Match 3 or more of the same colored gems to clear them from the grid
Gather Skygems and craft explosive power-ups at the Power Lab
Collect fun emojis and use stars to unlock new constellations
Following the original Bejeweled’s successful footstep comes this brand-new addition, Bejeweled Stars. Unlike the basic match-3 game of old, this game adds in exciting power-ups, special gems, cute collectibles, and more, giving its gameplay that extra flair, and its players something to strive towards. If you enjoy a fun puzzle-based match-3 game, you’ll want to play Bejeweled Stars!
The gameplay in Bejeweled Stars is similar to most match-3 games. Generally, you’ll need to match 3 or more gems of the same color together to clear them from the board. There are special gems that you can get if you match more than 3 gems together. If you match 4 gems together in either a line or in a square shape, you’ll get a Flame Gem. Flame Gems will explode, clearing the gems in their immediate surroundings, when matched.
Putting 5 gems of the same color together, on the other hand, will get you either a Star Gem (in a T or L shape) or a Hypercube (in a line). Best yet, these special gems can be combined to produce a much greater effect.
Like most match-3 puzzle game, you’ll be given a specific objective to complete in each level and you’ll be given a limited number of moves to do so. However, if you end up having extras, all those remaining moves will then be added to your final score, right after all remaining special gems on the board are detonated.
In terms of objectives, you may sometimes be required to clear crystals and butterflies. Crystals are tiles that can be removed by matching over them. Butterflies, on the other hand, can be matched like any other normal gems, but the catch here is that you mustn’t let them reach the top of the playing field. If any one of them managed to reach the top, it’s game over for you!
There are also special Skygems – basically gems that look different – that will occasionally appear as you play. You can collect them by matching them up. These gems are important because you’ll need them to craft power-ups and keys at the Power Lab. A quick tip though - even if you lost a level, the Skygems you collected will still be credited to your account. So, be sure to get as many of them as you can.
Each level also has up to 3 stars for you to earn. These stars are equally as important because you’ll need them to unlock new constellations which will in turn grant you rewards like free coins, Skygems, and more.
If you recall, you can also craft keys at the Power Lab using Skygems and these keys are actually needed to open the Emoji chests that you sometimes earn by finishing a level. Emojis can even be earned by completing certain achievements. These Emojis don’t really do much though other than being simply collectibles. There’s another collectible called the Surprise Chicken as well, but I didn’t manage to unlock it during my review. I’m assuming that these “chickens” are collectible pets of some sort.
When it comes to graphics, the designers did a great job here. I particularly like that zoomed-in effect whenever you made that last match which cleared the level. However, the one feature that takes the cake is definitely the funny tune which plays at the end of every level. If you listen carefully, you can hear that the choir is actually meowing the entire tune. That tune manages to tickle my funny bone every time I hear it, and maybe it’ll do the same for you too.
Bejeweled Stars also ecomes a bit more social once you’ve linked up your game account with your Facebook account. One the linking is done, you should be able to compete with your friends via a leaderboard, send them messages and gifts, and so on.
To sum up, Bejeweled Stars may be a match-3 puzzle game on a mobile platform that’s practically saturated with games of the similar genre, but this game definitely made a massive effort in standing out. If you’d like to give it a try, the game is available for free on both Android and iOS.
