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Delicious! Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire: Mahjong is a game I’ve never played before, but with the simple premise, it was easy to pick up – just difficult to master.
You have to take each level logically, and work out which pieces you can remove, but don’t just go for the easy ones – think about those which might be hidden under others, some of which can be partially seen. If you just take all the easy ones, you won’t necessarily clear the round and will be left unable to clear the board. These sets of pieces are very well thought out and pose a good challenge.
The Japanese ladies standing by the side are purely decorative, as they don’t actually participate in the game. Maybe they can try a game of chess?
As you attempt to complete each level before the timer runs out, I don’t always understand why certain pieces can’t be selected as they don’t appear to be obscured by others, but then I’ve never played this game before. It does rather cause unnecessary frustation, though.
It seems to me, the worse you do (and have to repeat a level), the more clothes the girls put on. Yet do better, and they strip off. I think I’ve got that right, but it certainly seems to fit in with Japanese culture!
Each level is brilliantly well thought out, and can give you many hours of gameplay that’s – using the word I said earlier – frustrating (in a good way). Okay, challenging is the word, but it is also frustrating.
I doubt I’ll be finishing the whole game, as there’s 8 girls (one is revealed after completing the other 7), each of which contain 3-5 stages, and each stage consists of 3 rounds. So, that’s around 90 rounds of Mahjong for just £4.99! And that’s incredible value for money. At the time of posting this review, I’ve gone through the first two girls (if you’ll pardon the expression), which is 9 stages, each with 3 rounds. The gameplay is above.
If there’s a couple of major issues, for some reason, the volume is ear-splittingly loud, even when I turn it down in-game. I have no other such problems with any other PS4 or PS5 game, nor when capturing footage. After a few games, I figured this out and really turned the sounds down.
Also, there are times when the seconds tick down and you’re a fraction away from completing a round. Hence, it would be easier with a mouse on a PC than using a controller to select the pieces. Alas, while I understand a USB mouse in a PS4 is meant to work, generally, I was playing the game on my PS5, and it didn’t work. I don’t know if the issue is that it’s just not built into the game, or that the PS5 isn’t wholly up-to-date, since Sony haven’t even bothered adding 3D support for Blu-rays.
Note that there’s also an ‘Easy mode’ which gives you three shuffles and 3 hints each round. I gave them a try, and the hint is very useful, since sometimes, you go ‘card blind’ and can’t work out which patterns are available to select, and it’s bloody annoying to have to throw away a ton of work for the sake of one selection. You still come across plenty of “No more pick”, though, meaning you’ve made a wrong turn along the way and can’t clear the board, and have to start again.
There’s also no timer, which means no time bonus… but I can live with that.
Like East Asiasoft’s recent Sir Lovelot, this is just a fiver, and because both are brilliant and cheap, you should buy both!
Score: 9/10 (if it had USB mouse support, it would be a 10)
Thanks to our friends East Asiasoft for the review code.
Delicious! Pretty Girls Mahjong Solitaire is out now on PS4 (compatible with PS5), PC, and Nintendo Switch, all on their respective digital stores.
Important info:
- Developer: East Asiasoft
- Publisher: East Asiasoft
- Players: single-player
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.