I've fallen in love with my Nintendo Switch 2 again... thanks to a match 3 puzzle game

I was over the moon when my Nintendo Switch 2 arrived on launch day in June – I immediately ripped open the packaging, set it up and started to download Mario Kart World.

And when Donkey Kong Bananza finally arrived a month later, I was as eager to install that too.

Sadly though, after the last Banadium Gem had been snagged a couple of weeks after, the console ended up laying there like a fallen log, gathering dust and forsaken as PS5 Pro games came to whisk me away to other adventures. I dabbled a bit with XCOM 2 once or twice, but my Odin 2 Portal Android handheld and a smattering of 90s classics proved more attention grabbing.

But now I'm back and the Switch 2 feels like an all-new plaything again. In fact, it strangely feels better this time – they do say absence makes the heart grow fonder – and I definitely appreciate it more. Perhaps that's because the new console hype has died down and I can now see it for what it is – a superb gaming handheld.

What drew me back was the relaunch of an old classic, something I've played and thoroughly enjoyed on numerous consoles before. And yes, after all the Zeldas and other AAA titles, it's a match 3 puzzle game that's done the business.

Puzzle Quest is back, baby

Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition is a remastered, remade version of arguably the best match 3 puzzler of all times.

Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition Announcement Trailer [ESRB] - YouTube

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Originally released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP handhelds, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords was rapidly ported to just about any device that ran games. And I loved it.

We've had a few sequels, and even sci-fi and Marvel spin-offs since, but few have held a candle to the first adventure. Combining RPG quests and story progression with match 3 puzzles, it was insanely addictive and I've even found myself humming the background music at random points in my life.

Now it's back in fully updated form, as Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition, and I couldn't be happier.

It's actually the second time we've seen a tidied, refreshed release for the Switch, and much of the content for the Immortal Edition comes from Puzzle Quest: The Legend Returns. But you get a whole lot more besides this time, plus something of a graphics overhaul.

While not a Switch 2 game as such, the latest release has significantly updated graphics on the in-game world map, plus new quests, all the expansion packs released to date, and a new character class to play as in the campaign.

Even the gems on the puzzle board have been redesigned to stand out more. Each match-up sees you face a foe, with certain coloured gems adding mana across the four elements – earth, air, water and fire. Match three or more and you store that mana to cast spells or use character class skills on the computer opponent.

There are also skulls on the board, which inflict damage when matched. Your enemy can do the same to you during their turn.

It's all rather simple in concept, but fiendish when you get to later missions and tougher monsters. That's where experience and levelling up your character helps, along with new weapons and items that help boost in-play stats.

Okay, so it's not a new Super Mario Odyssey or Metroid Prime 4, but Puzzle Quest: Immortal Edition is a great distraction while travelling and plays brilliantly in handheld mode. Especially considering it's currently under a tenner on the Nintendo eShop.

Welcome back, my old friend.