There is a part of me that has a love and hate relationship with games such as Bejeweled and Candy Crush. I remember in the earlier days of the Xbox 360 arcade hammering hours on the Jewel Quest titles and absolutely loving my time with it. The genre of matching jewels is that popular that a simple search on the Google Play store will reveal tens if not hundreds of similar games with the same premise.
So with the simplistic nature of this type of game I decided to pick up Jewel Fever 3 for a review. Developed and published by Sprakelsoft GmbH, the game is available now on Xbox One and Xbox Series X and S for a reasonable price of just under a fiver here in the UK. Sadly, I didn’t get to indulge into the previous two titles, so I can’t give you any direct comparisons.
Gameplay & Modes
The premise is very simple in Jewel Fever 3 and that is to match jewels together in order to gain the highest score possible. In the process there is a set quota of matches you will need to activate to progress to the next level in their specific colour variants. For example it may want you to match a set amount of blue gems, orange gems and yellow gems but not any of the others.
Modes are laid out on the main menu as 1 player, missions, play against AI, 2 players (local) and online multiplayer. The 1 player mode has you working through the levels alone, missions sets you off to achieve certain objectives. Play against AI, 2 players and online multiplayer are all effectively the same where you compete side by side in an attempt to grab the highest score.
Visuals & Audio
I know that logistically with a jewel matching game, there is only so much you can do with the way the game looks and sounds. That said, visually I’ve seen better aesthetics on mobile titles than I have with Jewel Quest 3. Everything is a little bland and basic here, matching more than three jewels doesn’t ever feel rewarding. Sound effects are obviously minimal and combos never really seem special either.
Final Thoughts
Jewel Fever 3 is a decent entry into the genre if your a fan of the match 3 or more genre. There is a variance of different modes to mix things up. If you’re a fan of just blasting through consistent levels then it is great for playing solo. There are competitive modes if you fancy playing against the AI and even the ability to grab a friend or family to play locally if you wish.
Online multiplayer is featured here but unfortunately I couldn’t match up with a player, likely due to low player count. So if you convinced an online friend to pick this up, it wouldn’t take much to face off against with each other if you wish to. Whilst there isn’t normally a lot of depth to this type of title, everything here feels a little basic with very little challenge. After an hour or two I felt like I had explored everything possible with Jewel Quest 3, but jewel matching enthuisiasts may gain more from it.
Overall
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50%
Summary
Pros
- Several modes make it possible to play in different ways
- Easy achievements if you’re into hunting them
- Local multiplayer for those who continually look for same screen fun
Cons
- Visually bland and basic
- Whilst online multiplayer features, the likelihood of finding a game is slim
- Replayability and longevity is lacking