PuzzMiX: Everything We Know

Developer Inti Creates continues to dabble its feet in new territory with its upcoming PuzzMiX game. They've been known to release some quality games, often 2D action games. You may know them by the Mega Man series, the Gunvolt series, reviving the Blaster Master series, the quirky but fun Gal Gun series, and arguably the culmination of the studio, Dragon: Marked for Death, among many more. 

Evidently, it's a massively talented team responsible for several cult hits, yet of late, their upward climb has come to somewhat of an epic standstill. Who knows? Perhaps PuzzMiX will restore retro-oriented Inti Creates to its not-so-former glory? Here's everything we know about the upcoming PuzzMiX game.

What is PuzzMiX?

PuzzMiX is an upcoming music puzzle game by famed developer Inti Creates. It brings back our favorite little robot, Lola, from the Gunvolt series. This time, you'll be figuring out how to match “lola pods” in pairs, creating bigger and bigger Lolas for a chance to top the leaderboards. Marketed as a mix between songs and puzzles, PuzzMiX seems to be shaping up to scratch the itch for Gunvolt fans before the next Gunvolt 4 or other big game drops.

Story

PuzzMiX features Gunvolt’s Lola as its muse. You’ll control “Lola Pods” as they fall from the top of the screen, colliding and merging them into pairs. As the Lola pods combine, they create bigger and bigger Lola pods. The bigger the pods are, the higher your score. Meanwhile, the more you play, the more chaotic the levels get. Perhaps the pods fall faster or in directions you don’t see coming. Thanks to an online leaderboard, you’ll be able to compare your scores with those of other players online. Can you climb the ranks to become the best Lola Mixer worldwide?

As you can tell, PuzzMiX doesn’t have a compelling story. Rather, building on top of Gunvolt’s series, Lola’s character and personality. The little robot will be your “protagonist” as you work your way up the challenges and levels of the game. As you work your way up, you’ll be merging Lola pods to create bigger ones and unlocking more Lola songs, which, in retrospect, evolves Lola and yourself into more skilled versions. Check out the official story description below.

A virtual idol known as “The Muse of Hope.” Lola is an ever-so-willful, boyish young girl. Unbeknownst to others, her true form is a collection of small “battle pods” that transform. She began her virtual idol career with music videos, but lately, she has begun branching out to other content.

Gameplay

PuzzMiX’s main gameplay is pairing up Lola pods. The goal is to pair up as many Lola pods as you can to earn the highest score. When you earn a certain score, you unlock a new song to jam to. In total, PuzzMiX will have 19 vocal tracks plus one instrumental background track. While at first, PuzzMiX can seem simple, it’s upbeat songs and increasing momentum will brew more chaos in the later stages of the game. 

PuzzMiX is a single-player game. However, you’ll have the freedom to compare scores with other players via an online leaderboard. It turns out Lola pods have no limits when it comes to size. They'll keep getting bigger and bigger to a size the website leaves to the imagination. At a score of over 1600, you’ll unlock a new Lola song from the Luminous Avenger iX series and an all-new song called “Sparkling Elation.” Check out the official description below.

The basic rules are simple! As Lola pods fall from above, match them with pods of the same type. Matching Lola Pods will combine and rank up to form a bigger pod. Keep making bigger Pods without crossing the line at the top!

Development

PuzzMiX isn’t nearly as close to the well-established games Inti Creates develops. In fact, its “muse” is from the studio’s Gunvolt’s series, serving as something more close to a spin-off to tide fans over before the next big game drops. As such, perhaps Intri Creates needs more development time to release the next sequel to one of their major action-packed series. In that regard, PuzzMiX is here to keep fans busy until that’s done. Either way, PuzzMiX promises “More Lola” to fans of the Gunvolt series, and I certainly have no complaints about that.

Trailer

A launch trailer is out now on Inti Creates' YouTube channel. Feel free to check out Gunvolt's Lola in the upcoming music puzzle game. You can listen to snippets of the music, all upbeat and charming. It also shows the puzzles you'll solve, merging “Lola Pods” in pairs. As you merge pairs, they become bigger and bigger, with the levels becoming increasingly chaotic and fun. With an online leaderboard to keep track of scores, PuzzMiX is undoubtedly about to become competitive. 

Unfortunately, the reception hasn't been great. Gamers seem disappointed in the trailer so far. Hopefully, Inti Creates will address concerns about “PuzzMiX feeling like a mobile game” and “striking similarity to Suika Game” before launch day. On the upside, the Lola pods take a unique shape and can have plenty of fun moments when strategizing. Perhaps PuzzMiX still has the potential to do great.

Release Date, Platforms, & Editions

While PuzzMiX is already out on Nintendo Switch platforms, it plans to release on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on April 26, 2024, and PC platforms via Steam on April 19, 2024, at the price of $3.99. You can buy the game via the official website here or the Nintendo e-shop here. Alternatively, you can add it to your Steam wishlist here to get a notification when it drops. Only one edition is available: the standard one. You can always follow the official social handle here for fresh updates. We’ll also keep an eye out for new information and let you know as soon as it comes up.

So, what’s your take? Will you be picking up a copy of PuzzMiX when it drops? Let us know over on our socials here.