- Match-3 game with a lot of juice and different quests
- Many callbacks to Neopets and Neopet lore
- Psst: use my referral code if you download the game: BC9DAC31
As a big fan of Neopets in the year 2024, I played their previous match-3 game, Faeries Hope. That game didn’t feel very satisfying or completed, so when Neopets: Faerie Fragments came out, I was hoping that they had upped their game, as I was clearly going to play this version to unlock all of the items you can within Neopets through their crossplay.
The game itself is a classic match-3 game, but one that takes place within the world of Neopets. The game itself is set after Faerieland has fallen, on a little floating island in the sky. A fairy has been asleep there for decades until another fairy has fallen through their roof and discovered them! You play as the recently awakened fairy and this story explains why you need to gather resources to upgrade your island.
This bit of lore is really within the Neopets realm, with a lot of callbacks to games on the website, fairies you’d likely know, and events that happened within the game. It’s really got a lot of hidden moments and easter eggs for those who know Neopets themselves. I have even earned petpets that I have had in-game before, which is fun.
But what about the gameplay?
I don’t think I have ever been good at talking about match-3-style games. They all feel very much the same; this one has power-ups, a variety of different ways to complete levels, and a fairy friend that can help you with their power.
The levels start off quite plain, but then you need to start matching stuff near boxes to break them or letters to open them, or fish tanks of Neopets that need freeing through having the same colour character matched against them. The power-ups feel good and all of them work very well. It’s just a polished and juicy match-3 game.
The fairy friend in Neopets: Faerie Fragments can be a really big help, as they are charged up by connecting their favourite colour’s worth of characters in the field. Using them doesn’t count as a move and they often have a big power that clears the board. You can also customise these friends with clothing you can purchase, which is fun. There are a bunch of different friends to be unlocked throughout the story.
There is a lot going on in this game; limited-time events have you challenging other players to get a number of levels done on your first try. I found a second area within the game that takes you to a new, forest-like location. At the time of launch, some of the graphics seem to be missing and there isn’t a story yet, but there are a bunch of new levels that you can work through here to slowly solve quests.
If you fail a level, you can use currency to have a few more turns or you will lose a life. These lives can slowly be gained over time. You are gaining three types of currencies when playing: one for generally spending on power-ups, lives, etc, another that’s specifically for clothing, and a third that you are granted one per completed level, to use to update your world and see the rest of the story.
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