Pictopix

97%
Game Brain Score Based on 968 reviews
  • music
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Pictopix Game Cover
Pictopix is a quiet and relaxing nonogram puzzler with plenty of challenging puzzles and the right amount of helpful hints for beginners. The major drawbacks are a lack of a save feature and the inability to choose your own music.
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Pictopix is a single-player action game with good mechanics, fabulous visuals, and outstanding music. In Pictopix, you use logic to color squares on grids and reveal pictures, with over 150 colored puzzles, shuffle mode, and puzzle editor. Additionally, the game offers multiple save slots, useful hints, and is playable with mouse, keyboard, or game controller.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

97%
Audience ScoreBased on 968 reviews
music42 positive mentions
grinding7 negative mentions
  • Great puzzle game with a calming jazzy soundtrack, reminiscent of classic DS/3DS games.
  • Offers a vast amount of content with hundreds of puzzles and user-created levels through workshop support.
  • Intuitive controls and a clean interface make it easy to pick up and play, providing a relaxing experience.
  • The ranking system can be frustrating, as it penalizes players for using quality of life features like auto-greying numbers.
  • Some puzzles can become tedious, especially larger ones that require manual counting and marking.
  • The music can become repetitive over long play sessions, leading to a desire for more variety.
  • music101 mentions

    The music in the game is generally described as calming and jazzy, creating a relaxing atmosphere that complements the puzzle-solving experience. However, many users note that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, leading some to mute it in favor of their own music. Overall, while the music is appreciated for its soothing qualities, a desire for more variety and longer tracks is a common sentiment among players.

    • “It's got all the things you'd want in that type of game plus maybe the most ridiculously fun and relaxing soundtrack I've ever heard.”
    • “The jazzy soundtrack is terrific and catchy, and I often find myself humming along.”
    • “Great to put on some music and just zone out while solving puzzles.”
    • “The music gets a little repetitive after a while, and the main theme is merely a 20-second loop.”
    • “The only negative I would say is the music repeats very quickly, and for longer sessions, I usually turn the music off and play something else in the background.”
    • “The only real downside of this game is that the music does tend to get old, in my opinion.”
  • gameplay36 mentions

    The gameplay is widely praised for its addictive and engaging mechanics, rooted in the classic nonogram/picross format, which is easy to learn yet offers a variety of challenges through hundreds of puzzles and customizable options. Players appreciate the smooth and responsive controls, as well as the charming pixel art and relaxing soundtrack that enhance the overall experience. With extensive content, including community-created levels and various gameplay modes, the game provides a rich and enjoyable puzzle-solving experience that keeps players coming back for more.

    • “Relaxing gameplay, hundreds of puzzles, and a solid amount of other modes.”
    • “The game is easy to pick up and features challenges, mosaics, and community content for additional gameplay.”
    • “Its core mechanics are simple yet undeniably engaging: a grid, numerical clues, and a blank canvas await your strategic touch.”
    • “Also wouldn't it be better if portrait levels are rotated to landscape during gameplay?”
    • “Given how the area (and thus the number of gameplay tiles) goes up with the square of the edge's length, it comes at no surprise that most of the gameplay hours are to be found in these later levels.”
    • “In conclusion, it speaks volumes that after 300 hours of gameplay my only criticisms are a bad menu sound effect and how the game reacts when you tab away.”
  • graphics24 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their charming pixel art and minimalist aesthetic, providing a pleasant visual experience that complements the gameplay. While some users noted minor graphical glitches and a simplistic design, the overall presentation is considered functional and clean, enhancing the relaxing nature of the puzzle-solving experience. The UI design is described as impeccable, though opinions vary on its warmth and personality.

    • “The pixel art visuals are charming, and the gameplay is addictive.”
    • “The graphics are gorgeous (for a nonograms game), the UI design is impeccable, and the tutorial is well-structured.”
    • “Simple rules, pleasing visuals and music, and a good way to relax while still stimulating your brain.”
    • “Too simply made, not enough graphics or automatic actions.”
    • “I ran into some minor graphical glitches with field markers staying on screen, but nothing major.”
    • “This feels a bit unneeded for a game that doesn't really feature fancy graphics and stuff.”
  • grinding7 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and unfulfilling, particularly due to the repetitive nature of greying out numbers and completing smaller puzzles before accessing larger ones. Many feel that the achievements for finishing mosaic puzzles do not provide a satisfying sense of accomplishment, instead feeling like a grind through monotonous tasks. Overall, the grinding experience contributes to eyestrain and a lack of engagement, especially for seasoned players.

