PictoQuest is unlike any Picross-style game on the market, adding RPG elements to its colorful and fun experience. Intrigued? Find out more in our PictoQuest review!

 

The first thing that grabbed my attention when I started to play PictoQuest was its art style. It’s a fun, cutesy, and cartoony look that will appeal to players of all ages. Next up, I was pleasantly surprised by the RPG elements that change the way I approached each of the puzzles in the game. Once you get started and select the gender of your avatar, you’ll go off on an adventure to save everyone from the forces of evil that plague the land. It’s a typical RPG setup, but the fact that it’s been applied to a nonogram puzzle game makes the whole experience feel fresh.

As you play the game, you will have the opportunity to complete quests and defeat enemies. As you complete the puzzle grids, you will also get to level up, although the level up system is a basic one, so don’t expect a skill tree or anything like that. Gameplay-wise, if you’ve played a Picross game, you’ll know what to expect from PictoQuest. You’ll be presented with a puzzle, and there will be numbers on each of the rows and columns for the grid. If you make a mistake, you will be attacked and will lose some of your hit points. Complete a row or a column, and you’ll get to attack your opponents.

 

Enemies will be defeated when you complete the puzzle, but if you lose all of your hit points, you will need to start over. At first you will have a lot of time to complete puzzles – as long as you don’t make too many mistakes – but later on your enemies will attack you at a steady pace if you’re not fast enough, so you will need to keep in mind that you will need to change between the different enemies you will fight in each puzzle so that you can attack them before they get a chance to attack you.

 

If a grid is too difficult for you to complete, then you can use items to give you a helping hand. You could, for example, use a healing potion so that you can recover one of your hearts so that you can have some extra time to complete a puzzle. There are even some items that provide you with permanent boosts to your stats, so be sure to buy those as soon as possible! There are many stores spread out around the map, so you’ll be able to put your coins to good use between battles. You can also find treasure chests in some puzzles, but to be able to obtain their contents, you will need to complete a puzzle without any mistakes.

The puzzle grids vary in size and difficulty, and the game will ease you into things. The easier puzzle grids will be 5×5, making them a great way for you to learn the basics. As the puzzle grids grow, so does the overall difficulty, with more enemies to battle as you take on each nonogram. You can always go back and take on the puzzles you’ve already completed so that you can obtain some extra coins to help you buy some additional items for your inventory – do know that you have a limit on how many items you can carry.

 

PictoQuest is a fun puzzler for all Picross fans who crave a bit extra on the side. The RPG lite elements, being able to obtain coins to purchase items, and the big amount of content on offer make this one a game that is definitely worth a download on Nintendo Switch. The one complaint I have is that there’s no touch-screen support for the game. It’s available right now for only $9.99, offering hours of entertainment for a low price.

Disclaimer
This PictoQuest review is based on a Nintendo Swithc copy provided by NanoPiko Games.