Peggle Nights was a game I had played before, but I only aimed to beat it. This decision came after my first completion of Peggle Deluxe. Since then, it's been sitting in my "Beaten" category on Backloggery, reminding me that I'd return to fully complete it one day. Initially, I chose not to complete it because it felt too much like the original Peggle. However, two years later, craving more Peggle gameplay, I've set my sights on conquering Peggle Nights. Here's my review from early 2020 for context.

"After playing through it, it's nice to see they cut some ridiculous level designs, such as the car. The new character is probably my favourite in both games. I didn't really feel inspired to do the challenges. There was less of them, but had the same feel. I couldn't muster the desire to want to do the challenges again, because they all felt the exact same."

More of the same Peggle. PopCap was adept at reusing assets, and when it came to a sequel to a game, you better believe it was going to be the same assets.

No new gameplay elements were introduced in Peggle Nights, only additional maps. This time, each level features "aced" and "all cleared" ribbons, which were absent in the first game. These additions significantly extend the playtime. "Aced" involves beating the computer's high score, and "all cleared" requires hitting every peg.

Peggle Nights keeps all the original characters and introduces one new one. The characters are given a twist, reimagined as "dream" versions of themselves. This twist ties into the "night" theme, hinting they're in a dream, imagining their perfect selves. It's a nice touch. I finished the main adventure mode in 3.3 hours and then dove into the core part of the game.

Jumping into the aced and all clear challenges, I could tell completing Peggle Nights was going to be a long haul. Some levels were excruciatingly hard. Skill is important, but there's a lot of annoying luck involved too. I often reset levels for a better start after figuring out how to perfect them. Frustratingly, there were times I almost cleared a level, but accidentally finished it early. This would lead to me becoming extremely upset, then failing the level repeatedly for the next hour. The challenges were tough, but I spaced them out to avoid getting tired of the game.

Peggle Nights is just as enjoyable as the first Peggle. It's essentially more of the same, which isn't a bad thing. You won't discover anything groundbreaking, but you'll get more great Peggle gameplay. Keep in mind, skill isn't the only factor in this game. Sure, skill matters in games, but there's a big element of randomness in Peggle Nights that you shouldn't let frustrate you. Just remember, it's a game, and try to enjoy it for what it is. I played on-and-off with my Partner and we took turns beating levels for each other. Competing and playing with Her was a fun way to add to the game.

So... It's hard. I took me 107 hours to complete Peggle Nights, but it was mostly spent on the last level. However, I think it's mostly my fault. A good 80 hours were put into the last level before I looked up how speedrunners do it. Should I have had the idea sooner? Probably. Did it make me incredibly salty? Did it make me rage, and almost give up? Did it make me hate the Peggle format? Yes. Yes to all of those. Peggle isn't worth 107 hours of your time. If you're going to complete this game, start with the last level and look up how speedrunners get all pegs and the ace score.

Complete!