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PictoQuest

82%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
replayability, monetization
82% User Score Based on 366 reviews

Platforms

iPhoneiPhoneNintendo SwitchNintendo SwitchPCPCPhonePhonePlaystation 4Playstation 4Steam DeckSteam DeckWindowsWindowsXbox OneXbox OneXbox Series X|SXbox Series X|SAndroidAndroidMobile PlatformMobile PlatformPlayStationPlayStationTabletTabletXboxXboxiPadiPad
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About

PictoQuest is a single-player fantasy role-playing game with good mechanics and a memorable soundtrack. In this game, you help young heroes retrieve the legendary paintings of Pictoria by solving logic puzzles and fighting enemies. With special missions, magic items, and a world map to explore, PictoQuest is an addictive and engaging experience for all players.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
PictoQuest screenshot
PictoQuest screenshot
PictoQuest screenshot
PictoQuest screenshot
PictoQuest screenshot
PictoQuest screenshot
PictoQuest screenshot

82%
Audience ScoreBased on 366 reviews
story10 positive mentions
replayability2 negative mentions
  • The game features a neat combination of skills, battles, and nonograms, providing instant feedback when mistakes are made.
  • The art style is cute and colorful, with charming animations for completed puzzles and enjoyable music.
  • The game offers a comfortable difficulty progression, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced players.
  • The RPG elements feel underdeveloped and do not significantly enhance the gameplay, often making it too easy.
  • The time pressure from enemies can be stressful and detracts from the relaxing nature typically associated with nonogram puzzles.
  • Many puzzles are too simple, leading to a lack of challenge and replay value, especially for seasoned picross players.
  • story
    70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in the game is largely considered superficial and unengaging, serving primarily as a backdrop for the puzzles rather than a compelling narrative. Many players find it to be a collection of generic quests and flavor text that lacks depth, with RPG elements feeling irrelevant and the dialogue poorly executed. Overall, while the story exists, it is often deemed unnecessary, allowing players to focus on the enjoyable puzzle mechanics instead.

    • “Overall, I liked the presentation and was looking forward to this with the overall story and cute art.”
    • “Very enjoyable picross game with a goofy story and fun twist on timed puzzles!”
    • “If you are a fan of picross games, then this is a great game for you; it has plenty of levels and challenges along the way as well as an enticing storyline.”
    • “The story is throwaway, and the items aren't particularly useful.”
    • “The story is cursory and not taken seriously; you're not supposed to care about it.”
    • “The story is utterly irrelevant; this is basically a collection of picross puzzles in a fantasy framework.”
  • gameplay
    70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this nonogram-based game features a mix of puzzle-solving and light RPG mechanics, which some players found to be a unique twist, while others felt it detracted from the core experience. The puzzles are well-designed and visually appealing, but the implementation of time limits and battle mechanics can be frustrating, leading to a gameplay loop that may feel repetitive or too easy as the game progresses. Overall, while it offers some enjoyable moments, the execution of its mechanics leaves room for improvement, making it a decent choice primarily for fans of time-limited puzzles.

    • “The simple RPG mechanics make it easier to get used to the increasing difficulty, and the levels and art are beautifully designed, making the grids fun to solve.”
    • “The puzzles, which scale up to 20x20 boards, are very well-designed, and the battle mechanics will make you think.”
    • “The RPG element adds just enough to the picross gameplay to make it unique in the genre, and it makes some levels extremely tense.”
    • “At least the achievements are straightforward, but sadly, this game put all efforts into a halfway cute presentation and zero into gameplay, so I can't recommend it.”
    • “But the puzzles are too mediocre for the RPG-ish mechanics to amount to anything interesting.”
    • “Rather than adding to the gameplay, RPG elements interfere with the nonogram solving.”
  • music
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players praising its catchy and fitting nature, particularly the boss themes which stand out as memorable. However, some users noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive over time, leading to a desire for more variety. Overall, while the music enhances the experience, it may not be enough to sustain long-term engagement for all players.

    • “I especially enjoy the swap between rather relaxing music for every normal level and intense music for boss battles to make it harder for those that listen to the background music.”
    • “The music is pretty good and you can instantly change which track is playing with a simple button press or mute it with another if you want.”
    • “The boss music in particular slaps far more than any puzzle game music has any right to.”
    • “It is impossible to separately control the volume of the music and sound effects, nor is there any way to rebind keys.”
    • “Lack of variety in music also got kinda boring after a while; I ended up muting it near the end and playing something else instead.”
    • “Tldr; beautiful little grid-based puzzle game, though the music can get repetitive.”
  • graphics
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are characterized by simplistic, cartoonish 2D art that lacks depth and quality, particularly for a PC title. While the art style is described as cute and appealing, it suffers from a lack of substantial graphical enhancements, making it feel more suited for low-effort mobile apps rather than a high-quality gaming experience. Overall, the visuals are serviceable but do not come together cohesively, leaving players wanting more in terms of graphical sophistication.

    • “The art style of the game is very cute and I haven't had any technical problems.”
    • “The art style throughout the entire game and also the background music were nicely carried out.”
    • “It has a nice graphic style, simple yet strong interface, and enough content for its asking price.”
    • “While there are options to change the resolution for the mobile app, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the mobile app, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
    • “The mobile app features simple, cartoony 2D graphics, of the type you normally expect to see in low-effort mobile apps.”
    • “Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
  • humor
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is praised for its surprisingly funny and well-crafted humor, particularly through its original bosses and side-quest characters, which add a light-hearted touch to the gameplay. While the English translation has some flaws, it inadvertently contributes to humorous moments, and the engaging dialogue with NPCs enhances the comedic experience. Overall, the humor is a standout aspect, making the adventure enjoyable despite some minor tediousness in puzzle design.

    • “However... it's surprisingly funny and well made.”
    • “Bosses and side-quest characters are often hilarious and original; the background music is rather simple but catchy. The game has a decent length with 100 puzzles, and what's most awesome is that some mad lad went above and beyond to animate each one of them (on top of all the monsters).”
    • “100 puzzles, mistakes aren't very punishing, there is no guessing, and it's a light-hearted adventure with some welcome humor.”
  • replayability
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with many players stating they are unlikely to revisit it after their initial playthrough. Additionally, the absence of a system to track improvements in puzzle completion times further diminishes its appeal for those seeking to enhance their skills.

    • “For the sale price, that was plenty for me, but there's almost no replay value and I will probably never launch this game again.”
    • “One thing to note though - if you're the type who wants replay value in the form of improving your times on puzzles, the game doesn't track it.”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Pictoquest is criticized for being a free mobile app that has been inappropriately marketed and sold as a paid PC game on Steam, leading many to view it as a cash grab by developers. Users describe it as a barebones nonogram game that fails to justify its price.

    • “Pictoquest is a free mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a paid product, as if it was a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. This mobile app is a barebones nonogram game.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game, particularly the 20x20 puzzles, to be somewhat tedious but still engaging, with the experience occasionally lightened by humorous translation errors. Overall, while the grinding can become repetitive, it does not detract significantly from the enjoyment of the game.

    • “The grinding in this game feels excessively tedious, especially with the 20x20 puzzles that start to drag on.”
    • “While the game has its moments, the repetitive grinding can become quite tiresome over time.”
    • “The constant need to grind for resources makes the gameplay feel more like a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users consistently report that the game exhibits excellent stability, with no glitches or technical difficulties encountered.

    • “No glitches or technical difficulties.”
    • “No glitches or technical difficulties.”

Buy PictoQuest

9h Median play time
8h Average play time
5-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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