Match 3 is a very interesting genre of game because there are so many different ways they can be presented. At the very core of the games they all have a few values that hold true across the board of versions, but what sets the games apart is theme and puzzle design. In Gems of Magic Father’s Day, you will get a very light story that almost doesn’t even exist and is more so just an excuse to have the theme be what it is, which is fine.
Puzzle design in this title is, however where my problem with the game lays. From just a few puzzles into the game, I found myself incredibly frustrated with how the difficulty of the game was designed. As far as difficulty goes, I am all game but only if the difficulty is overcome by wit and execution. This game’s hard parts are not overcome by wit or planning but just dumb luck. Often during my puzzles I found myself with only one move on the board and the game just kept forcing me to do meaningless moves over and over again.
Of course to help somewhat remedy the getting stuck with no valuable moves, you do have the option to spend some coins you earn on power-ups. The power-ups have absolutely no description of what they do, so wasting valuable coin on just figuring them out was required. To spare you the suffering, I will just tell you that the bomb blows a single block up, the windmill re-rolls a 3×3 square of blocks to new blocks, the glove is 1 free move of two blocks and the compass gives you more moves to your moves total.
Coin in this match 3 is earned upon clearing a stage for the first time, and trust me when I say, you do not get much. Of course you do not want to have coin showered on you, but if the difficulty is going to be done in the way they do it, you should have better options.
And let us just talk about my largest problem with this title. One of the elements used to create difficulty is easily the worst design choice I have ever seen in a match 3, and it shows up a lot. There are blocks you are required to clear off the map and even sometimes hit these blocks multiple times. Within these particular blocks will actually be a piece you have to connect 3 or more to. “What’s the problem?” you may be asking. Well the problem here is the block is covered so you cannot see what the piece even is. The only way around this is to try to move that piece into an exposed space so you can see it before it moves back, unless you are unlucky and make a match, which can more often than not waste a precious move.
Don’t get me wrong, this title does have charm and yes a difficulty option between having infinite moves and limited, but, personally, I do not see much point in a game like this having infinite moves. Visually, there is lots to love and appreciate here along with the sounds and music. My fun was just quickly sucked dry with this match 3 with the difficulty methods.
Gems of Magic Father’s Day is a match 3 I just couldn’t recommend. It has some charm and if some problems are adjusted, this game could actually be really great. But, as it is currently, this one just feels more frustrating than fun.
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