Piczle Cells (NSW) Rapid Review

Do you like puzzle games? Do you own a Nintendo Switch? Do you have an interest in puzzles games on the Nintendo Switch that launch today on the eShop? Then, you may just be interested in the next game in the Piczle series published by Rainy Frog: Piczle Cells. How does this cell-based puzzler stack up? Pretty darn well, especially for its $4.99 price tag. Let's check out the game together with the SPC review.

Adequate and Affordable Cellular Service

Puzzle games are plentiful on the Nintendo Switch, and now arrives the combo of developer Score Studios and publisher Rainy Frog's latest installment in their Piczle series of puzzlers: Piczle Cells, to add to the hybrid console's library. Simple enough to learn, though possessing a somewhat sizable learning curve to become comfortable with its gameplay and main mechanic, Piczle Cells winds up being a solid puzzle game overall.

The concept of Piczle Cells revolves around the titular cells that you slide across an 8x6 board. The end goal of each level is to finish it so only one cell remains. That's of course easier said than done, as different cells are different colors, and react uniquely when pushed together. Green cells are the smallest, then there's blue, yellow, and ultimately green. When single cells of the same color are pushed together, they absorb one another, creating a mass of two cells that can no longer be slid around. It's only until a third cell of the same color gets pushed into this mass that a new cell color is formed, allowing it to be pushed around yet again. Three green cells pushed together create a blue cell, three blue cells pushed together create a yellow cell, and three yellow cells create a green cell. 

Learning the basics with the initial batch of 20 puzzles in Piczle Cells gave me more trouble than any others.

When cells of different colors slide into one another, the cell that gets slid into basically serves as a wall, stopping the slid cell from moving anymore. Otherwise, a cell will slide from one side of the board and appear on the other until it returns to the spot where it was originally slid. In other words, if you slid a cell to the right without a cell to block it from moving anymore, the slid cell would slide past the right edge of the board and reappear on the left before coming to a spot on its original position. You can probably guess that using different colored cells to stop the movement of other cells you slide is required to solve many of the puzzles in Piczle Cells. In fact, pretty much every puzzle requires this, in addition to crossing over the edge of the board to appear on the other side. 

Each batch of 20 puzzles begins with a visual tutorial of the batch's central mechanic,
whether it be walls or exploding cells.

As you can imagine, the basic building blocks of Piczle Cells are quickly iterated on, adding new mechanics and tricks to keep things interesting. The game contains 100 puzzles, and each new batch of 20--these 20 can be played in any order, and you only need to complete just over half a batch to unlock the next--introduces a new gameplay concept to make for a fly in the proverbial ointment. Once you think you've mastered the game, the developers toss in something to shake things up considerably. This can be walls that serve as obstacles to block cells from being combined easily, special cells that change places with whatever cell is slid into them, and conveyor belts that move cells along a specific path. 

Understandably, new concepts and mechanics are introduced to keep each new puzzle batch interesting.
This batch introduces these big, red cells that explode upon impact with another cell.

Funnily enough, I struggled most with getting the basics of the game down. The beginning batch of 20 puzzles was the one that I spent the most time on, as there were no real gimmicks like walls to make puzzles easier. Once I learned how cells interacted (and pausing the game shows miniature "equations" that serve as a helpful reminder until you get it down pat), I was sliding and combining cells like a pro. No doubt later puzzles eventually perplexed at times, but nothing compared to the near 20 minutes of bewilderment that early puzzles presented to me.

Piczle Cells supports both analog and touch screen controls. The latter, however, has one issue with it that I noticed appear rather often for the short time I played with touch controls. While the controls themselves read fine, with me sliding my finger to send cells flying left, right, up, or down, there would be occasions where the game would see itself combining cells out of essentially thin air after a touch input on a cell on an adjacent square from yours truly. It would make puzzles unsolvable. That said, the ability to take back as many turns as you like or simply restart a puzzle by holding down the ZL button makes for these issues to be easily digestible instead of overly frustrating. 

