Picrastination
- March 12, 2018
- Bearcat Games
Get on Steam"Picrastination" is a logic-based puzzle game where players solve numerical clues to reveal pictures, with each puzzle containing a cultural reference or joke. The game offers over 175 puzzles, two procedurally-generated game modes, larger "mosaic" puzzles, and hidden extras. The first major update includes an "Endless" mode, 26 new levels, a "mark temporary" function, undo feature, and customization options.
Reviews
- Picrastination offers a large variety of puzzles, ranging from 5x5 to 25x25, providing hours of engaging gameplay.
- The game features a humorous and charming presentation, with witty puzzle names and pop culture references that enhance the overall experience.
- Quality of life improvements, such as highlighting the current row and column, make solving puzzles more intuitive and enjoyable.
- The recent price increase has made the game feel overpriced compared to other similar titles on the market.
- Par times for puzzles can be unrealistic, making the game feel more stressful than relaxing, especially for casual players.
- Limited customization options and poor optimization can detract from the overall experience, making it difficult to run alongside other applications.
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and abundance of pop culture references, with many players enjoying the pun-filled puzzle names and snide remarks that add charm to the experience. While some players find certain puzzles overly challenging, the overall sense of humor enhances the enjoyment and originality of the game, making it a delightful experience for many.
“Fun game, minimalist design, great sense of humor with lots of pop culture references!”
“Fun sense of humor on the puzzle names!”
“Funny, charming and brilliantly clever.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally praised for their quality and character, complemented by impressive sound effects. However, players note a lack of customization options for controls and graphics settings, limiting the overall experience.
“Has really good graphics and sound effects, as well as a lot of bonus content that's honestly really fun and gives the game a lot of character.”
“You have almost no options for controls, graphics, or basically anything besides audio, resolution, and fullscreen/windowed mode.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Replayability in the game is mixed; while some players find the limited 7x7 puzzles become stale quickly, others appreciate the clean interface and various modes, including randomized puzzles that offer infinite replayability, leading to extended engagement for some users.
“With a clean interface, interesting extras, and a handful of play modes (including a couple of randomized puzzles with infinite replayability), this game has kept me engaged for close to 40 hours so far.”
“The modes that attempt to offer replayability get stale very fast due to how simplistic and limited the 7x7 puzzles are, so there's no reason to play more than a few besides annoying achievements.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to return, as the content doesn't change and the challenges feel repetitive.”
“The lack of variety in gameplay mechanics makes it hard to find motivation for a second playthrough; it feels like the same experience all over again.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as relaxing and imaginative, enhancing the overall experience while players enjoy solving puzzles and unlocking various color schemes and music tracks.
“Music is relaxing.”
“This is colorful and imaginative with good puzzles, and unlocking color schemes and music tracks is good fun.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game is criticized for being poor, with limited options available, making it difficult for players to run the game alongside other demanding applications despite its minimal puzzle complexity.
“Additionally, the optimization is rather poor, and as stated, there are very few options. I'm not able to run this game alongside anything remotely demanding, despite how minimal the puzzles themselves are.”
“The lack of optimization makes it difficult to enjoy the game, as it struggles to maintain a stable frame rate even on lower settings.”
“I was disappointed by the optimization; the game frequently stutters and crashes, making it nearly unplayable on my system.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding in Picrastination to be a mixed experience; while the puzzles can be challenging and enjoyable, they often veer into tedious territory. However, the game's humor provides a lighthearted distraction that helps alleviate some of the frustration associated with the grinding.
“Grinding in this game feels more like a chore than an enjoyable experience, with repetitive tasks that drain the fun out of gameplay.”
“The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming, making it hard to stay engaged with the story.”
“I found myself spending hours on mindless grinding, which took away from the excitement of exploring the game world.”
