This article is part two of an ongoing series where I take 12 games suggested by 12 different friends, play them over the year, compile my thoughts and contrast them against why they thought I should give the titles a try. For more information, click here to read more about that.
“I suggested Peggle as I feel it’s a timeless puzzle game that still has a lot to offer 18 years later (ouuh 2007 was 18 years ago sobs) and it’s still one of my favourites. Though I’ve never played Peggle 2 due to the console-only release, all the other sequels hit just as hard as the original, even the mobile port. (Peggle Nights, Peggle Extreme, Peggle Blast). I can’t fault anything with the game, the mechanics are engaging, the art style and music are great. With Peggle often going on sale for $1 during Steam sales, I would recommend it 100% to anyone looking for a fun relaxing game to destress.” – Soda
I’m no stranger to puzzle games. I have spent many, many hours playing Tetris and Puzzle League (probably too many), but most of what I have played in the genre has been bite-sized mobile games that are usually riddled with ads or pay-to-win mechanics. After feeling rather jaded about the genre and not touching them for a while, I was approached with the recommendation of Peggle, and honestly, this was very out of left field for me. I had no idea what to expect. When I googled it for context, it looked pretty odd but had very early PC game vibes, which makes sense given its release date.
When the Steam spring sale came around I found a bundle of Peggle Deluxe and Peggle Nights for £1.49 and decided this would be the best time to jump in. I installed it later that day and loaded it up as other games installed to try it out. Five hours passed without me noticing, as I fell into the spiralling abyss of addiction.
Developed by PopCap Games, Peggle is a puzzle game with a simple concept: shoot pinballs at orange-coloured pegs whilst utilising unique character abilities to boost your trajectory and hit more pegs. You can use the pegs to get higher scores and try to land it inside the moving pit at the bottom of the screen to gain extra balls, giving you more opportunities to score and hit all the orange pegs. Whilst simple on the surface, the complexity comes when you clear the main story and hit the challenges.
When I was finished with Peggle Deluxe I jumped right into Peggle Nights as I was desperate for more content; for better or worse, it is literally the exact same game, with a few different power-ups. This, to me at least, was a great thing. It’s consistent. Enjoyable. The game knew exactly what it was and what strengths to push, which kept me engaged through another run through these delightful puzzles. One key difference I noticed was that the challenges here were a lot more difficult than the predecessor, which is great, as those challenges were not super taxing.
Here’s where it gets weird. Whilst checking if the games had achievements, I stumbled upon the Steam community, and it was a unique experience, to put it lightly. As you’d expect from a game called “Peggle”, there were a lot of jokes and references to exactly what you’d expect (and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, I won’t be the one to destroy your innocence). This took me by surprise at first, but then I revelled in the hilarity of this absurd enclave for an unassuming puzzle game that has been completely consumed by the same three types of jokes.
It was refreshing to play a fun and unique puzzle game without being completely inundated with ads and monetisation, but whether this is a strength of an old PC game or a commentary on the state of modern mobile games is another conversation entirely. I was pleasantly surprised and very happy to play through this suggestion, so much in fact that I played two of them. Go treat yourself to Peggle. For £1.50 for two fun titles, it’s hard to argue with a good deal.
Take a look at part 1 of this series of games that have been suggested by friends here:
Life is Strange: True Colours
Video game completionist and 3D platformer connoisseur, Riley is a fan of the whimsical frenzy of bright and colourful characters that blessed us in the late 90's. Their favourite game's are Spyro, Persona 5 and Super Mario Sunshine.