Still, this particular bug occurred more times than I cared to see in my brief time using touch controls, so I eventually opted for analog input instead. The button controls feel natural and nice as well. You can use the analog stick or the D-Pad of the Switch to move the cursor while the four Switch controller face buttons serve as the four directions you can slide a cell. If you are left-handed, you can alternate the D-Pad's functions for the face buttons, using the latter to move the cursor and the D-Pad/analog stick to slide cells.

If you get bored with the standard purple board and background, "orange" you glad you can change the color yourself?

Piczle Cells has a pleasant enough look to it. The cells are cute and reminded me similarly of Dr. Mario's viruses, only cuter and less angry. The game allows you to change the background and color of the board to one of six different colors, so if purple grates on you at any time, you can just swap to say, pink, black, or blue, for example. What won't grate is the chill music, offering a nice, relaxed, laidback vibe. Less impressive in a technological sense is the opening video, but even then, there was a charming feel to it regardless.

As a puzzle game, Piczle Cells will put your brain through the wringer, giving you 100 brain busters of cell sliding, combining, and solving to enjoy. The core concept and gameplay mechanic is structurally sound, but once these 100 puzzles have been completed, there's not much else to keep you returning to the game. While puzzles have multiple solutions, there's really no incentive to find new ways to solve them, unless you really, REALLY are loving the game. The appearance of that aforementioned touch screen control-related bug made that control option less than functional, so go into the game thinking you'll be using analog exclusively (unless you have more patience for bugs than I) and you'll be fine. At any rate and even with these issues, Piczle Cells is hardly a puzzle game that I would call a tough cell--er, sell! In fact, I recommend it.

[SPC Says: C+]

A code was received by SPC from the publisher for the purpose of writing this review.

Mekorama (NSW) Review

SPC's next review is a smaller scale game. It's yet another mobile game turned Nintendo Switch release in the form of Mekorama. SPC previously reviewed the mobile version in 2016. How does the Switch version compare? Let's check it out with this review of Mekorama for the Nintendo Switch.

Wrap your head around the miniature world of Mekorama

Mekorama originally released as a mobile game in 2016, akin to games like Monument Valley, and probably more familiar to Nintendo gamers, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. It's a 3D puzzle/platformer that sees you controlling a robot named B, navigating it through myriad 3D diorama-like levels with the objective of reaching the goal, indicated as a red, glowing portal on top of a brown block.

The Nintendo Switch version of Mekorama may not be free like its mobile counterpart (but the latter is a great way to "demo" the Switch version, if you'd like), but it does include approximately double the amount of levels as the original. The downside is that the game's level creator, which allowed mobile players to share levels via QR codes, does not currently offer sharing functionality in the Switch version, which sort of defeats the point of having the feature on Switch.

The actual game levels are split up into four categories: Easy, Medium, Tricky, and Hard, and they start out simple enough, introducing the player to basic concepts and allowing them to grow accustomed to the controls. Levels themselves offer a nice difficulty curve that start off with the simple requirement of traversing the environment to reach the goal. Slowly and gradually new elements are implemented to keep things fresh, such as blocks that can rise and lower based on player input--used smartly in a double-decker maze level that features an upper part and a submerged lower part--and even enemies and hazards that if B comes one space near them, he'll get electrocuted and the level will be failed. I found the Easy levels to be a good deal of fun, but even early on in the Medium stretch of levels, I found some truly brain-busting puzzles. Thankfully, there is a hint system implemented in the game for when you get stuck.

Mekorama can be played via touch screen or via analog input, though the latter is a bit cumbersome. You have to drag the cursor around the screen manually with the analog stick, and when you want to spin the camera around, you have to hold down a button while moving the analog stick in a "swipe" motion. Not exactly the most intuitive means of input, is it. Otherwise, with the recommend touch screen controls, you're tapping on squares where you want the robot to move, if a maneuver can be made, and sliding your finger on the Switch's screen to spin the map around to get a better view.

