Author: sick skills

One of the constant presences on the 3DS eShop was that of the Picross e IP, the latest in a long running puzzle series. With close to ten releases on the 3DS eShop (including a few fun spin-offs) there were certainly plenty of entries for one console, though some releases were really more like DLC packs than fully-fledged sequels, often offering up a few hundred new puzzles and few other changes. The dream of the Picross e series has now been continued with Picross S on the Switch and, well, it’s exactly what you would expect it to be.

For those of you that are unaware, Picross has been around since the days of the Game Boy and plays something like a cross of Minesweeper and Sudoku. Puzzles are divided into grids, and each row and column has a series of numbers by it. These numbers dictate how many squares you need to fill in that row or column, and through cross-referencing multiple different sets of numbers you can figure out exactly which squares you need to fill. Squares that shouldn’t be filled can be marked with an x and squares that might or might not need to be filled can be marked with a little square to make a note of it. When all squares are filled it makes a pixel art image.

Though it might sound a bit complicated, the game includes tutorials that adequately explain how the logic of these puzzles works out. The difficulty curve is almost perfectly judged; you’ll start out doing simple 5×5 puzzles that are as basic as possible and eventually be handling 20×15 puzzles. And for those of you that still struggle, the game has included several hand-holding mechanics to ensure that literally anybody can play this. Here’s what it can do to help you out: a hint roulette at the beginning of puzzles can randomly reveal all the squares in one row and one column, the cursor can be set to glow red or blue depending on whether the row has any mistakes or not, the numbers besides rows and columns can glow blue to indicate that squares can be marked or filled in, the cursor can be set to autocorrect any wrongly filled in squares, and there’s a one-off “check mistakes” feature in the pause menu that will scan the whole puzzle and tell you if you marked anything wrong.

In case you haven’t gathered from all that, the game barely stops short of just outright doing the puzzle for you while you watch, but the nice part is that you can choose to turn off some or all of those features if you wish, allowing for a gameplay experience that adequately caters to players of all skill levels. This modular difficulty approach is especially a welcome feature when you consider the newly included multiplayer mode. By splitting the Joy-Con, a second player can hop on with a differently coloured cursor and help out with solving the puzzle. Although it is cooperative in nature, there’s also an air of competition to it as the game keeps track of how many squares each player has filled. Though it’s fairly basic in its implementation, the multiplayer does help add some longevity to the experience; it’s not hard to teach a new player the basic of Picross, and the scaling difficulty settings allow you to provide as much cushion as is needed.

In terms of content, 300 puzzles are included; half of them are normal Picross, and half are “Mega Picross”. These latter puzzles are harder, but only in the sense that it introduces some number sets that can span two rows or columns instead of just one. Those three hundred puzzles will certainly keep you busy for a while, but bear in mind that all the Mega Picross puzzles are merely re-purposed normal Picross puzzles. Sure, the numbers are different this time around, but the end result is still the same, and that comes as a bit of a disappointment if you’re expecting something new.

The doubling up of puzzles in this way is indicative of a much broader sense of a slight emptiness that permeates the experience; it’s not that this is a boring or empty game, but it feels a little half-baked. Micross — which spans several different, smaller puzzles —  is nowhere to be found here, and after seeing the introduction of a mission system and progression elements in Pokémon Picross, the straightforward, no-frills approach to Picross S leaves something to be desired. It’s the removal of elements which have been previously featured that’s irksome; though they aren’t essential elements and the game is just fine without them, it seems bizarre and a bit disappointing that the newest entry in this series is taking steps back rather than forward.

From a presentation perspective, the minimalist approach is maintained. Chilled, jazzy music plays in the background and the designs of menus are defined by a colourful, frosty aesthetic. It’s pleasing to the eyes and ears, and it’s quite relaxing, which is befitting of a game of this pace. And though the concept works well on either the TV or small screen, it feels most natural to be playing the game in portable mode; Picross S is the kind of game that you play every now and then for a little bit, not something you sit down on the couch to binge for hours. Still, it’s nice to have the option to play it on the TV, and this certainly is the way to go if you wish to get more use out of the multiplayer mode.

Conclusion

Picross S is the epitome of a one-trick pony, it knows exactly the kind of experience it’s going to deliver and it does just that. Those of you that loved the Picross e games will find plenty to love here, as this is essentially just another 300 (well, 150) puzzles, now with local multiplayer support. Still, it all comes off as being a bit bland, while the absence of Micross and mission systems seen elsewhere makes Picross S feel like a lazy sequel. We give this a recommendation to fans of puzzle games, or anybody looking for a slower paced game for their Switch. Just don’t go into this one expecting a comprehensive, ultimate entry in the series.

