure, despite the slowdowns and occasional crash. It’s both beginner friendly with improved tutorials as well as veteran compatible with new content.
  5. GamingTrend
    Sep 19, 2019
    70
    Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns is a good combination of addictive puzzle gameplay and RPG character-building. While it will likely play best to fans of the 2007 original, its central mechanics are still fun, if a bit dated. Despite sometimes slow battles that don’t always mesh its puzzle and RPG sides well, Puzzle Quest is still worth a look for fans of puzzle games.
  6. Gaming Age
    Oct 16, 2019
    67
    It’s far less insidious than any of the myriad match-3 games that clog up Apple and Google’s respective storefronts, but it’s also not all that fun unless you really love grinding your way through match-3 puzzles. It could be a lot worse, and kudos to the game’s developers for resisting the allure of monetization, but Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns’ appeal will definitely be limited.
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  1. Polygon
    Sep 18, 2019
    Being a relic of the past decade, Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns doesn’t offer a surprising or fresh experience. But that’s not a bad thing. Despite a few visual quirks, it’s just as enjoyable and rewarding as it ever was...I may have expected a bit more polish from the remaster, but everything that’s important — namely, the simple and satisfying gameplay — remains intact.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 23
  3. Negative: 5 out of 23
  1. Rob7ing
    May 2, 2020
    5
    Fun but Frustrating

    I bought this for pure nostalgia purposes. I clearly remembered it more fondly than it deserved. While it has a lot of    Fun but Frustrating

    I bought this for pure nostalgia purposes. I clearly remembered it more fondly than it deserved. While it has a lot of great features, lots of customization, tons of skills and equipment, it still boils down to the level of fun vs frustration. FUN

    * Interesting story, quests, world, and characters
    * Lots of things to build and unlock
    * Very satisfying to win and traverse storyline

    FRUSTRATING

    * Match-3 Puzzle randomization overwhelmingly favors CPU
    * Grinding hurts you as enemies level up with you. Therefore it is impossible to grind to defeat a tough
    Boss. They just get stronger. * Spending 30 minutes on a battle just to lose leads to Rage Quits


    I guess I’m going to delete this and wait for Puzzle Quest 2. Maybe that’s the game I was yearning for here.    … Full Review »
  2. richp
    Apr 26, 2020
    3
    Just pure RNG, there is a tiny amount of skill but 90% of the game is just down to luck. For a cheap mobile title that's fine but don't beJust pure RNG, there is a tiny amount of skill but 90% of the game is just down to luck. For a cheap mobile title that's fine but don't be fooled into paying full price for a 10+ year old game that's been shoddily ported.… Full Review »
  3. aphlexx
    Mar 2, 2021
    1
    Original Challenge of the Warlords is great, I completed it years ago on PC. At first I was excited to have the remake on a modern SwitchOriginal Challenge of the Warlords is great, I completed it years ago on PC. At first I was excited to have the remake on a modern Switch console. But the remake turned out to be an unbalanced piece of trash, even on the easiest difficulty. There's no point in strategy and tactics anymore, since they added x2, x4, x6 mana wildcards (that appear very often though supposed to be very rare) that AI player uses to gain full power on early turns and bombard you with ultimate spells, or heal itself insanely, and you are basically defenseless because you get similar powerful spells only many levels later. The battles make no sense anymore, it's just pain and grinding and pure RNG that makes any strategies completely pointless. I can assure you that there were no such nonsense in the original. I'm very disappointed and regret that Nintendo policy doesn't allow refunds. This was a very nice game at its time, but now it's a brainless RNG cash grab that noone seemed to playtest before releasing. Avoid it at all costs.… Full Review »
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