Unfortunately, even with the ability to spin the level around in a 360 degree fashion, you can't move the camera angle itself. This results in plenty of levels where you B easily becomes obstructed by the environment, requiring a lot of trial and error to move around obscured parts of levels. Adding on top of that, many levels have it where B can get knocked from a platform and fall to the ground, making the level impossible to complete. This isn't so much of a problem as it is that the game forces you to manually restart the level instead of automatically doing so. It's a design element that slows down the experience considerably when most of the time I just wanted to immediately retry the level without being forced to pause and then hit restart.

Mekorama doesn't have the same level of polish or as vivid a presentation as other games of its ilk. You won't be dazzled by its visuals or understated music, as the presentation is overall pretty sterile. What you will be with Mekorama is engaged with its ultimately well designed levels, be they focused on puzzles, platforming, precision, or a combination of the three. Mekorama is hardly a game that will make a lasting impression, but it's one that's a nice time-waster for the experience that it does deliver.

[SPC Says: C+]

A review code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Runbow (NSW, PS4) Review

Earlier today, I posted the Review Round-Up for June 2018. I say, let's not waste any time by posting the first review for July! It's for a game I was quite enthusiastic about on the Wii U, it's Runbow! Here's my review of the Nintendo Switch version, though the PS4 is also mentioned.

Taste the Runbow

Originally a Wii U exclusive, Runbow has thankfully branched out and hit several other platforms, most recently, the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. Why "thankfully"? More people than ever before get to experience the wacky, wild, colorful wonder that brings hectic multiplayer mayhem that Runbow consistently delivers to players. Now, that the audience for Runbow is no longer limited to a struggling console, many more gamers around the world can finally get a taste of the Runbow.

Runbow is a chaotic 2D platformer where the goal is to complete the objective of each level without dying. Most of the time it's as "simple" as reaching the trophy at the end of the level. Other times, Runbow asks of you to collect a certain number of coins or defeat a specific amount of enemies. I put "simple" in quotes because Runbow has a highly creative mechanic to it that makes rushing through its levels to complete one of its three objectives far more challenging than it otherwise would be.

As you run through levels, the level's background every handful of seconds swipes its way to a different color on a consistent basis. For example, platforms that are orange and solid on a blue background disappear by sight and by touch when an orange background slides into view. Different levels offer a varying range and speed of colors being swiped, making for some truly tricky platforming.

Guest character Shantae from her titular Wayforward-developed
series leads a cavalcade of characters through this blazing cavern.

Runbow is easy to control, giving you access to a basic assortment of moves: a jump which can turn into a double jump, a normal punch to attack enemies when a normal bounce on the head just won't do, a rocket punch that can propel you upward for extra height or to the left or right for extra distance, as well as butt stomp to smash through floors and to defeat certain types of enemies. Sometimes I would find myself entering a double jump too quickly, resulting in deaths that I didn't feel were my complete fault, but when the game allows you infinite tries, it's a minor frustration.

The main Adventure mode sees you going through nearly 150 levels of color-swapping, platforming goodness, and these take place on one of four different, interconnected grids. You start at the bottom left corner, and as you complete levels, the spaces adjacent open up, allowing you to play them. Some levels are more difficult than others, with green levels being the easiest and red being the hardest. The nonlinear way you can go about picking levels makes it so if a particular levels is finding you frowning at its challenging, you can select an alternate one to attempt. Of course, completionists will want to complete every grid space and level possible--all the while looking to beat the top target time in order to earn three medals on each level.

Neither spikes nor enemies will stop our crew from reaching our prized trophy!

Medals are but one way to unlock a seemingly endless amount of content that Runbow has to offer. From over 15 guest characters from various indie games like Shovel Knight, SteamWorld Dig, Hyper Light Drifter, Freedom Planet, Shantae, Mutant Mudds, Azure Striker Gunvolt, The Fall, and more, to concept artwork and new costumes, Runbow is packed with more goodies inside than a pot of gold. Completing in-game achievements such as beating Adventure Mode, playing 10 multiplayer games, perform 10 butt stomps in one game, among others, unlocks new content, so you're essentially always unlocking something to keep you playing--which is no problem as the gameplay should do that for you by itself.

