#womenUp, Super Puzzles Dream

Genre: Falling Block Puzzle

Players: 1-2 Co-Op (Local Alternating), 1-2 Competitive (Local)

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Review:

The awkwardly named #womenUp, Super Puzzles Dream (from here on referred to as WomenUp) is a Puzzle game released for Nintendo Switch in 2020 that combines elements of jigsaw-style Puzzle games with Falling Block Puzzles like Tetris.

The presentation here is really mixed. On the one hand, the puzzles themselves are some really gorgeous pieces of artwork, with the combined theme between them being a focus on women. However, much of the rest of the presentation here feels really lackluster and slapped-together, almost as if this game was constructed using public domain elements. The game uses a cartoony female superhero avatar that does not at all match the nice artwork, menu screens feel somewhat amateurishly designed, and the music feels generic.

While the presentation feels a bit like shovelware, I have to say I was actually surprised by this game’s gameplay, as the combination of Falling Block Puzzle and Jigsaw Puzzle made for a unique challenge – players must guide the puzzle piece to the correct spot using only the shape and visual on the block as a guide, are rewarded for dropping it quickly, and penalized for putting it in the wrong spot, which can also happen if you take too long to decide where it goes.

This game even gives players a good number of options for how to go about the gameplay here. They can play in “senior” or “junior” modes (which determines whether misplaced pieces deduct pieces from your board), play in alternating Co-Op mode, or in a competitive mode to see who can finish faster. And while I wish there were more than 25 puzzles here, for just over $6 this isn’t too terrible.

Really, the one thing that frustrates me the most here is the missed opportunity. This game has some compelling gameplay, and I wish they took it a step further – they could have had endlessly repeating puzzles to give the game an endless mode, they could have enabled attacks in the competitive multiplayer mode, and all around the game could have used just a bit more polish to make it something truly special.

As it is, WomenUp is a decent Puzzle game that presents some solid gameplay with some nice options, but tied together with a lacking presentation. And while I really wish this game did more with its surprisingly good premise, what’s here is decent and worth a look for Puzzle fans looking for something fun and inexpensive.

tl;dr – WomenUp is a Puzzle game that combines Falling Block Puzzles with jigsaw Puzzles to make for some pretty good gameplay. It’s a shame that the presentation is so lacking, and an even bigger shame that this game doesn’t capitalize on its full potential, but even with these flaws, this is still a decent inexpensive Puzzle game well worth a look.

Grade: C+

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