Brilliantly original puzzle game Tumblestone out now

PC, PS4, and Wii U

I first played Tumblestone at last year’s PAX East and was completely blown away. Ty Taylor’s first game, The Bridge, is one of my favorite puzzle-platformers ever, so I expected good things from this next venture. I said it last year and I stand by this statement: Tumblestone is easily the most intelligent use of “match three” gameplay I’ve encountered.

Calling it a match three game definitely sells it short, but it’s also true. Instead of tile swapping though, players must select three of the same colored blocks from the bottom-most row in the puzzle. If that’s impossible, you dun goofed, kid, and it’s time to restart. It feels like a real puzzle game, and not a lucky high score shootout.

The pricing model is also rather intelligent. A “multiplayer starter pack” is available for $10, which grants access to all of the multiplayer components. The full game, which includes a story mode (“40+” hours? holy crap!) and various arcade modes, is $25. You can upgrade from the multiplayer-only package to the full game for the difference in price at any time. You can read the short FAQ about the pricing system here.

For PS4 and Wii U owners, only the full game options is available. An Xbox One version is arriving shortly on July 16 and will be a part of Games with Gold.

Also, the cinematic launch trailer is fantastic, have a look!