ranks amongst the most delightful, cosy and adorable video games i've ever had the pleasure of playing. the soundtrack is fantastic, the puzzles are a hell of a lot of fun to figure out, and the dual colour mechanic works so sublimely. picross 3d was a fantastic game in its own right, and round 2 does an arguably even better job at it. however, this doesn't quite get the perfect score for me, and it's for a couple of reasons.

having to paint every block a specific colour often means accidentally painting a block the incorrect colour, and when you go as fast as i go that can get frustrating fast. i understand that that is a skill issue but it's not something that ever really happened in the first one.

additionally, the specifically-themed books for every level mean that difficulty spikes are plentiful. which is not a bad thing because difficulty is now adjustable, but that almost makes the game too easy. picross 3d had some genuine tension to it at points; there was nothing like being on your last life and exercising surgical precision and critical thinking to solve the puzzle without having to start over. there's none of that in this game, which definitely helps with accessibility, but means that the experience on the whole kind of goes in one ear and out the other.

unless you're pushing for the best scores on the hardest difficulty, the game doesn't ever force you to get good at it. that's not to take credit away where it's due, it's still one of the most pleasant and enjoyable experiences i've ever had, and the music is to die for. personally, i prefer the variety in the first game's soundtrack, but i can absolutely see someone preferring round 2's soundtrack instead.