Pixel Puzzles Ultimate

About

Pixel Puzzles Ultimate is a jigsaw-style game featuring hand-painted pixel art puzzles. With over 600 puzzles to solve and various difficulty levels, it offers a relaxing yet challenging experience. The game also includes a custom puzzle editor, allowing players to create and share their own unique puzzles.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+40

70%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,185 reviews

music18 positive mentions

grinding15 negative mentions

Fun puzzle game with a lot of different puzzles to choose from.
Very enjoyable and relaxing game with plenty of free puzzles and monthly challenges.
Highly customizable to your preferences, allowing for a tailored puzzle-solving experience.

Requires purchasing a lot of DLCs to access most content, which can be expensive.
Recent updates have caused bugs and issues, including loss of progress and puzzles.
Puzzle pieces do not snap together unless placed in their exact location on the board, making it frustrating to assemble.

music
105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
76%
7%
The music in the game is generally described as soothing and relaxing, enhancing the overall atmosphere for puzzle-solving. However, many players find the soundtrack repetitive and limited, with some opting to mute it in favor of their own music or podcasts. While there are options to customize music and themes, the lack of thematic consistency and variety in the tracks has been a common point of criticism.
- “The music and sound effects are soothing and enhance the overall relaxing atmosphere.”
- “The music is solemnly therapeutic.”
- “The relaxing background tranquil music and tons of choice for jigsaws.”
- “Just turn off the music to stay sane!”
- “The music is not fit for this type of game, and it should be in an action game, since the music is all the same, and it sounds like it is some intense boss music.”
- “The music that accompanies the menu is appropriately fitting, which is to say that it sounds like it was ripped from a workplace safety educational VHS.”
gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
79%
7%
The gameplay is generally described as straightforward and accessible, making it suitable for both casual players and puzzle enthusiasts. While many appreciate the relaxing atmosphere and variety of puzzles, there are notable complaints about the mechanics, particularly the inability to connect pieces outside the board, which detracts from the overall experience. Additionally, some users express frustration with the game's controls and the developers' focus on new content rather than improving core gameplay.
- “With its vast collection of puzzles, relaxing gameplay, and beautiful pixel art, this game offers a satisfying and immersive puzzle-solving experience.”
- “The gameplay is straightforward and accessible to both puzzle enthusiasts and casual players.”
- “If you're a fan of jigsaw puzzles or simply enjoy a calming and engaging gameplay experience, Pixel Puzzles Ultimate Jigsaw is the perfect choice.”
- “The one legitimate, oft-repeated complaint about the mechanics is that you can't connect pieces together outside of the board.”
- “You cannot join pieces if they're not in the correct place on the board... basic mechanic in jigsaw puzzles doesn't work.”
- “Speaking of features, the devs focus on releasing new paid content instead of improving core gameplay and fixing bugs; it's been this way for years.”
graphics
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
69%
14%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful art style and smooth visuals, while others criticize the low-quality images and performance issues, such as graphic lag and clunky interfaces. Many users find the graphics adequate for puzzle gameplay, but not impressive enough for serious jigsaw enthusiasts. Overall, the visuals are seen as a significant aspect of the experience, with options to adjust them, though they may not meet everyone's expectations.
- “Overall: beautiful graphics, challenging puzzles, lots of fun.”
- “Personally, I love the graphics and art style of every single puzzle in the game.”
- “The controls, setup options the game guides you through in the introduction, the music, the tranquility of the visuals...all quite nice!”
- “Even if you're fine with AI-generated images and think 'well whatever', this is still a problem, because the normally predictable lines and patterns of artwork go out the window.”
- “Terrible, terrible performance for such a simplistic and graphically unremarkable game.”
- “Bad interface and ugly art style; overpriced, low-quality puzzle packs.”
grinding
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
94%
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game can be excessively tedious and time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of hours to achieve completion. Players express frustration with the lack of options to adjust the challenge level, leading to a sense of monotony, especially with large puzzles that feature repetitive or bland imagery. While some find the game relaxing, many feel that the grinding detracts from overall enjoyment, making it less appealing compared to other genres.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
- “This game takes longer to 100% and costs more than most MMOs out there, except an MMO is likely to be far less tedious.”
- “Because of this, the game has become far too tedious and time-consuming for me that after completing some of the easiest puzzles and very few of the big ones (that I had to use a lot of hints to complete), I just have no desire to play this game anymore.”
- “The puzzles can be ridiculously tedious due to the sorting.”
stability
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
