Suika Game is a game about fruit. It’s also one of the most addictive, yet infuriating things I’ve ever experienced.
Suika Game (aka “Watermelon Game”) on the Nintendo Switch is a charming, simple affair. You start with a box into which you are instructed to drop various fruits. When two fruits of the same type touch, they merge together into a bigger fruit, generating points. The goal is to merge as many fruits as you can to eventually create the largest fruit: a watermelon.
It feels like Suika Game should be a fun and relaxing experience. The screen is filled with colorful fruit with little faces on them. The music is bouncy, and there are satisfying little popping noises when fruits merge together. The gameplay is simple. So why do I feel like throwing my Switch against a wall?
Part of the game is luck-based. The fruits you drop into the box are random. You really need a grape, but the game keeps giving you oranges? Tough luck. The physics of how the fruits interact can be pretty unpredictable too. They bounce and roll around, ending up exactly where you don’t want them to be. When a merge happens, it often triggers a cascade of other merges, shuffling around the entire contents of your box. This is extremely satisfying to watch, but can also result in unfortunate fruit placement depending on how things settle.
Look. Look at this. If the two melons above would just close the tiny gap between them, they would merge into a watermelon. But they don’t. I piled more fruit on either side of them to try to wedge them together, but that plan failed and resulted in a game over.
Returning to the title screen shows me the titular watermelon. It winks at me. Mocks me. “One more try,” I mutter to myself. It is three in the morning. I’ve said the exact same phrase eight times already.
I am very much aware that my frustration is entirely a skill issue. At the end of the day, I am a well-adjusted adult capable of emotional regulation and I will not throw my Switch around. I will, however, commit violence against a melon the next time I go shopping for groceries.
Sour grapes aside, I can see why Suika Game has been gaining traction on the internet. It has a fun, addicting gameplay loop with very low stakes. If you’d like to try Suika Game yourself, it is currently available on the Switch eShop for $2.99. There’s also a Halloween update that adds a spooky background and turns all watermelons into jack-o-lanterns.
If you do try Suika Game out for yourself, I hope your endeavors are fruitful. May your apples always fall right where you need them to.
