Peggle™ Nights

Developer: Young Horses | Publisher: Young Horses | Release Date: 2014 | Genre: Action / Adventure / Indie | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

What happens when night falls over the Peggle Academy? The Peggle masters dream, of course! In their dreams, their true fantasies are revealed, from the unicorn that wants to be a superhero to the dragon that wants to be a fire-fighter. There’s even a poor flower that just wants to be able to move around and travel the world. Ok so the storyline is insulting to anyone over the age of six years, but the gameplay has remained exactly the same. So, depending on how much you loved the original, this is either a good or bad thing.

Peggle Nights plays exactly like Peggle Deluxe, so despite having sixty new levels it feels more like an expansion than a true sequel. The new levels and challenges are nice, but there is only one new Peggle master, Marin the squid, which is somewhat of a letdown. Her special power is an electrical bolt that when activated, will zap anything between the balls’ impact point and wherever the ball catcher is at that moment. This is quite handy as the game has more moving pegs and obstacles this time around.

For those unfamiliar with Peggle, the concept is so ridiculously simple that it is amazing that the game is as addictive as it is. You have a ball launcher with which to break as many orange pegs as you can with each shot. Clearing all the orange pegs wins you the round. Run out of balls before this happens, and you lose. The catch is that all you really have direct control over is the direction and timing of your shot. The rest is pretty much down to luck. Sitting there for half the time you’re playing just watching the ball bounce around randomly doesn’t sound like entertainment but trust me it doesn’t diminish the excitement of this title at all.

The visuals are pretty much the same as the last game, but the new stage backgrounds that represent the Peggle masters’ dreams do look a bit more detailed. The sound effects and even the music sounds way too familiar though.

Marina, the new Peggle master, makes an interesting addition to the team and its quite funny to see what secret dreams each Peggle master has. The ability to “Ace” a level is something that the experts will appreciate, and as always the challenge and versus modes will add some much-needed longevity to the title.

Peggle is a hard game to score as on its own it feels a little bare bone. If you can get it as part of a bundle along with the original game, it will be well worth it, and the ability to download level packs should make it an enticing purchase for all Peggle fans. Hopefully, a true sequel will shake up the formula a bit.

*Review originally published in 2010.