The stability of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with users reporting numerous bugs, a poorly optimized user interface, and significant performance issues, including memory leaks and lag. While a few players have experienced no technical issues, the majority describe the game as a "buggy mess" that remains problematic months after updates. Overall, potential buyers should be cautious, as a bug-free experience cannot be guaranteed.
- “V2.0 is a buggy, unoptimized, and unintuitive mess.”
- “After the developers for some reason decided to rework the UI, the game is now a broken and buggy mess.”
- “While the old one wasn't great, it did its job, but the new UI is beyond horrible and buggy even months after it has been added to the game.”
monetization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
11%
67%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn significant criticism, with many users labeling it a "shameless cash grab" due to the overwhelming number of DLCs and microtransactions that detract from the original experience. While some players appreciate the value offered through frequent sales and the time invested in the free content, the overall sentiment leans towards disappointment, particularly for completionists who feel pressured to spend excessively to achieve 100% completion.
- “I think the monetization is fine; you get so much value for your time, and packs are frequently on sale.”
- “Not bad, but there are lots of DLC and microtransactions for different puzzles.”
- “A shameless cash grab with millions of DLC.”
- “Disappointing to see the brand turned into a cash grab.”
- “What started out as a 'free to play' puzzle game - fun, nice variety, not too many annoying features - has quickly skyrocketed into a shameless cash grab forcing gamers to fork out big dollars for what is probably hardly any effort on their end, as DLC softworks simply add in some more random pictures for more random packs on a regular basis to stuff up your 100% achievement collection.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The reviews indicate a lack of a traditional narrative, with some users expressing frustration over updates disrupting gameplay rather than enhancing the story. However, there is a recurring theme of perseverance and personal growth, suggesting that the journey of overcoming challenges is a central moral, even in the absence of a structured storyline.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life holds in store for you, and if I would have given up when all the odds were stacked against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “Same story: new update broke more stuff.”
- “☑ no story”
- “[b]story:[/b] there is no story, but instead I'll tell you a story, the story of Atratzu who wants to get all the achievements, and play all the games in his Steam library.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
71%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues, including excessive CPU and GPU usage for a relatively simple title. Many players experience drastic frame rate drops, even on capable gaming systems, leading to frustration over the game's inability to run smoothly despite its unremarkable graphics. Overall, the optimization is deemed poor, resulting in a disappointing gaming experience.
- “In the past two or three years, the performance has gotten much worse for such a simple game. There is no reason why it should max out four cores on a 13600K or use up more GPU processing at 1080p than Black Mesa does at 1440p with high-quality textures.”
- “The performance for such a simple idea is very disappointing.”
- “In the past two or three years, the performance has gotten much worse for such a simple game. There is no reason why it should max out four cores on a 13600k nor use up more GPU processing at 1080p than Black Mesa does at 1440p with high-quality textures.”
- “I have a decent gaming computer, so I'm surprised this game causes my computer to chug so slowly, making me wonder if it's my computer or poor optimization.”
- “Terrible, terrible performance for such a simplistic and graphically unremarkable game.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as a mix of helpful and amusing elements, with some players finding the quirky puzzles and AI-generated images to be entertaining, while others feel that the monetization aspect detracts from the fun. Overall, the game incorporates a sense of humor that reflects life's challenges, though opinions on its effectiveness vary.
- “Helpful and funny!”
- “Funny and puzzle-modern game!”
- “Life, as every other great teacher with sense of humor, mocks you along the way.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by soothing music and sound effects that enhance a tranquil experience, complemented by simple and relaxing gameplay. This combination creates a calming environment that appeals particularly to puzzle enthusiasts.
- “The music and sound effects are soothing and enhance the overall relaxing atmosphere.”
- “The simplicity and tranquility of the gameplay itself create a soothing atmosphere for puzzle aficionados.”
- “Nice and relaxing puzzles in a relaxing atmosphere.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
While some users feel that significant improvements may not be forthcoming, they note that the game offers plenty of replay value, especially during occasional discounts on packages.
- “It's so close... but I don't really foresee them adding more playable improvements at this point.”
- “But they do occasional discounts on packages; get them then. If not, there's plenty of replay value.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight that the emotional aspect of the game allows for a personal connection, as players can thoughtfully place pieces in a way that resonates with them, fostering a sense of agency and reflection throughout the experience.