If you were to look up “cookie-cutter” in a dictionary, you would probably find casual match-3 type games listed as an example. There are a ton of them, and they rarely differ from one another in any meaningful way, therefore making it difficult for a critic to genuinely come up with unique, enticing merits when reviewing a title of the genre because few rarely stand out. Azkend 2: The World Beneath by 10tons, however, is a different enough proposition altogether to make it feel fresh and worthwhile, especially in the ways it intuitively takes advantage of the Nintendo Switch’s portable capabilities.
To start with, Azkend 2 consists of two primary modes: the main adventure mode and the challenge mode. The former has the player follow along a sweeping epic tale in which the main protagonist is on a sailing vessel but eventually gets caught in a raging tempest, the aftermath of which involves the player taking a trek to the center of the earth. That’s the most exciting I can make it sound to be honest, because the rather generic narrative mainly just serves as a backdrop to the gameplay. The player will be tasked with solving match-3 boards to progress the journey, along with being given small puzzles or hidden object mini-games to fiddle around with. All in all however, I found the pacing of the progression of the story campaign to be very awkward. Between each cutscene, you are presented a wide variety of game boards to complete, but some of the cutscenes that you’re rewarded with feel too short and even pointless. For instance, the tempest in the beginning of the game pauses so that you can construct a compass out of four unique game boards…but all that effort goes to waste as your vessel gets sucked into the storm anyway. It’s not too egregious at first, but Azkend 2’s story campaign is surprisingly quite long, and these issues in flow do become irksome eventually. Despite these personal misgivings, the overall presentation of this mode is commendable, particularly the striking art style of the cutscenes along with the quirky, but well-done voice acting in each of them. It’s just that the content of the story itself feels uninspired in comparison.
The other method to enjoy the game is through the challenge mode, which involves pure match-3 score attack mode without all the constant interrupting of the gameplay for a story, which could prove alluring for hardcore enthusiasts of the genre. There are your standard ice blocks that need to be melted by matching symbols right next to them, as well as a variety of powerups that can assist in clearing away tiles. Matching six or more tiles in one turn generates a lightning effect which will get rid of even more tiles for your micromanagement needs. The most useful of them all, however, is this Tesla coil apparatus that can basically obliterate large swaths of the board in one go, and this particular mechanism can prove useful and even critical for boards of a higher difficulty. Overall the gameplay is addicting, and I can see this being particularly attractive to someone who’s looking for a bit of mindless entertainment on the ride home after a long day at work.
Azkend 2 isn’t going to blow you away with a gripping narrative or innovative gameplay, but it’s a solid match-3 game with perfectly sound mechanics and beautiful visuals that pop out at you on the Nintendo Switch screen. If you’re looking for a reliable and readily accessible match-3 experience to keep around in your Switch library, Azkend 2 is one of the few that I highly recommend.
7/10
Nintendo Switch Review
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Overall Score - 7/107/10
Freelance reviewer and critic. I am currently attending Columbia University majoring in Computer Science and East Asian Studies, but I try to play video games as much as I can in my spare time. I'm passionate about games that are atmosphere-heavy and are able to transport me to another world.
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