Czech Republic based developer FiolaSoft Studios have announced that their indie, first person, ‘Match-3’ style shooter MATCHO will be releasing on PlayStation 5 and PC on March 13, 2025; MATCHO is scheduled for an Xbox Series X|S release at a later date. 

The setting of MATCHO is an earth that has been invaded by an alien force. You assume the role of Max who suffers from a unique illness, granting him powers to combat the invasion and try to search for a cure.

Gematsu shares the development of MATCHO has introduced the use of puzzles in combat; Battles are featured within arena style settings and exploration in complex areas, you’ll be able to move freely with parkour type abilities.

MATCHO features a non linear path with multiple endings. The parkour system within the game enables players to wall-run, double-jump, float and dash in any direction.  A notable setting found within the game are the accessibility settings for color blindness and multiple difficulty settings.

Level designer Vojta Siman at FiolaSoft Studio explains the Match-3 mechanic in an interview on The Dual Screens Podcast on the indieRift channel “…You are a player standing in an arena  and you have these colorful enemies, because firstly match-3 when people imagine match-3 they may imagine apples or diamonds or anything you’d match on your phone or the toilet or train. Imagine there are three blue enemies, you can point at the first one, tag them, then the other and the third one. Once it’s a group of at least three they’ll explode and you can destroy them. So if you want to kill the enemies you need to find at least three of the same color.”

MATCHO is an ambitious project from a small group of indie developers, it may find success in and outside niche groups next year.