Overview

Last year, the Switch-exclusive fruit-matching puzzle game, Suika Game, became an addiction for many Nintendo fans. Since then, many games inspired by Suika have tried to capture the hype and carry it to other platforms. Some put their own spin on this new micro-genre; others were simply shameless clones. Cosmic Collapse trades in Suika‘s fruit for celestial bodies and makes a few smart tweaks to the formula to make it a viable Suika alternative on PC and Steam Deck.

Note: Since Cosmic Collapse is so heavily influenced by Suika Game, it's challenging to discuss it without comparing the two. I'll do my best to provide context for those who haven't played Suika Game in this review.

The inspiration behind Cosmic Collapse will be obvious to anyone who has ever played Suika Game.

Basic Mechanics: Suika in Space!

Cosmic Collapse is a falling block puzzle game with planets. Every time two of the same type of planet touch, they fuse together into a larger planet, scoring the player points. By continuing to combine like planets, you can eventually grow them into the largest celestial body, the sun. 

Unlike other types of falling block puzzles, the pieces in a Suika-like have distinct physics that cause them to interact with each other and shift positions. Compared to Suika’s fruit, Cosmic Collapse’s planets are quite floaty; a small solid planet colliding with a lower-density gas giant can easily send both flying. In this case, floaty physics are a good thing! Skillfully manipulating the game’s physics offers great opportunities to score combos.

In both Suika and Cosmic Collapse, the game ends when fruit/planets cross the out-of-bounds line at the top of the screen. I appreciate that Cosmic Collapse’s approach to this mechanic is very player-friendly. If a planet is partially across the line, it blinks and makes a warning sound. If your next move pushes the planet under the line, you’re still in the clear. It’s only game over if at least half of a planet stays above the line. By contrast, in Suika, if a fruit bounces past the line for even a fraction of a second, the game ends immediately.

I managed to create a sun and then immediately mess up my next move.

Unique Attributes: Fully Operational Battle Station!

Cosmic Collapse has a unique mechanic that sets it apart from other Suika-likes. When you score a thousand points, you can channel your inner Sith Lord and destroy one planet of your choosing. This is extremely useful! It’s a regular occurrence to have two large planets blocked from touching by one small one. Blasting the small one allows the two big ones to touch, allowing you to continue your combo. 

Mechanics aside, the other thing that sets Cosmic Collapse apart from Suika (and its imitators) is its aesthetic. This game’s retro-style pixel art and chill chiptune music give Cosmic Collapse a distinct vibe all of its own. I really dug it!

This galaxy would be so much better without this pesky Earth in the way. It's gotta go!

Verdict

Cosmic Collapse is easily one of the most polished games in the Suika-like micro-genre. It stands out from the pack with its art direction and freshened-up mechanics. That game is also quite addicting; I managed to get sucked back into it for quite a while when I was supposed to be just booting it up briefly to grab screenshots for this article! If you like puzzle games and have a PC or Steam Deck, Cosmic Collapse deserves a place in your cart or wishlist!