Stardew Valley is a universally acclaimed farming simulator that was initially released on PC in February 2016, before eventually arriving on other consoles later that year. The last few months have seen little other than pure hype and excitement from Switch players, however, as they finally get to see this Harvest Moon-inspired fan-favourite for themselves (or double-dip to enjoy the experience all over again for a second time). Despite having a good amount of time with the game, it is clear that we are still yet to scratch the surface of what Stardew Valley has to offer its players, and we’ve already had a bit of a rollercoaster ride with the title.

The game might well be a farming simulator on the surface (you inherit a farm, start restoring it, plant crops, collect materials to build with etc.), but there is actually so much more to it than initially meets the eye. In a recent soapbox video we referred to the game as a “life sim”, and that is a perfect description; your activities go far beyond just farming thanks to a great sense of community that finds itself sitting at the heart of the adventure. In fact, there doesn’t appear to be any end to the amount of things available to see and do.

For starters, by wandering over to the main town you’ll start to interact with a host of non-playable characters in what turns out to be a rather tight-knit community. Each character you meet has their own personality, their own relationships with other characters, their own interests, and so on. You can offer to help out various town members in what are essentially side quests, you can build up your own relationship with individual people by giving them presents and visiting them often and, eventually, you might even grow so close to someone that you’ll end up getting married should you fancy it. You don’t move to Stardew Valley to work – you move there to live.

As we previously mentioned it is clear that, in the grand scheme of things, we haven’t seen anywhere near all of the things on offer here. One example of this is the fact that it took us 15 in-game days just to realise that there was a huge mine to explore just north of the town – fully exploring and excavating within it will likely take a scarily large amount of time to manage. Strolling around the valley will give you a quick insight into the currently unknown too; often we’d see areas that we can’t access yet or doors that remain locked, and an in-game calendar shows events that will be occurring in the town in the coming days. 

It doesn’t end here, either – on top of the farming, side quests, and everything else mentioned so far you can try to earn as much money as you can, build various animal coops to look after livestock, have a pet, go fishing and try to collect every fish available, complete an entire museum collection, build up your combat level in the RPG-like Adventurer’s Guild, and more – it just goes on and on.

There is a point to all of this, though. After two in-game years you will be assessed on your achievements, receiving a score based on numerous factors. Pleasingly, your game doesn’t end there, however; you are free to continuing living this life away from the real world as much as you like, ever expanding on what eventually starts to feel like a second home. The portable nature of the Switch makes this version easily one of, if not the, strongest of them all – the structure of the game sees you play through ‘days’ at a time with a clear break in between each one, making it perfect for just having that quick escape. Luckily, the oddly addictive nature of watching your farm grow and grow will make you want to do just that.

There is one technical flaw at launch that needs to be mentioned, however. At the end of each in-game day it saves, and at present it takes a surprising amount of time – perhaps up to 20 seconds. It’s a tad frustrating when it first happens, but the days are long enough that we’ve generally looked past it; the rest of the game – pleasingly – is snappy enough.

Beyond that relatively minor complaint, playing Stardew Valley has been an enlightening experience. For complete transparency it is important to state that, for this writer, games of this genre and style aren’t often particularly appealing. Indeed, after the first couple of hours a mixture of boredom from the repetitive nature of farming, and confusion from not really understanding why nothing seemed to be happening, prevented initial enjoyment. 

Somewhere down the line, though, everything just ‘clicked’. This isn’t a game designed to throw everything it has at you from the off, and it isn’t one to hold your hand either; everything in Stardew Valley wants to be discovered, but only if you put in the time and effort to find it. To experience this game fully you must be prepared to spend a huge number of hours living in its world – the more you put in, the more you’ll get out, and it can be so rewarding if you do.

Conclusion

Stardew Valley offers its players a chance to live a second life – one where you can forget the troubles of the real world and get excited over finding a particularly rare carrot. It is a truly magical experience; games can often be enjoyable but they don’t all manage to be as captivating as this. This is the sort of game that ideally requires a significant amount of time to be invested; the enjoyment doesn’t necessarily come from the day-to-day actions you perform, but rather from the general growth of pride, satisfaction, and sense of security as the days go by. Fans of games such as Harvest Moon and Animal Crossing will be right at home here and, for those who aren’t, there is a decent chance this game might just surprise you. For the asking price the risk couldn’t be more worth it.