Platform: Nintendo Switch
Genre: Multiplayer, Puzzle
Publisher: Ridiculous Games
Developer: Ridiculous Games
Release: Oct 22, 2019
Price: $19.99
Day and Night blindsided me on just about all fronts. Here’s a really small digital title for the Nintendo Switch that got very little press (we did cover it). It’s also a puzzle game making it a niche product and one based on Tetris of all things. It also features a very childlike look, feel, and story. None of this stands out as a must have title and yet here we are. If you pick up one puzzle game this year Day and Night should be right at the top of the list.
This throws a huge monkey into the gutty works and adds an unprecedented level of strategy
Day and Night caught me off guard on just about all fronts. Here’s a really small digital title for the Nintendo Switch that got very little press (we did cover it). It’s also a puzzle game making it a niche product and one based on Tetris of all things. It also features a very childlike look, feel, and story. None of this stands out as a must-have title and yet here we are. If you pick up one puzzle game this year Day and Night should be right at the top of the list.
Day and Night is deceptively simple. It’s a falling block puzzle game where you drop 4-block squares onto the playfield. You can rapid drop them of slow drop them like in any Teris game. You can also rotate the squares and each block in the square functions as its own block. The basic idea is to drop matching blocks and create groups of four or more connected blocks that are then removed from the playfield.
There are no tetraminoes to deal with or any other shapes other than the 4-block cubes. It sounds simple because it is, but that doesn’t mean Day and Night lacks some interesting layers of depth. One interesting addition is the time meter at the bottom of the screen. By removing block-chains your time meter increases. Fill up the meter and you change the stage from day into night and vice-versa.
But this isn’t just a visual change as you can then use night blocks that are played just like day blocks. Instead of various suns you can play with moons and stars. The neat bit comes during the change. When day turns into night all the day blocks currently on the field remain but are turned off. This means you won’t be able to remove them from play during said day or said night section. This throws a huge monkey into the gutty works and adds an unprecedented level of strategy.
Not only will you be in a day/night section trying to eliminate blocks, but dead blocks from the opposite time will continue to drop. You’ll then have to deal with removing blocks from the current time and think about placing dead blocks in such a way that when the time changes and they activate they can be automatically removed if placed in the right way instead of being a new burden on the player. It’s wild and can change the course of a match, especially for a player not paying attention as whoever is doing better will swap the time first thanks to the time meter.
In versus mode, the person who trips the time meter first not only changes the time but also shrinks the screen of the opponent making things far more frantic, if they weren’t enough with all the gears turning in your head by this point. All of this would be enough for a fun and frantic puzzle game, but we haven’t even gotten to the battle aspect of the versus adventure. There are more than simply day and night blocks as season blocks add a “screw you” element to play.
If you align season blocks, called that because different seasons introduce different blocks with unique properties, they unleash attacks against your opponent. Spring blocks will send seeds over to your opponent which will creep and grow through there playfield, taking over if they don’t deal with it. The same goes for ice during winter and fire during summer, each causing their own problems to deal with on top of removing the basic blocks.
Lastly there is also a chain meter that grows, well, with larger chains. Rack these up quickly and activate a number of light bulbs that will eventually pop and drop stone lines on your opponent, although they can earn chains to push the light bulbs back at you. There’s just so much more going on during Day and Night than one would expect on first inspection.
This is a slower puzzle affair but one that rewards thinking ahead and planning for potential screw-ups
Look, if everything I’ve written about above was all there is I’d be happy to recommend Day and Night as a fun little puzzle game that builds off the falling block genre, but it’s got more up its sleeve. Effect blocks are the last thing you’ll have to deal with in terms of play that can also make or break a game.
A stone block will smash everything underneath unless you drop it slowly, and ice block will freeze and create an entire horizontal line across the playfield if dropped too fast, you get the idea. A bomb will destroy a chunk of blocks that can get you out of trouble or ruin a well-planned strategy. And a black hole block will remove all the same blocks it touches from the field of play
All this means is that you can’t play Day and Night like a madman who plays Tetris. Fast dropping works at first but once effect blocks enter the fold dropping like its hot will quickly get you into trouble. Sure, this is a much slower puzzle affair but one that rewards thinking ahead and planning for potential screw-ups.
Lastly, and maybe most surprisingly, is that Day and Night features a full story mode to experience. It’s all told by a bunch of kids putting on a stage play and manages to work out because of how cute and silly it is. And while these are just kids, they still offer up quite the challenge and you can expect to be tested. There are also a number of basic modes like survival but also the pretty interesting dare mode. It’s here where a kid will dare you to play a match with a certain effect in play that mixes things up. You might be asked to play a match upside down which is a real head trip.
I’m really surprised at just how much content is on offer for an indie puzzler that is flying under the radar. Hell, you can even collect costumes for winning matches. The only thing lacking is an online multiplayer mode that could have really extended the life of this one and got more people involved. Still, Day and Night is a fantastic time and it’s a game I really wish will get a physical release sometime down the road. At only $19.99 you are going to be getting your monies worth and then some.
If you love puzzle games and want something with some neat elemental twists Day and Night should be on your must-have list for the Nintendo Switch. I play a lot of Switch on the go in my line of work and I often find myself reaching for the puzzle games for some quick fun. Day and Night is now my go-to puzzle game and it just might become yours too.
“Don’t let the childish look fool you, Day and Night can be a brutal puzzle game”
Final Score: 4/5
*A code was provided for this review*
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