Outside of the Adventure Mode that can be played with friends cooperatively (or competitively as it sometimes was in the levels I played) there are three multiplayer modes available for local or online matches. Up to nine players locally can engage in a match, and for Nintendo Switch owners, this is made much easier than the Wii U original, where you needed to link controllers together just to play. Just with one JoyCon by itself, you have two controllers already accessible to you. I can only imagine that the PlayStation 4 version is a little tougher to rustle up multiple controllers to play locally, but thankfully, as stated, online is very much an option where on both platforms up to nine players can compete.

Modes in multiplayer include Run, Arena, and King of the Hill. Run is as simple as it sounds, having players rush from the start of a level to its end. The first player to nab the trophy at the goal is the victor. Arena is a survival mode where opponents fight to be the last one standing in one of multiple battlefields with varying hazards and power-ups in play. Finally, King of the Hill tasks players with taking command of a stationary point for seven seconds. You don't have to stand in the hill for seven concurrent seconds, just seven total. It can get insanely competitive and wild seeing players duke it out for the hill, smashing one another out of the way as they vie, however futile it is, to capture the hill for themselves.

This arena is only big enough for Juan player--Me!

Finally, for solo players, there's the ultimate challenge in Runbow that has you entering a colossal monster known as the Bowhemoth. This is an endurance run of the game's hardest levels, and you play through them one after the other. A tally keeps track of your deaths, and for those seeking a true trial, they can attempt to get the in-game achievement and unlockable goody of beating the mode with 10 deaths or less, or in 20 minutes. Either way, you're in for a stiff challenge with no way to save your progress until the very end.

The digital versions of Runbow on the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 do not include the DLC of the Deluxe Edition. Those are included in the physical release coming at the end of the month, but need to purchased separately for digital downloaders. I didn't get to try the DLC out on the Nintendo Switch build I was playing, as it will be available at launch on Tuesday before the date this review was published. If the content is just as good as the Wii U's Deluxe Edition, then I believe it's worth buying, as it's a fair amount of content added to the Runbow package for those who are enjoying the game and want to experience even more fun that it has to offer.

The latest ports of Runbow mean that the game gets an wider audience, and that excites me. Not only was Runbow an incredibly good game on the Wii U, where it originally exclusively launched to a much smaller audience, but it definitely needs to be played by more people to catch Runbow fever. Between the clever color-swiping mechanic, the charming presentation with satisfying salsa and mambo music played on top of it, brilliant and challenging level design, nearly perfect controls, and a multitude of content to unlock, Runbow will colorize and brighten up your library, regardless of which console you get ready to Runbow on.

[SPC Says: A-]

Review code provided by Headup Games.

Piczle Lines DX (NS) Review

Piczle Lines DX released yesterday on the Nintendo Switch eShop. If you enjoy puzzle games with a lot of content, then you'll want to check this review out!

I picked a pack of Piczle-d puzzles.

Plenty of mobile games on smartphones and tablets have found their way on to the Nintendo Switch eShop recently. The majority were executed quite well. I can now add Piczle Lines DX to that list as well. With some similarities to Picross and online games like Pic-a-Pix, Piczle Lines DX adds some of its own originality into the puzzle genre while including heaps of content to keep players busy.

The rules of Piczle Lines DX are relatively simple. You begin with a square grid which at the easiest puzzles starts at 16 x 16 while later puzzles increase the size and complexity by up to 128 x 128. A series of numbers are sprinkled about the grid. Your goal is to connect similar numbers and the same color as one another to create a final image.

Hmm... This looks like quite the meaty puzzle!

Oh, no wonder! The end result is a savory and delicious hamburger!

