Product Info

Platform

Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PC

Publisher

Secret Mode

Developer

Absolutely Games

Genre

Puzzle

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

1.9 GB

Release Date (NA)

Oct 26, 2026

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Steam

Epic Games

Home » Fangtopia (Review)

Fangtopia is a spooky and cozy city-building game where players place pieces to grow their spooky world. It’s relaxing and satisfying, and you’ll easily fall under its spell. It’s spooktacular!

Creeping it Real

Playing the monster-theme game is simple to learn and requires a multi-stepping thought process if you want to earn high points. Begin by placing tiles on your starting tile of a kingdom tile, which contains no designated terrain type. Players will place land tiles from their stack and build on existing terrain to create a monstrous utopia with werewolves, vampires, yetis, witches, and more roaming around. To have these beasts show up, begin placing tiles down, and eventually an island terrain will pop up with a bubble displaying the terrain type icon. For example, to gain the werewolf, you will need to connect multiple forest tiles before you can add your acquired werewolf and its associated terrain tiles. These moments are set to randomly appear depending on how far you are building and what you’ve placed. Each world you build is unique, so don’t expect identical results. Fangtopia utilizes this experience, enhancing replay value, which is essential for puzzle-building games, and it excels in this aspect.

When placing tiles, they automatically adjust to their connected tiles to look seamless and like a piece of art. Some tiles can create a new setup. For example, two river terrain tiles can create waterfalls when placed together. Villages, forests, mountains, and harvest terrains also adjust and animate based on their placement is impressive to make the field more lively.

You can also build on railroads for ghost trains, create rivers, mountain ranges, villages, and more. When two of the same terrain tiles connect, players will earn extra points. Earning points is essential to continue playing. When you reach a certain benchmark of points, you’ll be rewarded with a landmark to place on your growing spooky world. Placing landmarks and attaching all required terrain tiles around them will earn you more tiles for your deck. There is no win or loss as the game plays until you use up all your tiles. Your score at the end of the game will be posted on the online leaderboard. There you can see the top-scoring players, and you can differentiate between global players or those with friends. For a game with no time limit, there is no online competition, and for a cozy puzzle game, it shouldn’t need one.

In the corner, two tiles are shown at a time, and when using one, a new one populates to showcase what you have on-hand. Think of it like Tetris, where you are shown what the upcoming piece will be. Tiles cannot be shuffled, and players will have to play what they have on hand. There’s no timer, so play at your leisure, and don’t feel rushed if you need to grab yourself a hot beverage to cozy up before resuming. If you make a mistake, you can cancel your last tile placement, except if you initiate a landmark reward.

More Ways to Haunt

There are three modes to play: Fangtopia, Ghoulish, and Island. Goals remain the same, but the setup to play is a little different between all three. Ghoulish Mode allows players to swap the first and second tiles, while Fangtopia and Island Modes do not allow this feature and require players to place the first tile down. While Ghoulish Mode allows you to place more terrain types, including the river terrain, Fangtopia does not offer this option. In Island Mode, multiple islands are floating, and to populate additional islands, you need to build the required number of railroads. These islands don’t need to be attached to each other so players can focus on gaining points and savor their tiles for a long round of building.

I’ve enjoyed the various options and think the game can benefit more from additional modes, such as reaching certain goals. For instance, players could aim to create the longest river or the largest village. Perhaps another mode is a timed mode for those who want a tougher challenge. There are many possibilities to take a solid puzzle game and expand it.

The game’s “stickerbook” allows players to view the requirements for unlocking specific terrains, including the vampire and observatory. Additionally, players can adjust the game’s look by changing the kingdom tile and the water color based on the available, unlocked tiles. Earning them requires some work, but after playing a few hours, you’ll unlock a majority of these tiles. Some of these tiles can provide additional scoring opportunities, so be sure to unlock them whenever possible.

All Treats, No Tricks

The game is simple to understand and allows you to start at any time, but it requires forward thinking, leading you to spend a lot of time on building and problem-solving. Next thing you know, you’ve spent hours playing without realizing. The game is mesmerizing, you can progress at your own pace, and the visuals created enhance this experience. It has the overall design features, that dark, blue-hue color scheme that matches the spooky vibe. The game’s soundtrack is so calming that it resonates with the game’s theme. Music gradually builds up the further you play. You don’t see many Halloween-themed games, especially for puzzle games, and this one stands out.

Players can also adjust the game’s camera and rotation speed, which I found to be quite helpful. Players can move their current playable tile using either the joystick or d-pad on the controller. Ideally, the D-pad should sync to the nearest available free tile spot and leave the joystick as an option to move freely. Playing the PlayStation 5 Pro, we did see minor framerate drops as we were building, but it was pretty rare. While it was enjoyable to play on a large television set, the Nintendo Switch 2 as an option to take on the go feels more of a complete experience. If you’re a trophy and achievement hunter, then the PlayStation 5 and PC are more likely your preferred options. Or if you’ve enjoyed the experience as much as I have, picking up the other platform isn’t a bad choice either. It all comes down to what platform you are comfortable playing on, as you’ll spend some time wrapping your brain around building and staying warm under your throw blanket.

These Halloween-themed designs are fun, creative, and 100% scare-free so anyone can pick the game up and play without feeling spooked. Monsters are animated in their designated areas, while other animations occur both around and outside the terrains. The game features subtle and creative tiles that enhance the visuals, making them more engaging. With its release just days before Halloween, it’s the purrfect time to pick it up, and at a retail price of $12.99 USD, it’s worth it for the amount of time you’ll invest in playing.

The Final Boo

Fangtopia is a spooktacular and cozy-building puzzle game that blends relaxing gameplay with strategic tile placement that’s filled with monsters and mesmerizing visuals. It’s a purrfect treat for puzzle fans!

A PlayStation 5 code was provided by the publisher for this review. Fangtopia launches on October 26, 2026 for the Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, and PC. Fans can visit the game’s official website for more information.