Puzzlebox Setup (Nintendo 3DS) Review

The gameplay is the focus of Puzzlebox Setup, like in almost all puzzle titles. Here, the twist is that it is played with the Nintendo 3DS upside down. This might sound weird at first, but when the game starts it is obvious why the designers chose this method.

Puzzlebox Setup is built around dropping boxes from the top screen onto the bottom screen to build a pattern given down below. This is done by tapping on the block to drop on the top. When pressed, the block will drop in a straight line, making the clever top touch screen approach essential for the gameplay.

Puzzlebox Setup has two game modes: Classic and Copycat. In Classic, the screen scrolls, so there is a time limit on how much time there is to drop down the correct blocks on the correct squares. The speed of this can be adjusted before starting the stage depending on where the start level button is pressed. One can go slower if a relaxing experience is wished for, or faster if the player wants a challenge. This clever difficulty changer really improves the title, as it makes Puzzlebox Setup accessible for everyone.

In Copycat mode, the goal is to mirror the screen given by dropping blocks as quickly as possible. There is no time limit to win, but it is clear that the goal is to drop the blocks in place fast. In contrast to the Classic mode, misplaced blocks disappear, so it is a pure time attack.

This mode does, however, highlight the biggest issue, and that is its controls. The spots to press on to drop the correct block in the right place are too small at some points, which make it easy to mis-drop blocks. While not so troublesome in Copycat as in Classic, it does accidentally happen far more often in Copycat. This fake difficulty due to sensitive controls is the only real challenge Puzzlebox Setup poses in both modes, turning it from being a really fun game to one that sometimes causes strong frustration.

The world design in Puzzlebox Setup is based on boxes. Each box has three modes and each of these has two stages: one Classic and one Copycat stage. One extremely charming aspect is the themes of these levels that range between everything from math to Super Mario Bros., which greatly enhances the fun factor of this title, as building something fun and familiar is always more enjoyable than randomly placing out blocks.

Puzzlebox Setup does offer an overall well balanced experience despite the control issue. The game is fun, but a little short. It does, however, deliver good replayability, as the stages have different speeds and getting a perfect score can take a while. The gameplay is fun, but it would have been a lot better if it was not for the control scheme that sadly gives the game an inexcusable and frustrating fake difficulty, especially if played on an original Nintendo 3DS system.