Nintendo Switch – Picross S2 #208

Still missing the most ideal feature for a Picross game…

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Picross S2 – Nintendo Switch – Released: 8/2/18 – $8.99

Review (Review copy provided by Jupiter)

One thing I enjoy are good puzzles games… Picross S2 still has the same issues as S1. WHERE IS THE TOUCHSCREEN SUPPORT? I understand that this may not be a big deal for people that are new to the series but for someone that grew up playing Picross on Gameboy and can figure the bulk of these puzzles instantly this is a pain. This bugged me in the original release and something I mentioned and the problem is still present.

Picross is a fairly easy game to pick up but like many of puzzle games today it requires some simple Math to easily get through them. Explaining Picross is best describe as a block that comes in many different sizes ranging from 5×5 to infinity by infinity. All rows and columns will have numbers above or next to them. These numbers will tell you exactly how many blocks are filled in that row or column.

Picross S2 does have one additional mode over the original release which is “Clip Picross” which plays somewhat like a story mode. After completing a number of Picross stages you will unlock some Clip Picross stages. These are multiple stages that build a single big puzzle. A bit complicated without seeing a picture but that is the best way to describe it. One big puzzle that instead of figuring out in one go you have multiple smaller puzzles to complete it.

This game does have a return of Mega Picross but this mode always felt a bit slapped together last minute. As far as I can tell after playing several stages it is just the smaller puzzles by told in a different way. If you have completed the normal Picross stage for them they are easy to figure out without following the numbers. Mega is slightly different as instead of having numbers just for one line will have one number for multiple lines. So a line that has 2 blocks and another has 1 block filled in will show as 3 on the side. So you know in those two rows will have a total of 3 blocks filled in.

Besides that it is identical to the original game. My feelings for Clip Picross aren’t really a big deal but they do require you to complete most of the Picross puzzles to unlock all of them. This can be a bit of an issue since this would require many hours of grinding to eventually unlock everything. I hate that this game is still missing touchscreen support. It is a pain since puzzles that would take me a few minutes take me much longer since I can’t just swap my finger across a row to fill them in.

Final Thoughts

Picross S2 is just more of the same of the original. Good or bad, it is still a solid Picross game that is still missing touchscreen support. My biggest concern with this is that the 3DS versions include this so might be better for people just to play on the 3DS if you still use yours. I will definitely 100% this game like I did the original and it is a great time killer for people who like Picross but touchscreen support would be ideal. It is kind of unacceptable that the original never got an update for it and S2 doesn’t improve on the game in anyway.

My Gameplay Footage:

Recording some gameplay this weekend.

Trailer:

End Credits

It is fairly hard to be upset with a puzzle game since it doesn’t have to do much to be acceptable. Problem I see is the Switch versions should be at their peak including all basic features but they are still lacking. Picross on 3DS are still better games that don’t include any more or less but touchscreen is a great benefit. Next week starts work so these will be slowing down but I will be trying to keep up as much as possible. I will be doing a 1 year anniversary giveaway just not sure what that item should be. Will be interesting to ask people since I am not even sure.