Devil Shard Review

It's hard to remember a time when match-three players swapped gems for the simple pleasure of matching up icons and watching them disappear. Now there's a reason for every match-three grid to exist. There are monsters that must be defeated, or dungeons to explore, or candy that needs to be crushed.

Devil Shard by Game Stew offers one more motive for swapping and matching: there's an evil immortal Emperor that needs to be stopped before he puts an end to the world. Devil Shard's dark premise, stark graphics, and haunting soundtrack make it a memorable match-three experience, though it presents moments wherein the player is forced to wonder if the game is truly playing fair.

Devil Shard's story involves an Emperor that has a shard of evil glass wedged in his heart. The shard poisons the leaders' mind, and he has amassed quite a following of hideous minions as a consequence. The player (cast as the hero, of course) needs to put the monsters down.

Combat in Devil Shard works similarly to other combat-based match-three puzzle games. Players line up three or more swords to attack monsters, while three or more shields adds to their defense, and three or more potions restores some health. There are twists, however. Even though players need to match-up three or more tiles in order to launch an action, they can use a turn to move one tile at a time. Messing around with the board in this manner is an ideal way to set up killer combos. Dawdling can backfire, however, since monsters attack after players perform a certain number of actions. Moreover, monsters will fling themselves at the hero if three or more skulls connect on the game board.

Monsters hit hard in Devil Shard. Very hard. And that's fine. What's less cool is how players are severely penalized after getting iced by the bad guys. All collected armor and weapons vanish, and the hero's level drops. There are, of course, various protections players can buy with the gold coins they amass while playing. There are potions that restore life if the hero gets whacked (two freebies are dished out with every new game), and insurance policies that let the player keep their armor and weapons after dying.

These security measures are very expensive, and gold takes a long time to earn in Devil Shard. Unsurprisingly, players can buy gold through in-app purchases, which begs the inevitable question: "Is this game stacked against me so I'll buy premium currency?" It sure seems like it. What's more, Devil Shard already charges for admission, which makes the little nudges towards the in-game shop all the more irritating.

And yet, there is a lovely game at Devil Shard's core. The black-and-white Game Boy-style graphics purposefully clash with the chilling music, creating an atmosphere that leaves an imprint when the game is played in the dark at three in the morning. Devil Shard is put together beautifully, and it's definitely worth a try for fans of match-three combat games. Just be prepared to do a lot of grinding for gold (or give in and spend cash).