Blocky Powers

Genre: Falling Block Puzzle

Players: 1-2 Competitive (Local Split-Screen, Local Wireless)

.

Review:

(Note: Review code provided by the kind folks at Dinomore Games)

Blocky Powers, released in 2026 on Nintendo Switch, is a Falling Block Puzzle game that I don’t think anyone can discuss in good faith without drawing comparisons to Tricky Towers. Honestly, I think this goes beyond inspiration to become a game that seems like a direct copy of Tricky Towers’ physics-based block-balancing gameplay (and possibly even the game’s title). However, as I often say, there’s nothing wrong with a copycat as long as it’s a good copycat, so naturally I must ask the question whether Blocky Powers is a good copycat. Let’s have a look and see…

Blocky Powers’ presentation makes use of simple cartoony 2D visuals that get the job done without conveying much personality, and these visuals are backed by upbeat music that seemed pretty forgettable and possibly even public domain in origin. Combined with mobile-style menu design, the overall presentation here gives off the impression of… well, a mobile game.

When it comes to the gameplay, players of Tricky Towers will immediately recognize the setup here. There’s a small platform among an empty ocean, and Tetris-style pieces fall from above that players must guide onto the platform, being aware that gravity will cause poorly-placed pieces to fall off, or a poorly-built tower to topple. Keeping this in mind, players aim to build the tallest tower possible before it comes toppling down.

One complaint I have right away is that this game forces players to use the analog stick for piece movement, even though the game’s movement is completely digital. Not only does this lack Tricky Towers’ nuance, but it makes things particularly frustrating when you need to scootch a piece over quickly, forcing players to repeatedly tap the analog stick in a direction instead of tapping a button or holding a direction. This really limits the gameplay and makes it really frustrating when you fail not because you planned poorly or lacked the skill to do what you want, but because the controls wouldn’t cooperate.

I also need to talk for a moment about content. I personally felt this was one area where Tricky Towers fell short, but as anemic as that game’s content and options were, Blocky Powers is even more so, with only two game modes compared to Tricky Towers’ three, missing that game’s Puzzle mode and instead having an Endless mode (compare to Tricky Towers’ Survival mode) and Versus mode (compare to Tricky Towers’ Race mode). The former mode is single-player only, and the latter is 2-player only, with no bots. There’s little variety in either mode, apart from occasional chained blocks that drop and attach themselves permanently to the first block they touch.

The other thing differentiating Blocky Powers from its direct inspiration is that it purportedly features winds that occasionally blow to destabilize the towers, perhaps in the game’s “Difficult” mode. I say “perhaps” because I honestly didn’t notice anything like this, so I felt this feature wasn’t really prominent here.

The final differentiating element between Blocky Powers and Tricky Towers is the price – at $7.50, Blocky Powers is half the price of Tricky Towers, so this could be seen as a less-expensive alternative. That said, I honestly feel like it’s probably worth it to spend the extra for Tricky Towers – it may be twice the price, but it has more to offer in terms of content, the presentation is more striking and memorable, and most importantly it’s not held back by frustrating controls the way Blocky Powers sometimes is. Don’t get me wrong, Blocky Powers is still an enjoyable game, but it’s difficult for me to recommend it instead of spending a bit more to get an all-around better version of the same game.

tl;dr – Blocky Powers is a Falling Block Puzzle game where players guide Tetris-style blocks onto a small platform trying to balance them and build out a tower while keeping it from toppling. The formula is pretty much directly copied from Tricky Towers, but while it’s half the price of that game, Blocky Powers has worse controls, a more bland presentation, and even less content and options. It’s still an enjoyable game, but I think most players are better off spending a bit extra to get Tricky Towers instead.

Grade: C

^{You can support eShopperReviews on Patreon! Please click HERE to become a Sponsor!}

^{This month’s sponsors are Jamie and His Cats, Ben, Ilya Zverev, Andy Miller, Johannes, Jaka, Jared Wark, Gabriel Coronad-Medina, Francis Obst, Kristoffer Wulff, Seth Christenfeld, and Vince Verrinoldi. Thank you for helping to keep the reviews coming!}