Good puzzle games are hard to come by. As game budgets skyrocket and attention becomes increasingly concentrated on the Metal Gear Solids and the Halos of the world, it’s not surprising that we haven’t seen a lot of focus on puzzle gaming over the past decade or so… at least, until the downloadable games revolution fell upon us just a few years ago. Since then, we’ve seen an unexpected and rejuvenating resurgence of creative game ideas that rely not on glitz and glamour but instead on solid, fresh gameplay concepts.
Pictobits is the product of this environment. It’s a simple concept: a twist on the ever-familiar falling block puzzle format that incorporates the touch interface and spices up the formula with some charming 8-bit cameos. But what makes Pictobits such a success is its madly addictive quality; at first, it seems almost insurmountably difficult, but with a little persistence, you begin to grasp the basic concept and become increasingly (and surprisingly) adept at identifying your next string of moves as you play. As the game progresses and the puzzles become more and more challenging and chaotic, it’s ever more satisfying when you finally prevail after dozens of tries—and you sit back, dumfounded by the realization that you just completed something that just a half an hour ago seemed wholly impossible. Oh, and did I mention it’s just five bucks?
Buy this game
Right now, Pictobits isn’t gathering much attention. Heck, we didn’t even get the game for review; I’m writing this entirely of my own accord. But if you’re the type of person who appreciates a good falling-block puzzle experience, Pictobits is right up your alley. And if you’re a gamer of 20-some years (or at least in touch with your 8-bit side), you’ll absolutely adore the presentation.
This is how it goes: You first select your level, which determines the theme and style of the puzzle (for instance, there are Mario levels, Zelda levels, Wrecking Crew, and so on). Then, you are immediately introduced to a few lines of multicolored blocks at the bottom of the screen while masses of additional blocks fall from the sky. Your goal is not to clear the screen, but instead to build an 8-bit character on the top screen with the colored pixel blocks you match. Each and every block is visibly sent to the top screen to form whatever character about whom the current level is themed, and accordingly, the (fantastic) 8-bit chiptune soundtrack builds and builds with your progress (the classic remixes are badass).
How do you match these blocks? By tapping individual pixel blocks on the bottom screen—which adds them to a finite stack displayed on the left side of the screen—and then unloading them one-by-one by tapping in empty space wherever you choose. The key is to arrange the blocks you move in such a fashion that the falling pieces match at least four blocks at a time of each different color. This will result in a momentary pause of the action (a crucial pause, by the way, as the puzzles become increasingly more difficult) and, subsequently, the disappearance of the matched blocks, after which they are sent to the top screen to build on whatever 8-bit character is needing completion.
Then the rest of the colored blocks in that particular mass where the match took place fall quickly to the bottom. If you can manage to string additional matches onto this falling piece, each one multiplies the number of blocks sent to the top screen (this is the addictive and frantic combo system), and if you manage to delete all of the blocks in a mass, you receive a coin.
Coins hold multiple uses, which we’ll get to in a moment. First, let’s talk about what happens if you get into trouble. Pictobits is a totally unforgiving and unapologetic experience; if and when the blocks pile up, you will find no remorse from the game apart from a single POW button you can tap to remove three lines from the bottom of the screen and send all blocks tumbling into any opens spaces which remain (even those which are currently falling). This is helpful and even necessary in later stages, but it’s also undesirable for a couple of different reasons. One, it eliminates any chance you might have had of matching those blocks as they fall and sending them to the top screen to compile the character. Even worse, however, it also removes one of the spaces in your pickup stack to the left. That means that each hit of the POW results in one fewer block you can carry simultaneously. There is one way to reverse this penalty, though: spend five coins (earned by clearing falling masses in their entirety or by matching special coin blocks) and you can buy back a previously lost spot in your stack.
No rest for puzzle fans
Fifteen challenging puzzles await you in Pictobits, followed by an additional fifteen “Dark” Puzzles. Some of these are simply nasty—so difficult you’ll swear you will never complete them (but you will). For instance, just wait until you reach the fight with Ganon, which presents you with seemingly neverending solid-core masses of blocks, left to right, with no open spaces. In order to survive, you’ll have to place blocks all the way across the screen in the precise locations necessary to clear each progressive line of these masses… and it’s actually impossible to get all the way through one of them (just try to clear even three lines of it, in fact). So, you’re then stuck with some of the Ganon sprite on the top screen assembled and a whole mess of multicolored hell on the bottom screen… and what comes next? What else—more blocks! This level alone seems just plain unconquerable at first, and it’ll probably take you many dozens of tries to complete it.
But that’s the beauty of Pictobits: it’s accessible, it’s intuitive, and yet it’s massively challenging all at once. As you play, you will develop a natural sense for the combos system, depositing blocks in just the right pattern to reach a huge multiplier and sending shocking amounts of melodically-represented blocks pitter-pattering on the top screen. You’re guaranteed to smile when this happens and you find yourself having completed an insanely difficult puzzle… and at that point, the game will quite obviously be worth the five dollars you paid for it.
Room for growth
While I fully expect, based on the unfortunate sales in the first few weeks of its availability, that this will be the only entry in the Pictobits series, it would be great to see another installment which builds on the foundation we have here. Some things that would have been nice (but which are sorely absent) are any sort of multiplayer and some form of leaderboard functionality. As of yet, we’ve got no online component at all and nothing for more than a single player to experience (unless you’re into comparing scores with your buddies). It’d also be awesome to see more franchises represented, such as Metroid and Kid Icarus.
Still, that doesn’t by any means discount what’s already here for such a reasonable price. If you’re a puzzle fanatic, you’d be remiss to pass on this one. Spend the nominal fee for Pictobits and start working on your next addiction today.