Action versus puzzle game Gematombe from Ratalaika Games and Route 5 Games is ready to pay homage to the classics on PS5. Learn more in our Gematombe review!
Action versus puzzle game Gematombe from Ratalaika Games and Route 5 Games is ready to pay homage to the classics on PlayStation 5. It’s a very colorful experience that will remind you of games such as Puyo Puyo, Puzzle Bobble, Arkanoid, and Breakout. You’ll be playing this one as one of six different characters: Pandora, Adicia, Nosi, Ania, Apate, and Khaos. Each character will have a different ability for you to consider – more on these in a bit – so that you can find the right one for your playing style.
As for the story and setup for Gematombe, it turns out that Pandora has unleashed the personifications of the great daemones into the world after opening a magical jar, and it’s now your task to help her capture them again to put them back into the jar. Pandora merges with the power of hope still left inside of the jar – anime magical girl style – to use its energy to defeat and capture the daemones before it’s too late.
You can play through the included tutorial to learn how to play the game. You’ll use the left analog stick or the D-Pad to move the cannon at the bottom of the screen. To shoot, you will press and hold down the X button so that you can then aim with the left analog stick or the D-Pad. Release the X button to shoot the ball so that you can destroy the blocks on the screen. You must hit at least six gems in a single shot so that you can capture the daemones. Gems of the same color that make a group of two will be destroyed with a single hit, but you should obviously aim to destroy the larger groups of gems first.
Catch the ball on its way back down so that the souls you captured are released on your opponent’s playing area. If you fail to catch the ball, then the lines will start to drop closer and closer to the bottom of the screen. If a line reaches the bottom and touches your cannon, then you lose. Your aim will, therefore, make it so that it’s your opponent who ends up with a line touching the bottom of its playing area. You can also win a match by clearing all gems from the screen.
You can play the game on your own in its single-player modes or take on a local versus match against a fellow human opponent. In the single-player area, you will get to play in the Arcade Mode, which will take you through the game’s story as you try to defeat all daemones. As its name suggests, Practice Mode allows you to get some practice without having to worry about beating an opponent. The last option is Survivor Mode, in which you’ll take on an endless horde of evil daemones.
Remember how I mentioned that each character will have a different skill to use to your advantage? Pandora will have the Hardener, which will change two of her opponent’s gems into a harder state that will keep them from being destroyed right away. Adicia has the Down skill, which turns a gem into a down gem that makes a new line appear when hit. Nosi has Virrus, which turns a gem into virus gems that spread when hit. Ania has Solidifier, which turns a gem into a solidifier gem that will harden other gems in the line. Apate has Trickster, a skill that will move two opponent gems into empty spaces. Khaos will have Randomizer, a skill that changes the color of two opponent gems.
The game has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy, and since this is a Cross-Buy title, if you own a PlayStation 5, you can download the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game and work on adding their respective Platinum trophies to your collection. The list includes 11 Gold trophies. The first trophy you can get will be for completing the tutorial. After that, the rest of the trophies require you to complete Arcade Mode with each of the six characters, play Practice Mode, play Survival Mode, and reach the second floor in Survival Mode. You can check out this Gematombe Trophy Guide for some extra tips.
Gematombe is a colorful puzzle game that pays homage to classics in the genre, such as Puyo Puyo, Puzzle Bobble, Arkanoid, and Breakout. It features a fun gameplay loop, single-player, and local versus, as well as an endless mode for you to try to keep going for as long as possible. Gematombe is available as a Cross-Buy title, so your $14.99 purchase will give you access to the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation 5 versions of the game, with each one having its own trophy list with a Platinum trophy at the end of the road.
Disclaimer
This Gematombe review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by Ratalaika Games.
