The Nintendo Switch 2 is just weeks away, along with a bevy of launch titles of all kinds. One stand out is Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S, Sonic Team’s puzzle game that mashes together Tetris and Puyo Puyo to create a chaotic but exhilarating experience. We recently had the opportunity to visit SEGA’s office and play Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S, including the new Puyo Tetris Doubles mode.
We also had the chance to try out the new mouse functionality in the Joy-Con 2 controllers. In Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S, the mouse controller can be used in menus, using the shoulder buttons as a left- or right-click to confirm or cancel the selected option. You could even use the mouse during gameplay, sliding it side to side to move where you wanted a block to drop, and pulling or pushing the mouse up or down to drop them faster or instantly.
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The mouse was very responsive and using the shoulder buttons to ‘click’ felt intuitive. However, as a Puyo Puyo Tetris novice, I felt it was best to stick to the traditional Joy-Con 2 controls to get a solid grasp of the gameplay, though even then I had the option of using a single sideways Joy-Con 2 control or a pair.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S takes advantage of the Joy-Con 2.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2SThe majority of our time with Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S was spent in Puyo Tetris Doubles mode, a new mode that allows up to four people to play together on two boards. Much like tennis doubles, each board will feature two players working together to build up lines and set up combos with which to bury your enemies on the other side.
Puyo Tetris Doubles allows for some additional strategic wrinkles, since lines won’t clear until both players on a team have set their pieces down. In specific circumstances, this allows a team to clear more than four lines at a time, sending more garbage to the other team than would normally be possible. If you’re playing with a Puyo Puyo board, this still allows for unique moves, since the Puyos won’t clear until both you and your teammate commit your pieces.
After we picked our characters – I chose Sonic, who comes with unique voice lines – we split off into teams. My console only had two human players, so we tried to play on separate teams, making two teams of one human and one computer player each. The inability to communicate with my AI teammate made it difficult to coordinate our assault, and when I stored a long Tetris piece, my computer ally would retrieve it with no regard for my strategic planning.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is a welcome challenge on the Nintendo Switch 2.
Additionally, our pieces appeared at the top of the board at the same time, making it hard to coordinate staggering our drop speed so we could swap sides on the board if we needed to. After a few games where we were evenly matched, we mixed up the teams, pairing the two humans against a pair of computers.
The computers demolished us. With no need to physically communicate they were able to cooperate much more easily. Similar to my experience with a computer teammate, it was difficult to coordinate to swap sides if my Z-block was better used on the other side of the board. We occasionally pulled off a good move, but the computer would rapidly recover and destroy us.
Even with this virtual massacre, I found myself really enjoying the game, taking each defeat as a challenge to improve, which stands as a testament to just how fun Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S can be. With four human players, the matches are sure to be more fun and evenly matched, but even if you’re playing solo there are plenty of modes to try out.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S releases June 5th, 2025 on Nintendo Switch 2
