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Candy Crush Saga meets turn-based RPG in Bright Reappear - Pocket Playfest

2K View2023-06-07

Bright Reappear(Demo)

7.4

Pixel GraphicsStrategyRPGSingleplayerMatch 3

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Bright Reappear is an engaging game that combines match-three gameplay with fantasy RPG elements and turn-based combat. The trial version is only a brisk four levels, but I had a fantastic time working my way through them. After spending two and a half hours slashing off goblin heads and bonking evil treants, Bright Reappear ended up as a thrilling and mind-teasing title that I enjoyed despite some slight frustration.

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Welcome to TapTap’s Pocket Playfest - An Indie Celebration! Beginning on June 16 and running through June 28, we will be showcasing demos for ten brand-new, unpublished mobile games. These ten games are all from indie developers and represent some of the most exciting upcoming mobile games on the horizon. You’ll only be able to download those demos for Android right here on TapTap, so stay tuned!

In addition to checking out some exciting new games, you’ll also be able to vote for your favorites. The developers whose games get the most votes will get a big cash prize from TapTap, and that’s not all: You can win too! Just by playing these games and voting for your favorites, you’ll earn points and get entered into a giveaway! You could win a Steam Deck, an Xbox Elite controller, or even a $1000 gift card.

Bright Reappear is one of the ten games TapTap will be featuring as part of our Pocket Playfest. Enjoy the rest of our thoughts, and be sure to come back on June 16 so you can download it and try it for yourself. Play and vote for your chance to win!

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I’m not much of a match-three guy myself, but even I don’t mind a casual, charming game like Bright Reappear. I started this adventure as a panda warrior who sought to vanquish all evil across the land. This warrior had abilities, stats, and even an experience meter to gain levels. I could also buy weapons and gear from a shop before and after battles to buff up my character.

Of course, purchasing gear meant grinding for gold, which meant taking on all sorts of ugly monsters, many of whom had their own unique abilities and status effects to apply in combat. While everything up to this point sounds like traditional RPG stuff, the actual mechanics of combat were where things got switched up: In order to fight monsters, I had to play match-three style puzzle gameplay on the lower half of the screen. I would match tiles to either attack, heal, or pick up gold, and then the enemy would take their action. Think of it like an old-school turn-based Final Fantasy, except all the menu selections are replaced with casual puzzle-solving.

While this formula is unique, I was frustrated by a couple of issues with it. The first problem is the element of randomness inherent to match-three games. Activating my warrior’s abilities meant matching a certain number of tiles, but every time I made a match, the puzzle pieces cascaded downwards and inevitably often triggered combos of even more matches. This often resulted in abilities activating in different sequences than I wanted; I wish I could have held onto them and picked the right moment to use them rather than just waiting while they happened automatically.

Beyond that, I spent a lot of time in these early levels hoping for a little more to do. Combat scenarios relied on damaging enemies as quickly as possible, especially when I went up against stronger opponents. There wasn’t any point in trying to heal since most enemies could do way more damage. A little more strategic variety could go a long way, and I’m hoping that might happen when the full game launches and I’m able to dig deeper into it.

Problems aside, I still think Bright Reappear is worth playing. The combination of turn-based combat, match-three gameplay, and RPG elements really pulled me in. Even when I got a little annoyed, the gameplay was still enjoyable. Even in this short and sweet demo form, Bright Reappear provides a decent amount of entertainment for anyone that likes good adventures or match-three games, and it stands to be even better in the full version when it adds more characters and content.