So they finally heaped it up.
We’ve reviewed many Picross games from the developer Jupiter, who has been making these games for decades. The Picross e-games on the 3DS and then the Picross S games on the Switch run consistently good, but the Jupiter-made Picross games on the Switch, which are in the form of completing progressively larger Picross puzzles with roughly the same setup and structure There are nearly 12 of him. I wear it a little thin. That’s what makes their latest release, his Picross X: Picbits vs. Uzboros, a compelling project. This is Jupiter’s attempt to spice up a stable picross formula, and while I appreciate the effort, it scratches a different itch than what I’m looking for in a picross.
It’s not focused on completing 5×5, 10×10, 15×15 puzzles in a row over time. Here it’s all about tackling various small puzzles (usually his 5×5) as quickly as possible. These short timed rounds require you to think quickly and act quickly. I believe you are manipulating the “Picbits” against the Uzboros. At the end of each round, you’re scored based on puzzles completed, how quickly you completed them, etc., and you’re given a score that translates into damage done to Uzboros. You can switch between buttons and touch control, but the speed of the game felt like touch control was the only way to succeed. Each of the game’s many stages also have bonus challenges that usually revolve around using (or not using) abilities. These abilities do things like increase your score or temporarily prevent mistakes. It turns out that I’m just going back and forth between them to make sure I complete the bonus challenges. Stages have different twists, such as when things like bombs need to be resolved before they explode, and stages where unused and used squares need to be completed.
You can also play all of this locally or online co-op. I didn’t play multiplayer much, but this is definitely a novel concept. A lot of what Jupiter has done to toy with cooperative picross has been interesting over the years. This is the basic co-op evolution included in recent Picross S games. There’s a certain amount of visual customization here, too, as you can unlock different themes and icons to decorate your playing experience.
But having played Picross X, I wanted to go back and play other traditional Picross games. This is a creative attempt to mix up the series formula. It’s an attempt that didn’t land as well as I had hoped. Jupiter continues creative iterations with his Picross, returning to old styles and occasionally giving us new assignments for traditional puzzles.
