Witch’s Rhythm Puzzle review

Where most matches are a clothes call

Eroge (a portmanteau combining the words ‘erotic’ and ‘game’) aren’t usually known for their sophisticated gameplay. And largely, that’s the case with Witch’s Rhythm Puzzle. As the title indicates, doujin developer Forgime’s inaugural title synthesizes two prominent genres into a simple, sexy diversion. And while it might be appealing to witness two dueling pixel-art witches gradually lose their garb, attention spans may vanish at the same rate as these girls’ sense of modesty.

Witch’s Rhythm Puzzle’s action takes place on a pair of six-by-six grids. Like Puyo Puyo or Super Puzzle Fighter, you’ll play on one of those fields, while the CPU’s actions are shown on the other. Woefully, there’s no multiplayer game. It might have been fun to strip friends down to their witchy underwear- or given Nintendo’s lenient stance on nudity, knock their bra and panties right off them.

Drop to the Beat

Play revolves around a translucent bar that moves across each column in time with the beat of each song. When the beat hits, you can drop a single block down. If you’re able to create a row of six uninterrupted blocks, the entire line disappears and pushes trash blocks into the bottom of your opponent’s playfield. Every time any blocks spill over the top of your grid, you’ll forfeit an article of clothing until a winner is declared. Think Tetris mixed with strip poker, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what Witch’s Rhythm Puzzle is all about.

When I reviewed the original PC version, I found the row-building play passable, but struggled with the rhythmic component. Perhaps it was a bit of input lag (even after calibration in the game’s menu) or controls that simply demanded a bit too much precision, but I ended up struggling with the game. Since the music and therefore beat changed with each match, nailing the timing was just tricky enough to spoil the sense of satisfaction.

What Sorcery is This?

Undoubtedly, Forgime took that criticism to heart, since the Switch version feels remarkably more responsive. Now, it’s much easier to nail the cadence of block dropping, so you no longer must rely on the visual indicator. With this enhancement, I had a much better time stripping these sorceresses down to their skivvies.

Gradually, Witch’s Rhythm Puzzle conjures up new variations, with blocks that take up two spaces or quirky time signatures. Once you beat the game’s sequence of fifteen opponents, you’re able to tackle Nonstop mode which does away with the pre-match dialog. An additional reward becomes available after you beat each enchantress; each opponent shows up in the game’s Dressing Room mode. Here, you can toggle on and off up to 16 pieces of attire. That’s welcome, as you might not be able to enjoy disrobing these darlings when your eyes are fixated on falling blocks.

Witch’s Rhythm Puzzle was played on Switch with review code provided by the publisher.