PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids (PC)
Alongside genres like hidden object and structured solitaire, Picross ranks as one of my favorite casual game styles. Sort of similar in design to Sudoku but you’re making a picture with the solution, it’s a relaxing and mentally engaging way to burn some down time with a visual reward for completing the puzzle, and I’ve kept my eyes open for Picross games that interpret the concept in new and interesting ways. A friend alerted me to the Switch release of PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids, a game that mixes Picross gameplay with role-playing games elements, but now that I’ve received a copy of the game on PC, I get the chance to see how well these two styles blend.
PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids, also known simply as PictoQuest, mostly relies on the fairly standard design of Picross puzzles. Players are presented a grid split into many tiny squares, the sizes ranging from 5×5 all the way up to 20×20. The player’s goal is to fill in the right spots on the grid to create a picture, there also being an option to put an X over any space the player believes they aren’t meant to fill in to help them keep track of available spaces. The way the player figures out which spaces must be filled in relates to the numbers that appear above each column and to the left of each row. The numbers will inform the player how many adjacent squares in the line must be filled in, the player cross referencing the intersecting lines to determine which spots are correct. However, if there are multiple numbers beside a column or row, this indicates that there are split sequences of filled in spaces. For example, a line with a 9 and 4 beside it with have a full line of nine filled in spaces and at least one empty space before you fill in four additional spaces.
Once all the correct squares have been filled in, you have completed the level and get to see the shape of whatever image you were creating. Despite using monotone grey and white for the grid filling itself, PictoQuest will fill in the image with color after it is completed and even have it animate, and this can lead to cases where the image you made doesn’t quite look like what it was meant to be. One helpful aspect of Picross style puzzles is realizing what you are making and this influencing which spots you can take a risk filling in if you can’t figure out the math and intersecting lines, but some of PictoQuest’s images are a bit of a stretch to extrapolate from your solution. There are some that are clever uses of negative space where the spots you didn’t fill in form the image instead, but then there are things like a dwarf where the image you create isn’t just the bearded fantasy man, but also a torch he is carrying that wouldn’t be easy to assume was there even if you identified the human shape. The game has many shapes that tie to the medieval fantasy trappings of the game’s setting and plot, and while you can spot an axe or sword taking shape, including mythological creatures like a gorgon and relying on color to make solutions based on locations like a waterfall clearer remove the potential motivation and assistance that seeing a clear image taking shape can provide.
The game keeps the Picross enjoyable and possible to reason out without any involvement from the pictures though, although people less experienced in the genre will likely take a bit to realize tactics like counting out all possible solutions for a line and filling in the spaces that overlap between them. Even if the necessary skills don’t come to them though, there isn’t too much pressure to perform perfectly. Any puzzle failed can always be retried, but that’s not the thing that allows PictoQuest to stay low pressure and relaxing. Instead, there are three types of levels you will encounter in PictoQuest, all of them tying in some way to the central quest. The wizard Moonface has stolen the paintings of Pictoria, and after choosing which of the two interchangeable heroes you wish to play as, you set off to get them back, each level supposedly one of these paintings. Picross puzzles will be tied to levels that either feature a treasure chest, enemies, or a boss, each one penalizing you in different ways if you mess up or are too slow. Enemy levels feature one or more cute little monsters who will attack you at set intervals, the player dealing damage to them and delaying the enemy attacks any time they successfully complete a row or column. If you mess up in these levels and fill in an incorrect space, you take damage from an enemy, although they can miss their attack and often do, meaning some guesswork can be done if you feel it necessary. Bosses are similar but are more likely to hit and hit hard, but they also pack more than just a damaging attack, although their special ability to clear the spaces you’ve marked with an X is practically a relief to see since it doesn’t do much harm. The treasure chest stages actually don’t apply much pressure, there being no penalty for taking your time but the game will take a piece of gold from you any time you mess up when filling in the grid.
Gold is most often your reward for finishing a stage in PictoQuest, this money usable at any of the orc run stores across the map. Helpful items like more hearts for your health bar or healing potions can be bought, and Picross assistance in the form of things like fire that shows you which spots in one row and column should be filled in or lightning that fills them in in a box shape can be bought as well. The player can also earn these by performing side quests, the only optional activities in the game being characters off the linear progression often providing a free item if you perform a previously completed Picross puzzle with a new condition such as a strict timer or absolutely no room for error. Since you already have completed the puzzle though and can retry these as well the pressure really isn’t that great, but what is great is PictoQuest’s backing music. Some of the songs on the soundtrack are surprisingly catchy and there is a decent selection of different songs you can cycle through at any time, one highlight being the game reinterpreting its main theme in many different genres. I would honestly be tempted to buy the soundtrack if it was available, both the energetic and calming songs not just good for regular listening, but they help the puzzle solving gameplay of PictoQuest set a good tone, especially as you adventure moves into areas with specific music themes like the beach levels or the villain’s lair.
THE VERDICT: The trappings introduced to PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids don’t add to much to the affair, but they don’t take away from the core puzzle design at all. Enemies and bosses are essentially just level timers and the special items are essentially hint options that can’t be acquired too liberally. The main question for a prospective player is whether they value the Picto- over the -Quest, because the adventure does feel underfed while the Picross is in good form. As a Picross adventure, it has a good selection of easy to challenging grids given more character and variety by the fantasy context applied to it, meaning the game still succeeds at the most important parts of its design.
And so, I give PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids for PC…
A GOOD rating. PictoQuest isn’t the most challenging Picross game and the linear adventure can mean it takes a while for anything tough for a genre veteran to crop up, but the grid filling gameplay still achieves its goal of not just providing a sequence of puzzles to complete. The colorful fantasy world, wonderful background music, and the contextualization of things like timers and hints as enemies and magical items does make the game much more interesting than a collection of Picross puzzles. Later levels definitely have some difficult designs to suss out, even if some of that comes from the lack of visual clues, but all the Picross puzzles are designed to be solved with the numbers alone and the task of overcoming them remains mentally engaging without crossing over into anything too high pressure. PictoQuest is still a relaxing time waster despite having levels portrayed as battles, and when the creatures are putting up a fight, managing how you hurt them can make the Picross more than just filling in every square you can as you plan attacks and manage your health. Side quests, despite the things working against them, similarly inject some welcome difficulty with their conditions to make things a bit more interesting, so while PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids isn’t always pulling out the stops when it comes to grid design, it still has enough going on to ensure a fun Picross experience.
While I can definitely see more being done with the concept of a Picross game turned RPG, PictoQuest makes sure its grid design is solid and doesn’t try to distract you from the regular play too much, ensuring that as a Picross title it is still enjoyable. A bit more emphasis on the new elements would begin to create something more unique or more like an adventure, but PictoQuest plays it safe and relies mostly on the typical Picross gameplay loop. That way, fans of the style will still be pleased with what they play, but they get an extra touch of personality through what small adjustments have been made.