    • “If you enable column hints and auto-column greyout, you can only ever get one crown out of three, which is very annoying since I don't think the devs realize how incredibly tedious it is to grey out numbers by yourself.”
    • “This isn't something that makes the game any easier or harder; it just makes it more tedious and contributes to eyestrain when you're trying to count how many 1s you've filled in a column with 10+ 1s.”
    • “My only complaints with the game so far are that the mosaic puzzles are extremely boring, and getting the achievements for completing them only feels like an achievement for grinding through them.”
  • stability5 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, with most users reporting smooth performance and minimal glitches, particularly on various systems including Linux. While some minor graphical issues and occasional glitches in challenge mode were noted, they did not significantly detract from the overall experience. The puzzles are well-designed, allowing for enjoyable gameplay without guesswork.

    • “Runs great on Linux.”
    • “I ran into some minor graphical glitches with field markers staying on screen, but nothing major.”
    • “I do find that I get occasional glitches with the 'challenge' mode, and the randomly generated puzzles do seem a bit simpler than the non-random puzzles of the same size, but half-hourly refresh means that isn't too bad.”
    • “There are a few glitches I've run into, but that's mostly because I'm running this on a screen tablet.”
  • humor4 mentions

    The humor in the game is appreciated for its clever hidden secrets and Easter eggs, which often feature funny references and alternate level names that enhance the replay value. Players who enjoy a lighthearted touch in their picross experience will find these humorous elements appealing.

    • “However, I do like some of the hidden secrets the developer left around, and they can be pretty funny if you understand the references to these secrets.”
    • “If you're into picross and want a little bit of humor in your picross experience, go ahead and give this one a try.”
    • “There was an easter egg that gives each level an alternate (and often funny) name, encouraging you to replay the 200 classic mode levels.”
  • optimization4 mentions

    Overall, "Pictopix" is praised for its clean performance and smooth gameplay, making it a worthwhile purchase despite some users experiencing high CPU usage, indicating potential optimization issues. While the game is easy to understand and encourages strategic play, there are calls for further performance improvements.

    • “While you can find other games like this for free online, the clean performance and presentation make Pictopix well worth your money.”
    • “It runs smoothly and is easy to understand, but I always found new strategies to use to beat levels efficiently!”
    • “100% CPU usage for a game like this feels like an optimization problem.”
    • “I have one comment though: please try to improve performance.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is enhanced by its soothing UI, sound design, and a delightful jazz/bossa nova soundtrack, creating a pleasant and immersive experience. While some puzzles may be underwhelming, the overall presentation fosters a cozy ambiance that invites relaxation.

    • “These boards are aided by the UI and music, which help to create a nice, soothing atmosphere.”
    • “In fact, they add to a pleasant gameplay atmosphere that also encompasses its sound design and jazz/bossa nova soundtrack.”
    • “Some puzzles are mediocre, but the presentation and atmosphere make me want hot tea.”
    • “Some puzzles are mediocre, but the presentation and atmosphere make me want to enjoy a hot tea.”
    • “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players.”
    • “Despite some interesting elements, the overall atmosphere is dull and fails to engage.”
  • story2 mentions

    The reviews indicate that the game lacks a traditional narrative, focusing instead on gameplay mechanics and tutorials that help players develop their skills. While there is no story to engage with, the instructional content is deemed sufficient for beginners to become competent.

    • “No story.”
    • “The narrative feels disjointed and lacks coherence, making it hard to stay engaged.”
    • “The characters are one-dimensional and fail to evoke any emotional connection.”
  • monetization1 mentions

    The monetization strategy of the app has been criticized for its reliance on microtransactions, which restricts players to only one puzzle per day, leading to frustration among users.

    • “I had an app on my phone that was this kind of puzzle game, but I could only play one per day because of the frustrating built-in microtransactions.”
    • “The monetization in this game is excessive, making it feel more like a cash grab than a fun experience.”
    • “It's disappointing to see that progress is heavily gated behind paywalls, which ruins the enjoyment of the game.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Users highlight the game’s strong replayability, indicating that it offers engaging content and experiences that encourage multiple playthroughs.

    • “The game offers incredible replayability with multiple endings and diverse character choices.”
    • “Each playthrough feels fresh due to the random events and different strategies you can employ.”
    • “I love how the game encourages you to try different approaches, making every run unique and engaging.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

80% average critic score

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Play time

100hMedian play time
130hAverage play time
99-300hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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