Demo Time: "Puzzle Puppers," "UNO® for Nintendo Switch," & "Word Wheel by POWGI" (NS)

Not 100% Sold on this Logo/Font & Could Change Before The Next Demo Time Article.

As this the first "official" inaugural issue of Demo Time, I ended up playing the demo for three games that I picked haphazardly while browsing what games had available demos on Nintendo's eShop.  Originally I had just picked these because on sight, they were games that  publicly stated that I did not think that I would have any interest in and  that I would not normally be attracted to any of these titles if I were looking to buy a game.

So let us get down to it.

Puzzle Puppers.

Puzzle Puppers by indie game company Cardboard Keep was originally released in 2018 on the Nintendo Switch, and before that was also released on PC, iOS, and Android devices. This game ended up being a lot more fun than I had originally thought I would have.  The game is essentially like the Nokia phone game Snake, except all of the stress is taken out by the fact that you can move the dog at will, one square at-a-time.  You are also able to reverse/undo moves if you do not like the path that you directed your pupper to take.

The inclusion of hams in the game, which is a requirement to pick up all of the hams if you want to get the nefarious 3 Star rating.  The difference here though, at least in the demo, is that none of the levels were locked behind needing a set number of stars.  Or maybe there was a Star Wall (let's just call it that from here on out) but the fact that I was able to earn three stars on all of the levels mean that they were already unlocked?  Either way, the demo for Puzzle Puppers came with 20 levels and did a great job of introducing the mechanics of getting your pupper to its food bowl, how to navigate to pick up all the hams, introducing a second dog to the levels (and even a third dog in one level), and introducing holes that "transport" your pupper to a corresponding hole elsewhere on the map.

Only Way to Figure Out the Holes is Trial and Error.  Giggity?

Again, I probably will not pick up the full game of Puzzle Puppers because the puzzles were not overly complicated and I only needed to spend a few minutes on some of the harder ones with the holes, most of the time spent figuring out which hole lead to which other hole.  However, I am not the target demographic, but for someone who has a smaller child it might be an option?  It was fun though.

UNO® for Nintendo Switch

The UNO® for Nintendo Switch demo by Ubisoft has very little to offer in the way of showcasing all of the extra features that you can use in the game.  The game comes with three play modes, only one of which is playable in the demo.  Here you can play a game (a maximum of three games before the demo tells you where/how you can buy the digital version of the game) of UNO® against three computer controlled AI opponents.  Now, if you know anything about me, you will already know that playing card games and board games against a computer opponent fills me with paranoia.  So you, dear reader, should not be at all surprised that I lost all three games of UNO® to the character of AI Luna.

The thing about UNO® is that it plays the same as the physical card game.  Cards are dealt out, one player goes and you play the appropriate card at the appropriate time.  One nice addition to the game is an opaque spinning arrow showing the direction of play, which comes in handy when you want to play a Reverse card or if you do not want to give AI Dusty on your right four cards when they already have 8, but AI Pudding on your left has only two.  One thing that I have never seen before is the ability to challenge another players' call of "UNO!"  Apparently that is a thing that if you lose the challenge, I think, will result in a +6 card penalty?

Not a Surprise: I Lost T/his Game.  And AI Luna Won.  Again.

As far as demonstrating what UNO® for Nintendo Switch has to offer, there does not seem to be a whole lot, especially for $9.99.  The other two (unplayable modes) just seemed like the same game but played against online opponents or [other explanation]

Word Wheel by POWGI

Based on the pictures and description of Word Wheel by POWGI, I was pretty sure I had played a game like this before on Conklederp's phone called Word Warp.  What you are essentially doing is playing a Boggle-type game where you are given a set of letters and you have to make words out of the included letters that have at least four letters or more.  The twist to this game compared to Word Warp and Boggle is that you are required to use the letter in the center of the wheel in each word.

The demo itself does a pretty good job of letting you get a feel for how the rest of the game is played.  Here you are given four wheels, which conveniently, have D, E, M, and O as the required letters for their respective wheels.  One option I did not see in the demo that I saw in other screenshots of the game was the ability to play with more than one player either alternating or possibly at the same time.  I guess having a competitive option would amp things up a bit here, but since there is no timer or score keeper, Word Wheel by POWGI definitely seems geared more towards players who just want to sit and relax with a word-puzzle-game.

I Don't Know What I Was Trying to Spell With "SEEPR" But I Promise I Wasn't Under Any Influences.

Although, if you are like me, in that you feel like a complete idiot when it comes to word puzzles like this, crosswords, and games similar to Boggle, then maybe it is not as relaxing as it could be.  But despite my inadequacies, I probably spent the most time on this game and only finishing one of the four puzzles with Conklederp's help.  My only critique is not with the demo as it is with the words allowed in the game.  There was one puzzle that used both UDON, and WONTON which seemed odd since they are non-English words and the rest of the accepted words were only English.  Plus, the game also has a "Bonus Words" score which counts recognized words like RAPE but doesn't list them along with all of the other words; possibly to avoid a different rating from the ESRB?


So those are the three demos that I decided to feature in this first Demo Time for Stage Select Start.  The biggest let-down was definitely UNO® for Nintendo Switch if only because it really felt like a stripped down version (that somehow came across in a condescending manner) compared to the other two demos coupled with the fact that there were limited number of plays before you were forced to stop.  Puzzle Puppers offered the most content what I assume are the first 20 levels in the game and Word Wheel by POWGI had dedicated DEMO wheels which felt like a personalized touch.

In the end though, none of these demos managed to change my mind on whether or not to buy the full game.  Puzzle Puppers and Word Wheel by POWGI both felt like they were converted mobile games meant originally for smartphones and if I were a huge fan of  UNO® and did not have anyone else to play with, then UNO® for Nintendo Switch would be a viable option.



~JWfW/JDub/Jaconian
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