If there’s one Nintendo franchise that has desperately needed a new entry in modern times, it’s Picross. Just nine months on from S6, barely five months since the SEGA-flavoured Picross S Genesis & Master System edition, and after the thrilling cliffhanger ending, we’ve been eager to see how Jupiter would tie up this epic 'S' saga it’s been building for the past few years. The plot has taken some very bizarre turns along the way—that arc where Shigeru Miyamoto and the crew split off from the main party to join the neighborhood soapland was as disturbing as it was entertaining—but we’re happy to report that Picross S7 is packed full of callbacks to all your favorite characters from the Picross universe. Newcomers like “Sponge Cake” and “Wheat” add a lot to the cast, too, while mainstays like “Scuba” and “Euphonium” get the payoff they always deserved...
This is complete nonsense, of course. Every Picross game up till now has been nothing more than a new pack of a few hundred more nonogram puzzles to add to the massive pile of existing ones from previous games that you keep telling yourself you’ll ‘get around to’ one of these days. Let’s be real, you’ll never go back to those previous entries, and you can be just as sure that still isn’t going to stop you from buying this new entry. Why, you ask? Simple. Because this is more Picross, but with touch controls!
Feel free to return to our Picross S review for the lowdown on the basic nonogram gameplay and various modes — we're not going over them again. For years now, fans of the Picross S series have been suffering as they’ve had to battle with Joy-Con drift day after day just to play their favorite number puzzler. It’s never been a dealbreaker, but Jupiter has finally deigned to throw fans a bone by letting them get up close and intimate with their favorite puzzles. You can now drag your greasy fingers (or a stylus if you've got a compatible one) all over your poor Switch’s screen and revel in the sensation of hands-on solving puzzles. Different tools, like the distinct colors in Color Picross or the “X” symbol that covers most puzzles, are all assigned to onscreen buttons that you tap on or off, and these can also correspond to the face buttons if the idea of going completely buttonless makes you nervous and uncomfortable.
Other than the touch controls, this is pretty much the same game you’ve played countless times before and we can assure you it’s the same one that will come out in yet another few months. Some other notable changes can be found in the chilly winter theming of the menus you navigate and the new foray into *checks notes* Drum and Bass music for the main menu theme.
Other than that, it’s another few hundred nonogram puzzles just like the last several hundred nonogram puzzles. But who are we kidding, at least this one is, er, innovative in how it boldly introduces an all-new control scheme — one which, admittedly, returns from the (3)DS era of the long-running series. At this rate, we might even get HD rumble support in another four years when we get Picross S15. Imagine what that would feel like!
Anyways, you should buy this game.
Comments 45
This is getting out of hand, now there are 7 of them!
I'm burned out after completing every single 3DS Picross game and the first three on Switch (S1, S2, and Kemono Friends).
And there are 40x30 puzzles now?! Oyyyy!!! My poor eyes!
Though I'll likely buy the Sega edition on sale, but I'm no longer interested unless they revisit Picross 3D.
@ArtiomNLS : There are ten of them, as there are also three crossover instalments, being Kemono Friends, Lord of the Nazarick, and Sega Mega Drive edition!
More Picross games than Mario games on the Switch.
@Silly_G I wonder if there will be a point when the stormtrooper army will seem small compared to the amount of Picross games launched on every console
I'm amazed by the people who can match the pace these games are released. I'm still on S1.
I play these games for the dramatic storyline. Really wondered how they were going to continue after that cliffhanger of an ending in the last one.
Took them long enough to add such a no-brainer as touch controls! Bring on the HD rumble support!
I always preferred the 3DS versions because of the stylus accessibility. Might swing it for this one
I just completed both S1 and the SEGA edition, currently attempting to complete Mario's Super Picross on the SNES NSO (I'm very close as well, completed the Mario mode and I'm on Level 8 of Wario's).
There may be a lot of them and I do believe they should be DLC for just one entry, but for whatever reason, they're pretty relaxing to play before one goes to bed, if I can get more of that pre-sleep relaxation, more of that relaxation I will get.
Not that I'm against the idea, but what can HD Rumble add to Picross? To my understanding they don't tell you mistakes and penalize you for making them in these entries (not sure if they do the same in the Picross e series on the 3DS, still need to play those as well 😅)
FINALLY TOUCH CONTROLS! I CAN ENJOY PICROSS AGAIN
I again would like to remind you all about Hexceed — a Minesweeper turned into a puzzle game, with 472 free levels, full touch screen support, and a dozen addon packs with hundred more levels each. Spent ~35 hours on it, feels like a good alternative to picross puzzles.
I wish they would do more themed releases. Like the Sega Genesis/Master System version. Then I would buy.
@BongoBongo @Silly_G I like the 2D Picross games, but only buy them on sale or if I finished all that I own.
I agree, though. Time for another 3D Picross game. It may work best in handheld mode.
@Zverik I’ll check it out. Thanks!
