Zumatch

Genre: Match-3 Puzzle

Players: 1

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: Digital Game Group

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Review:

Zumatch is a Match-3 Puzzle game released on Nintendo Switch in 2021, and right from the start I will point out that not only is this game very clearly a knockoff clone of the classic Puzzle game Zuma, but it’s also an asset flip, using the Marble Zuma asset from the SellMyApp asset store. The only change here seems to be the addition of a cartoony Indiana Jones knockoff theme, one which the same developer has copy-pasted the character in both this game and in Grandmaster Sudoku.

I should note that unlike Grandmaster Sudoku, the one element they’re adding here isn’t even done well – it’s so sloppily pasted into the game that it has ugly compression artifacts on the entire cartoony character… in the game’s main title screen. At the very least, the actual visuals for the gameplay fare a bit better here, with some good details on the rolling balls… though everything else about the visuals evokes the look of a mobile game. Also, the synthesized soundtrack does not fit the rest of this game at all.

As for the gameplay… well, this is Zuma, but worse. The controls are clunky and slow, doing combos doesn’t push back the line of balls like it does in Zuma, the game has multiple separate lines for some reason, meaning that even if you slow down one it won’t affect those behind it, nor will the ends of these separate lines be able to match. And on top of this, there’s no multiplayer, either. None of these things is a deal-breaker here, but they all just generally add up to far less satisfying gameplay.

So in the end, Zumatch copies the premise of a great classic Puzzle game, but botches the presentation, controls, and gameplay. Not severely, but just enough to sour the whole experience and make you wish you were playing the real thing. This is all the more tragic because while Zuma isn’t on Nintendo Switch, there are countless Zuma clones, including the far superior Zumania and Zumba Aqua. Do yourself a favor and get one of those games instead.

tl;dr – Zumatch is a Match-3 Puzzle game that is both a blatant clone of Zuma and an asset flip. While it doesn’t have any absolute game-breaking flaws, it does have countless smaller ones that make it an overall less-satisfying experience, and you’re far better off going for some of the better Zuma clones on the Nintendo Switch.

Grade: C-

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