Thanks to Lightwood Games for the review code

Title: Pic-a-Pix Deluxe
System: Switch (eShop)
Price: $7.99
Release Date: 01/04/2017

Presentation

Considering how Pic-A-Pix is a Picross clone, evident from the very beginning, it should be no surprise that the UI is similar to that of your average Picross game. While not as refined or polished as Picross S, the UI leading into the 600 levels works and gets the job done, listing the appropriate size for each puzzle and allowing for quick page shifting with the L and R buttons. The puzzles themselves share a typical picross layout, and using the triggers to shift between the different colors is quick and easy, while also allowing for touch control in handheld mode to do the same thing.

Unfortunately, the music is pretty dull and repetitive, consisting of a single, very short chiptune track on a repeating loop, and the volume balance for the sound effects is atrocious, as the sound effects for marking tiles is rather quiet compared to the really, really loud clicking noise for whenever you change a color with the trigger buttons, and there’s no way to make all the sound effects share the same volume.

Gameplay

Pic-a-Pix Deluxe is a Picross clone, and if you’ve played Picross before, then the Black and White pack included with the game is literally nothing more than 300 puzzles of the classic picture puzzle game, of varying sizes. As always, the main goal of a Picross puzzle is to plant squares in such a way that they would reveal a hidden image. Rinse and repeat and you have the entire game.

…Or that would be the case, if Pic-A-Pix Deluxe didn’t include add a new twist to the formula that makes the game stand out from your average Picross title, with the addition of color! The main 300 puzzles feature multiple colors within them, and unlike a traditional black and white one, switching between colors in the same line doesn’t require placing an X marker to space things out, which means that a new layer of strategy is added to the puzzle pack, akin to Mega Picross. Outside of that addition, though, there’s really nothing that remarkable to speak of, with nothing similar to Micross on display, but rather a selection of really huge puzzles that can take an eternity to complete.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Pic-A-Pix Deluxe is a generic Picross clone, competing with the equally priced Picross S. Offering more puzzles than Picross S right off the bat, the game does seem like the better value, especially with the promise of more DLC in the future. While it functions and works fine, and the addition of touch controls may be enough to get some people to try this game out, it lacks the overall polish of Picross S, especially with the sound quirks and the late-game gargantuan puzzles that are pure insanity to solve. Still, for Picross S masters who already completed that game, this is a decent way to continue the fun, even if the addition of color is nothing special, and there’s little else to mention about the game.

I give Pic-A-Pic-Deluxe a 7 out of 10.