Sudoku Universe review for Nintendo Switch, PC

To some extent, Sudoku Universe is exactly what you?d expect it to be based on its name. It?s a collection of sudoku puzzles. If you like sudoku, you?re in for a treat, and if you don?t…well, you probably should?ve known what to expect based on the fact ?sudoku? is right there in the name.

The surprising thing about Sudoku Universe, though, is how varied the gameplay here is. Yes, about half of the game is straight-up sudoku, and lots of it. There are 200 classic-style sudoku puzzles, and they run the gamut of difficulty from very easy to painfully hard. If you?re a fan of the number/logic game, you?ll get your fill of it here.

Where Sudoku Universe is a little surprising, however, is in that it also includes modes called Sudoku Jigsaw and Sudoku Killer. Both take traditional sudoku and turn it into something entirely different. Jigsaw has a 9 by 9 grid, but rather than the board being broken up into the usual 3 by 3 squares, it?s shapes like a jigsaw puzzle, with each piece comprised of 9 weirdly-shaped squares. The game never actually explains how it works, though, so it?s significantly more challenging than the standard sudoku puzzle. Still, if you?re looking for something that?s similar in principle to sudoku and yet totally different, it should be up your alley.

As for Sudoku Killer, it?s very much like sudoku, but with extra layers of math and logic. Not only do you have to fill in the grid, you have to make sure that the numbers you use also add up to a certain amount. Also, it doesn?t give you any starting points, so it?s extra sadistic. Much like Jigsaw, it?ll test in the same way the main sudoku games here will, but with much, much more of a challenge.

Basically, as I said up top, your interest in Sudoku Universe will be determined by how much you like sudoku. If you do (and really, who doesn?t?), then it?ll stretch your brain in all kinds of ways.

indienova provided us with a Sudoku Universe Switch code for review purposes.