How To Make Match-3 Puzzles More Appealing? Just Add Mechs

The match-3 puzzle is one of the most saturated genres in gaming. Yet, add a few steam-powered mechs, an alternative Victorian England setting, and a story that has you defending from invading forces, and it perks right back up.

That’s the gist of Dreadbit’s new game Ironcast—what it describes as being “Puzzlequest meets FTL in [a] Steampunk Victorian era roguelite.” The roguelite bit relates to the game’s campaign mode in which death is permanent but you’re able to carry over persistent rewards between tries.

Inspired by authors such as H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, Ironcast mixes top hats and bonnets with giant walking war machines. You power and control their weapons and other defences by matching resource nodes in a grid during battles against other mechs. “You must choose how to spend these nodes wisely, either offensively in order to cripple and destroy your opponents, or defensively, if they suspect a barrage of incoming weapons fire is due,” explains Dreadbit.

Outside of the battles, you’re able to loot your fallen foes to acquire new technology and upgrades to customize your mech. There are also passive augmentations that allow you to modify your mech’s weapons and abilities.

You can purchase Ironcast for $14.99 on Steam. It’s available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It’ll also be coming to PlayStation 4.