It may seem basic at first--and that's because it is--but the greater of size the puzzles become with higher numbers to contend with, you have to plan much more accordingly. It's generally not a good idea to take on the highest numbers first, as it's all too easy to create a blockade between other needed connections of numbers. Therefore, starting off with the 2s, 3s, and 4s is best recommended, as those numbers generally have similar line patterns to draw, especially the 2s which are always right next to one another. By creating a baseline of the easiest to solve numbers, you can then move on to higher numbers before finally tackling double digit numbers.

Who's a cute pixelated puppy? Why, you are! Yes, you are!

Piczle Lines DX contains two major modes--Story and Puzzle. Story mode puts you as the young daughter of a professor. The professor just invented a contraption that can turns everyday objects into 8-bit wonders a la pixel art. Barely being able to contain herself, the daughter accidentally breaks the device, turning every object in the game's five worlds into pixels. Thus, you need to solve 20 puzzles in each of the five worlds, in a linear order, to return the objects back from their pixelated selves into tangible objects once again. Story mode eases you into Piczle Lines DX by introducing easy enough puzzles, taking but a minute or two tops. As you progress, the puzzles become more complex, complicated, and requiring more time and thought.

This is unlike Puzzle mode which thrusts you directly into the puzzle-solving action. Here, you choose whichever puzzle category and puzzle you want. The simple Sports category has the smallest and simplest puzzles to solve while categories like Dinosaurs offer the largest puzzle sizes in the entire game, taking a huge chunk of one's time to complete.

Have your brain jump right into the puzzle-solving fun with the Puzzle mode.

In total, between the Story and Puzzle modes, 320 individual puzzles of various sizes to solve. The original Piczle Lines released on mobile devices as a free-to-play game with an extremely limited amount of puzzles. While the Switch version requires a $14.99 price of entry, you're actually getting all of the costly DLC from the mobile version that would add up to the Switch price of the game. That includes future DLC that will be free for Switch owners (unlike the mobile original), so that makes the price difference between versions much more understandable and a bigger deal.

The issue, though, is that, for me, even with all of its puzzles, Piczle Lines DX becomes quickly repetitive. Yes, the puzzles do get harder, but this is more because the square sizes blow up exponentially. It merely makes each puzzle take immensely larger amounts of time to complete them--some of which up to an hour or so. If I'm already unable to really enjoy the game for long periods of time with smaller puzzles, then why would I want to move on to puzzles with a greater size?

One thing that doesn't come with a caveat is the control of Piczle Lines DX. Offering Joycon options or the ability to use the touch screen to connect lines, either way of play delivers solid control. You can even combine the two in undocked mode if you like to connect lines while panning around the puzzle with the left Joycon. Of course, you can do this with swiping at the sides of the Switch screen to move the camera around, as well as zoom in and out by pinching the touch screen, much like you would on a mobile device.

Piczle Lines DX also has a solid enough presentation. Story mode brings up comic book-like panels at the start and end of each world, and when pixel puzzles are solved, the objects get brought to life in the current world "hub" of sorts. Square grids are beaming with color, and it's always a joy to see all of your work on a puzzle turn into a beautiful 8-bit piece of pixel art. Unfortunately, with regards to the music, there is really just a couple of tracks of note, and both are similar to one another, merely adding more accompaniment. Hearing the same song over and over again while attempting to solve puzzle after puzzle in the game only added to my previously mentioned feeling of repetition with the game.

For its limited faults and mild occasions of repetition felt, overall, Piczle Lines DX's gameplay basics are premise are enough to bring plenty of joy to the game. With no pressure in the form of timers or ability to fail puzzles, Piczle Lines DX is a game that brought me a nice form a relaxation and lovely feeling of comfort. It's a game that won't push your mind over the edge into frustration, nor will it come across as a waste of money when you reap the rewards regarding all of the content Piczle Lines DX has with its 320 unique puzzles.

[SPC Says: B-]

Review code provided by Rainy Frog.