Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC

Publisher

eastasiasoft

Developer

eastasiasoft, ZOO Corporation

Genre

Arcade, Puzzle

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

580 MB

Release Date (NA)

Aug 26, 2021

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Steam

Pretty Girls Panic! is a puzzle game developed by the same team that worked on Pretty Girls Klondike Solitaire and Delicious! Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire. It’s entertaining, but after three hours, there’s not much left to do. For a price tag of $5.99 USD, it’s a fair price if you are into active puzzles and pretty anime girls (waifus).

Play to Reveal

Instead of card-based games, Pretty Girls Panic! is more simple, requiring players to move, cut pieces, and avoid enemy contact. Players will move a mini octopus around an empty board with their controller. The goal is to cut shapes to reveal the graphic that’s hidden while trying not to get hit by an enemy or its attacks.

As you move your octopus, a red line follows you until you connect to an edge or other revealing content. The bigger the piece you cut out, the more points players earn. The goal is to finish the stage with at least 75% of the image revealed.

The rules and controls are simplistic. The multitasking of cutting shapes and avoiding enemies makes this puzzle game enjoyable. Be careful: if you move your octopus into a swirl, you cannot get out until an enemy hits you.

Help a Waifu Out

The game’s designs are based on a beach environment. The game board is a square filled with water, and your cursor is a miniature octopus that maneuvers upon it. A silhouette of a waifu resides in the middle of the square. You’ll need to reveal the graphic by cutting shapes. Behind the square is a decorative background that changes per waifu. The designs are colorful and not distracting to the player.

There are 14 courses, one for each of the 13 waifus, with the last one being a waifu collage. Each course offers multiple stages, with the waifu wearing a different outfit in each one, and there are 50 stages to complete in all. There’s a good handful of fan service, but it feels like more content could be added.

Enemies of the Sea

Other aquatic creatures appear on the game board with you, but they’re all enemies that try to stop you, attacking and maneuvering differently. For example, the starfish spins around in a regular pattern and bounces off objects. Pufferfish will follow your octopus whenever you begin to cut shapes. Anemones remain in one spot but will shoot an energy ball at you, so don’t expect to stay in one spot for too long. More enemy types, such as turtles and crabs, will populate the board as you play, so be careful. If that wasn’t enough, the speed of some enemies will increase.

Typically, the edges are your safest bet for avoiding enemy contact, but the game throws in crabs that’ll walk around the edge. If your pieces are connected to the edge, the crab will follow that path. To get rid of the crab and any other aquatic enemy, you can trap them by cutting around them. Once you connect a piece while the enemy is inside, the enemy disappears and you gain bonus points. However, your octopus isn’t very fast, so you need to play it smart and rely on special items to outmaneuver them.

Power-Up Octopus

Like many action-like games that have power-ups, Pretty Girls Panic! gives players multiple chances to earn special items, such as invisibility, turbo speed, and time freeze. All three are great assets yet are timed and can have minor drawbacks. The time freeze stops enemies from moving but does not let you touch them; doing so makes you lose a life. With the turbo power, if you collide with an enemy, you lose your speed power-up when revived. With invincibility, there are no drawbacks. Just keep an eye on the timer as your octopus begins to blink—you’re about to lose your power-up.

Half a Day at the Beach

While there are some fun activities to do in Pretty Girls Panic!, there’s just not enough to make it a full day. Completing the entire game can be done within three hours, and the available content beyond that isn’t much. There’s a gallery to view all the waifus you’ve encountered and their different attire, which is nice. Additionally, the game offers an online leaderboard for each stage, viewable by clicking the trophy icon on the stage select.

Outside of that, there’s not a whole lot to do. The potential for adding more content exists, such as a versus mode, timed stage clears, and additional waifus to uncover. Whether it’s paid downloadable content (DLC) or not, there’s much that can be offered.

The Final Piece

Pretty Girls Panic! is a fun puzzle game, for a short time. The simplistic gameplay makes it easy to pick up, but there’s potential for much more. Expect a short day with these waifus.

A PlayStation 5 code provided for this review and gameplay footage.