Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X

Publisher

PQube Games

Developer

PQube

Genre

Puzzle, Strategy/Tactics

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

193 MB

Release Date (NA)

Apr 9, 2026

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Beyond Words is an entertaining puzzle game from the creators of GoldenEye and TimeSplitters, with roguelike elements that keep players zoned in. However, it also showcases uneven difficulties and heavily relies on luck.

Spelling Lady Luck

Playing Beyond Words is a blend of two popular games, Hasbro’s Scrabble and indie game Balatro. It combines the basic concept of forming words by placing tiles together with power-ups, random rules, and objectives. Those unfamiliar with Scrabble, players receive a set of letter tiles to place on a board to earn points. Each tile placed, you’ll gain back to make new words and if you use all your tiles, players are given a bonus score. Being strategic on how you place these tiles to create a combination of words goes a long way for earning points. 

Beyond Words introduces additional elements onto the classic board game that’s inspired by Balatro, such as booster cards and multiplayer effects that can trigger chains and lead to high scores. There are also special tiles on the board that can increase a player’s score, such as increasing word or letter scores by multiple times. Additionally, each round and board in the game has a specific rule that can either help or challenge players such as reducing specific tile scores. One challenging rule that’ll add frustration towards players is when the game only counts specific letters in a word, like three or five letters. Making it difficult to reach a goal of 100,000 points in six rounds.

After reaching the goal of the first round, players can choose to continue to the next round or skip ahead to the “boss” round. Skipping a round rewards players with a booster to score more, but they miss out on the opportunity to place more words on the board. Boss rounds have stricter rules, but players can still benefit if they have enough tiles already laid out.

The game starts off simple with no power-up scoring, but the goal is to gradually build up and reap the rewards. The more word combinations players make, the better their chances of success. Seeing the multiplayer boosting in action feels captivating, like watching a casino slot machine. In-between rounds, you’ll have access to the game’s shop to spend coins for multiplying scores, add additional scoring to word counts, and more. There are some rounds where the rules make it feel impossible to win and you’ll have to retry but doing so will place the players back to round one. It took myself multiple tries to get passed a specific board before I could finally proceed on the solo game board. Expect the same for some of the boards. The game’s soundtrack itself is low-keyed and soothing as it doesn’t distract the player’s thinking.

Overall, Beyond Words offers a creative twist on the classic gameplay of Scrabble, making it more engaging with its various ways to score points. Players must be strategic and think outside the box to achieve high scores and emerge victorious. Just be prepared to try each board multiple times for the right set of power-ups and tiles.

Going Solo

The puzzle game is only single-player, limiting the gameplay experience as there are no online matches or leaderboard scores. Local co-op or party modes are also not available and feels like a missed opportunity at least to have these that could make the game more engaging to more people, similar to how Tetris Effect works.

The game uses a board game-style path where players can choose specific puzzles to play but cannot proceed until one of those boards is completed. Players will need to complete the first “boss” board before moving on. Each board is laid out differently and some carry different ways of playing that’s not just about rules such as a timer per round or strict tile placement. Players can replay the boards as many times as they like to play against additional boss rounds to master the board.

Outside of collecting and completing all boards at 100% on solo play, there’s nothing else to do. It’s a solid start for a puzzle game and it does leave room for improvement to make it a better experience.

The Final Tile

Beyond Words is creative and addictive that carries a smooth blend of wordplay and roguelike elements for a satisfying puzzle. However, it comes with uneven difficulty spikes that rely mostly on luck to get around with solo-only options.

A PlayStation 5 review code was provided for this review. Beyond Words is available now for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC (Steam). Players can visit the official website for additional information and purchasing.