While I tended to be a fan of most of the old PopCap games on the PC years ago, one of my favorites was absolutely Peggle. For whatever reason the challenge of that style of play, where you can’t completely control the path of your ball as it falls, did a great job of keeping me hooked for quite a while. Since that time I’ve actually been surprised there haven’t been more games trying to emulate elements of that style of play, but more recently that has begun to change. Not too long ago there was the reasonably-good Roundguard, which was the first game I’d played that mixed the Peggle feel with some roguelike elements, but otherwise there hasn’t exactly been a rush of options. Thankfully, Peglin is now available on Switch, and it has its own flavor I appreciate.

The thing is, this is a game I’ve owned and thoroughly enjoyed on my Android phone for quite some time. While it made me thrilled to see the news of it coming to Switch, the conversion from the mobile space to a dedicated gaming device hasn’t always worked out for the best. Most critically, the worst exclusion I’ve seen too many times has been the lack of touchscreen controls. Thankfully, I can personally confirm that they’ve been included in this case, so while you may prefer to play with the joystick for what can feel like a little more precision in lining up your shots, you’ll be free to go with whatever suits you.

Getting to the gameplay itself, there’s no doubt that it can be pretty brutal when runs don’t go your way. The key to success is often finding the proper synergies between the relics you’re able to pick up and the specific types of balls you have to work with. Since these are generally pretty random, that can make planning ahead somewhat impossible, but once you understand the upsides and downsides to many of the more powerful items you can find to work with, you’ll learn to see opportunities and work to seize them. Aside from satisfying and sometimes difficult runs, the other thing Peglin does very well is to continue to extend the experience through the unlocking of additional core characters, who each have their own specific styles of play suites to them, and progressively-tougher challenges for each of them which will allow you to either strengthen or outright flex your ability to adapt to some significant penalties to start out.

While no matter where you play it I consider this to be a very compelling and well-made game, I do have a concern with the Switch port of it. Aside from the fact that I can see no real difference or value add in the move away from the mobile space, I’d note that its price point also seems to have run into the dreaded “Switch tax” as well unfortunately. Yes, playing on the bigger screen, or with the physical controls, may be beneficial depending on your tastes, but I’ve also never had an issue with enjoying it at a smaller scale either. If you’re a roguelike or puzzle fan, no matter what platform you decide to pick it up on I’d consider this to be a solid recommendation.