Dialoop Review: Match-Three Puzzling Meets Roguelike Innovation on Switch

Dialoop Review: A Roguelike Twist on Match-Three Puzzling

In the mid-1990s, Sony's Net Yaroze development kit gave rise to a wave of experimental, budget-priced games. That spirit of anarchic invention has largely faded from consoles, but Dialoop -The Roguelite Puzzle- brings it back. Released earlier this year on PC and now on Nintendo Switch, this low-budget indie title offers a fresh take on the match-three genre.

Gameplay: Freedom to Experiment

Unlike traditional match-three games, Dialoop lets you grab and drag any colored square on the board, moving rows and columns as often as you like with no time limit. You can abandon any move without penalty, allowing endless experimentation. The only constraint is the number of turns per level. Your goal is to beat a predefined score, which increases as you progress, relying on combos and score bonuses.

Relics, purchased between rounds with coins earned from matches, add deck-building elements. They can add tiles, buff colors, or increase multipliers under certain conditions. While relics stack, few effects multiply, so scores rise steadily but not exponentially like in Balatro.

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Heroes and Story

Dialoop features blocky, Minecraft-esque heroes like Robin Hood, Ishikawa Goemon, and Lana (a Lara Croft-like adventurer). Each hero has a unique bonus or ability and a static story that retells the same tale each playthrough. While amusing initially, the lack of narrative evolution reduces replay value.

Bosses and Multiplayer

Boss battles introduce special powers that subvert usual tactics, forcing you to finish in fewer turns or eliminate specific tiles. Multiplayer mode supports up to eight players, though finding opponents may require a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Sound Design

The sound design is noteworthy: each line of three or more tiles adds a new chord, providing immediate audio feedback as you experiment with moves. This helps you track matches without watching the entire board.

Verdict

Dialoop’s roguelite structure and unorthodox match-three mechanics make it a pleasingly original oddity. Its generous low price and portable-friendly design are welcome for Switch owners. However, it lacks the depth of other deck builders like Balatro or narrative coherence of Hades.