6+ (iOS 8.3)

This title is hailed by many as a classic, a veritable paragon of iOS gaming, and I tried dutifully to embrace the experience. It seamlessly blends RPG and match-three mechanics, but the adventure was not without a few major complications. First, the app freezes sporadically resulting in losses of progress. Second, as with so many titles, PQ2 handles difficulty by providing enemies with better odds of success (than users) as opposed to character design. Stronger enemies appear to be little more than products of favorable RNG as a consequence. And, yes, favorable RNG presents a bit of a paradox. An unhappy one. Third, nearly every aspect of the user interface is slow and ponderous. This lends the game a certain feel: that of running through quicksand. My painstaking journey has passed the 18-hour mark, and I can only hope that the end is near. Minus a star for each of the foregoing points of interest.

EDIT: 38 hours and 13 minutes of torture before finally reaching a somewhat anticlimactic ending.

downgrad3r about Puzzle Quest 2