Picross is one of the few video game franchises that somehow always stays the same, but never gets old. Personally, I'm more of a fan of the 3D sub-series and Picross S9 hasn't changed this despite a long break from the franchise and numerous Quality of Life improvements. Nevertheless, a game to make boring hours a little more varied - even if you shouldn't expect more than a digital puzzle booklet with bonus.

For a more detailed look on Picross S9, visit my german review on Gaming-Village.de.

How do you review a game like Chess or Tetris? These are classic games that have been proven to be interesting for years and years. Most of those types of reviews are just “how good is this specific iteration”. Picross S9 was my first big exploration of Picross since I first played a bit of it on DSi. The core itself is brilliant but I wish S9 had a few more interesting gamemodes or grid sizes or even shapes. Nonetheless I absolutely did not expect to put 35 hours into this title. It’s really a joy to discover “tricks” to solving certain rows or section but really those realizations just come down to basic logic and math. If you want your Picross fix, I doubt you’ll find a better version than this.

It’s more Picross - what else can you say?

After skipping a few of the “S” entries, I have been impressed by S9

Colour Picross is still a fun addition & the new music is extremely catchy for a light puzzle game

That’s said, it’s still an iterative sequel, simply more puzzles to solve

(I will note some of the pictures are becoming quite obscure and fun to solve compared to your standard “objects” from previous entries!)