dmillos

User Score
7.5

Presentation - 8.0
Gameplay - 6.0
Value - 9.0

If you enjoy logic games, this game will entertain you for many hours. 

The rules are simple: Every row and column contains a series of numbers, these numbers represent the amount of squares you can "Pick". As you turn squares black, you will discover a hidden image on the board. All you need at the start is to use your logic in order to figure out what squares need to be picked.

Take this image for example:

This tells you that the first column has 5 black squares. therefore if you count the amount of squares in a column, you know that the whole column is going to be black. 

The separate numbers let you know the amount of consecutive black squares, each number will be separated by at least one blank square. 

Solving  this puzzle will lead you to this:

In this introductory level, you are able to form an N.

Presentation:

Menus are pretty straight forward, you unlock new puzzles as you are able to complete levels. Each level comes with repetitive but interesting music. Also visually you are always intrigued as you discover new images. 

The game also contains small pixelated animations of about 40% of the puzzles you complete. It is amazing how you can start with a simple board and end up with a fun image.

Gameplay:

Finishing the game can be very repetitive.  Your controls are basically pick, discard or erase. Therefore it may feel like a chore to complete certain levels.

There are two different modes, one mode tells you when you make a mistake, the other lets you make as many mistakes as you want.

The problem with the first mode is that by making a mistake you might be able to solve a problem without using much logic. Puzzles tend to depend on certain blocks being unknown in order to take you a long time to solve. If by mistake you know what that cell is, you might be able to solve the puzzle a lot faster and without the logic designed. Another issue with this mode, is that any mistake that you do, even unintentionally (something that can easily happen of you move an extra square on a sequence) will cost you time. It is frustrating to lose after 20 minutes of play just because your finger slips one extra space. In this mode you only have 30 minutes to complete the puzzle, if you fail to do so, you will need to start all over again.

The second mode solves the issues of the first one, but beware because if you make any mistake you could go down a rabbit hole that will let you make such a mess that after 20-30 minutes of playing you might just have to restart. This mode has no time limit, therefore you can be stuck on a level for many minutes.

There are some puzzles on the SNES Online version for the Switch that are logically unsolvable. Out of hundreds of levels, only a handful are like this, but this definitely lowers the score of this wonderful game. Don't let this push you away from the game, but just know that you may run into an unsolvable situation. At that point, you may need to randomly guess squares or go online to see the solution.

Value:

Nintendo is very wise when it comes to adding secret levels and replayability. Just when you think you are done, new levels surprise you. And then, new levels surprise you. And then, new levels surprise you. You will be surprised more times than you might think, so just enjoy the increasingly challenging puzzles.

Overall:

If you enjoy puzzle games like sudoku, or even Ken Ken, this is a game you can give a try. The rules are very basic and you will find puzzles that will take you more than half an hour to solve. There are plenty of levels for all types of difficulties, so don't worry if you don't want those hardcore levels, you will find plenty of entry level puzzles.