Peggle 2 arrived on the Xbox One as a timed exclusive, a casual puzzle game from PopCap Games and Electronic Arts that asked players to do one thing well: clear 25 orange pegs from a board with 10 balls fired from a cannon at the top of the screen. It is the official sequel to Peggle (2007), though a previous follow-up to the PC game landed in 2008. In production since 2012, it was announced during the E3 2013 press conference. The Xbox 360 version followed on May 7, 2014, and the PlayStation 4 version on October 14, 2014.
Trailer, via XBOX.
Bjorn Unicorn and the New Masters
The masters are the heart of Peggle 2, and PopCap rebuilt the roster. Bjorn Unicorn and Jimmy Lightning return, with Jimmy Lightning available as DLC. Five other masters are new. Each one carries a special ability, triggered by the green pegs, that fires on the next shot or even on the current one. That structure gives every board a different rhythm without changing the underlying loop.
The loop itself holds firm. A board is randomly placed with 25 orange pegs, 72 blue pegs, two green pegs, and one purple peg that moves on each shot. Orange pegs are worth 10 times a blue peg. Purple pegs are worth 50 times a blue peg. Green pegs score the same as blue ones. A free ball bucket sits at the bottom of the board, and a ball that falls into it comes back to the player.
The multiplier, stylized in-game as the “multiplizer,” starts at x1 and climbs to x2, x3, x5, and x10 as more orange pegs fall. The more orange pegs are hit, the higher it goes, and the more points are earned.
Free Balls and the Balljector
Scoring has its own rewards. A player who puts up 25,000 points in one shot earns one free ball. 75,000 earns two. 125,000 earns three.
Clear all 25 orange pegs and the game hits “Extreme Fever.” That hands the player five Fever buckets, worth 10,000 on the far left and right, 50,000 between the 100,000 bucket and the 50,000 bucket, and 100,000 at the center of the board. Pegs are worth x20 during Fever. Any balls left on the “Balljector” get fired by the cannon for an additional 10,000 points.
Although the gameplay mechanics remain mostly the same, Peggle 2 features a different set of masters
Trial Mode and the Challenge Problem
Trial Mode is a set of levels built around a trial goal. Those goals include getting above a certain score, getting below a certain score, style shot levels, and clearing additional orange pegs on the board. The gameplay runs about the same as the normal mode, but the goal changes what a good shot looks like.
This is where Peggle 2 makes its strongest case for itself and also where it leaves the most on the table. Trial levels and challenges give the game a second axis beyond clearing boards, and the new masters give the first axis more texture than the 2007 game had. What the sequel does not do is change the shape of the thing. The cannon still sits at the top. The pegs still fall the same way.
Release Schedule
| Version | Release date |
|---|---|
| Xbox One | announced 2013, timed exclusive |
| Xbox 360 | May 7, 2014 |
| PlayStation 4 | October 14, 2014 |
The staggered rollout is worth noting because it shaped who could play Peggle 2 and when. The Xbox One version led, and the timed exclusivity kept it there for a stretch. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 4 versions arrived the following year, in May and October respectively.
What the Sequel Gets Right
Peggle 2 was praised for its new masters and how they were implemented, for its vibrant visuals and soundtrack, and for the addition of trial levels and challenges. It was criticized for not having enough facets that made it truly different from its predecessors.
That split is the honest read. The masters are not decoration. Each ability changes how a board plays, and the green pegs turn a random drop into a decision about when to spend the power. The multiplizer gives a clean risk curve: chase orange pegs early and the x10 pays off late, but the board does not care about your plans. The free ball bucket and the 25,000, 75,000, and 125,000 thresholds reward a single great shot without letting a player coast on it.
The criticism lands too. A sequel that keeps the mechanics mostly the same is asking the masters, the soundtrack, and the trial levels to carry the difference. For a puzzle game built on a 10-ball count and a fixed peg layout, that is a real amount of new material. It is not a reinvention.
Where Peggle 2 Lands
Peggle 2 is a confident sequel that knows what it is. It takes the 2007 formula, adds a roster of masters with abilities that matter, builds out trial levels and challenges, and wraps it in visuals and music that earn their keep. The boards are readable, the scoring is legible, and Extreme Fever still lands as a payoff. What it does not do is move the series forward in any structural way, and the criticism on that point is fair.
For players who wanted more Peggle, this is more Peggle, done well. For players who wanted the sequel to rethink the cannon, the pegs, and the 10-ball count, Peggle 2 will feel like a polished expansion rather than a step beyond.
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