I really wish Jupiter would patch in Touch Controls to the previous Picross S games
@Zverik I'll try that, thanks. Totally went unnoticed... Can't say no to some free puzzles.
I'll buy this so I can go sit on a park bench and play it and announce to the world, "I'M USING TOUCH CONTROLS!"
I get that there is a labour shortage but I didn't think you guys needed to hire 12 year olds to review games now.
I'd like to see a Nintendo themed picross... or maybe one themed on other video game publishers or series (Capcom themed, castlevania themed, arcade archives themed, atari themed, final fantasy themed, etc)
Ahhh, the telework staple. Boring conference call you're obligated to sit through? Y'all joke about Picross S15 but I'm gonna be there for it.
TeRiBLE ReVIew! Should’ve been a 10/10. You just don’t realize the symbolic beauty of the second half plot twist. It symbolizes that we all have been crossed at some point and we just can’t Pic and choose what we want.
Day 1 purchase for anyone that’s a fan of breathing air.
Still wish they could add online co-op...
Damn, a Call of Duty reference. Never thought I'd see that coming.
I love the snark in this review, and it's deserved - I love picross but mein gott there's a lot of it out there now. That said, HOLY CRAP TOUCH CONTROLS AHHHHHHHHHHHH
@noobish_hat I believe they only animate in Color Picross.
If I remember correctly, Picross e on the 3DS didn't have a physical compilation and those were 9 plus some themed ones: Club Nintendo, Club Nintendo Plus, Zelda: Twilight Princess, Pokémon, Sanrio characters and Pictlogica Final Fantasy.
That's 15 Picross games on the 3DS. The Switch is getting close with 10 so far: S1-7, Kemono Friends, Lord of the Nazarick (seemingly based on the Overlord anime) and SEGA.
I actually like these types of games but I've just no time to play them. I do sometimes dabble in Mario Picross on the SNES NSO, so that's good enough for me for now.
I've played and finished (except S7) every entry on Switch so far, and some on 3DS too. They keep making them, I'll keep playing. It's like those commercials, "bet you can't eat just one". I find them a great way to end my day, burning a few minutes before sleep.
I think the person that makes the reviews on all of the Picross games is going insane. They've played too much Picross for one person to handle
Is this guy joking about the plot twist?
Picross is OK, but I'd like some context for the puzzles, honestly. Definitely looking forward to playing Murder by Numbers at some point, but these endless barebones Picross puzzle collections aren't really for me.
I'm genuinely excited that touch controls have returned!
My first Picross was Zelda Picross on the 3DS and I used touch controls at first, but soon realized that even with the sylus, d-pad and buttons was a lot faster and easier. Later I tried to play a Picross game on my phone and found it pretty much unplayable, so I never missed touch controls on the Switch.
@Deathstar461 there's a Mario one on NSO, also, there's a mobile game called Pixel Puzzle Collection which is basically Konami Picross
LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PICROSSSS WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
TOYCHH SCRE NNN YEAHHHH
....Still waiting on custom puzzles... :/
@Joeynator3000
I mean, we're gonna have to wait a year or 2 for more innovation
I liked Picross and especially Picross 3D, but then I found Travel Mosaics. That is another game with several iterations. But the game play is much better than Picross, imho.
But if they put Picross 3D on switch, it is a day one purchase for me.
I love picross games and the switch versions were all missed opportunities without touch support. Bought this one and I'm loving it, playing with a stylus is awesome!
@dmcc0 I meant Nintendo themed with Nintendo image puzzles, like with the sega edition. The NSO game is just generic images with Mario slapped on the wallpaper.
@Deathstar461 Ah, ok. I haven't actually played the NSO one so that's a little disappointing.
If I could dive into a swimming pool full of picross, I would. Heck, I'd even do a belly flop.
@Zverik Been playing it for a while now, the tutorial was exceptionally well made. No text, just explaining through experimentation. Once it clicked, I put it on hardcore mode and started the other levels. It does what a good logic puzzle game does (like picross, sudoku, kakuro, that Pixel lines game where pixel is weirdly spelled...): make you think I'll quickly solve a couple when the sun goes down, and be hard to put down even when you already see the sun rise again. And it's winter here... Thanks again, still plenty of free stuff to go through, and I might even consider buying the expansions afterwards.
I am one of the weirdos who has completed every Picross game on the DS, 3DS, and the Switch so far. I started playing Picross on a controller (on the Game Boy, and later the Super Famicom) so the lack of touch controls hasn't been a deal-breaker for me.
I do get tired of standard Picross, but I cannot get enough of Color Picross and Mega Picross. And I would love to see a return of 3D Picross, if they can find some way to make it work well on the Switch.
Haha great review. Yay finally touch controls. Wish they would add them to the sega one though. Picross is great to play in bed but if I have to use buttons the constant clicking makes my wife yell at me lol.
Tap here to load 45 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...