Universal PictoQuest (by NanoPiko & Plug In Digital)

Discussion in 'iPhone and iPad Games' started by metalcasket, Feb 3, 2020.

  1. phred

    phred Well-Known Member

    Mar 21, 2010
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    I picked this up and it is pretty fun. I wish it didn't have timers. I like solving these puzzles at my own pace.
     
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  2. stubbieoz

    stubbieoz Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2015
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    This is what is stopping me from getting it.

    I hate timers in games..... at my age I’m slowing down.... not speeding up. :confused:
     
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  3. anthony78

    anthony78 Well-Known Member

    Nov 13, 2015
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    From what I’ve played (19% through) the timers are only on bonus levels - not the main ones. You can avoid them and still progress.
     
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  4. AltsKev

    AltsKev Well-Known Member

    Nov 12, 2016
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    same for me, i think when game get timer, its because its too easy, and the timer can help for make the game less easy.

    But i am like you, i prefer turn by turn.
     
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  5. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    I’m the same I don’t enjoy timers in any kind of game. But honestly so far this is fine, the bonus levels have timers but don’t really matter and so far haven’t been that hard anyway.

    The levels where your fighting monsters their attack bar keeps filling up the longer you take so you can’t take too much time but it seems generous so far.

    Plus overall it seems that with it being a premium game there isn’t really any downside to losing. You can just play the level again so it’s pretty stress free.
     
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  6. Anotherkellydown

    Anotherkellydown Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Bronze

    Using the arrows to navigate the map is a little fiddly - would be nice to just swipe in the direction you want to move. Not a huge deal, just something that might make things more intuitive. Having said that, I realize you can tap on a spot to move there but I keep wanting to swipe a direction.

    That minor thing aside, I’m enjoying this quite a bit. 21% of the way through. I’m still on the 10x10 puzzles so I can see this getting pretty intense when the boards get larger later on.

    Fighting the enemies adds a sense of urgency - knowing you have to fill in parts of the puzzle or they will attack makes things more interesting. I didn’t think I’d like that at first but it’s a nice mechanic and adds variety to the picross genre. Managing healing and bonus items is cool too.
     
  7. TrencH

    TrencH Well-Known Member
    Patreon Gold

    Mar 29, 2013
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    Tried it and deleted. I am absolutely not a fan of timers in any of it. A cup of coffee and taking my time to solve a puzzle with out the pressure cooker effect of timers is much more relaxing and fun. I did enjoy the graphics and sound/music. The art was very charming. Just absolutely hate being rushed. I have enough of that going on with the rest of my life.
     
  8. Tucker

    Tucker Active Member

    Nov 14, 2009
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    People are saying it's only the bonus levels that have timers, is this correct?
     
  9. metalcasket

    metalcasket Moderator
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    May 24, 2010
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    Explicit timers? Yeah, it's just the bonus levels. That said, the regular levels against enemies are pretty much on figurative timers too since taking too long ensures you'll keep losing life and will eventually die. Yes, you're under pressure most of the time in the game, but time is doled out rather generously.

    It must be said rather clearly though, this isn't a relaxing picross game.
     
  10. L.Lawliet

    L.Lawliet Well-Known Member

    Jun 28, 2011
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    Not sure how I missed this but this company makes the best quality games of this kind. Now an RPG-ish variation sounds amazing!

    I *might* be getting an Android soon so it's hard to hold back on buying things now.... :(
     
  11. phred

    phred Well-Known Member

    Mar 21, 2010
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    Yeah. I prefer my picross to be more like a crossword puzzle and handle it at my own pace. Some of the later bonus puzzles are hard for me, and I always run out of time. When the numbers start getting sparse, my brain seems to slow down.
     
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  12. anthony78

    anthony78 Well-Known Member

    Nov 13, 2015
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    For those that don’t like the timers, they’ve added a Zen Mode where you can’t fail in the latest update.
     
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  13. metalcasket

    metalcasket Moderator
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    May 24, 2010
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    Yeah, this update as a whole is just everything. Quality of Life at its finest. Now all this needs is iCloud support and (if the devs are up for an insane amount of reworking [mostly the map?]) portrait support and this will be literally perfect.
     
  14. slewis7

    slewis7 Well-Known Member

    Apr 6, 2011
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    I am at 25% and really enjoying the game, playing with timers. I do not think it would be challenging enough without timers, but I very much appreciate the developer adding an option to remove them.

    Great game!
     
  15. stubbieoz

    stubbieoz Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2015
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    This sounds positive and might be what I need to hit that buy button.

    Exactly what does it do though?
    Does it remove the timers in the bonus levels or does it mean the enemy wont attack you in the normal levels or both? :D
     
  16. stubbieoz

    stubbieoz Well-Known Member

    Jun 23, 2015
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    It says Free in TA’s Hot Games list, but is $6.99 in the Aussie AppStore.

    It’s probably a typo..... or is it actually free somewhere?
     
  17. Boardumb

    Boardumb Administrator
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    Apr 14, 2009
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    It is a bug with the Hot Games list. It does that for games that were available for pre-order. I've let our web dev know but not sure how fixable it is.
     
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  18. BlueTrin

    BlueTrin Well-Known Member

    Jun 21, 2012
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    The ending wasn’t very good ...
     
  19. ste86uk

    ste86uk Well-Known Member

    May 9, 2012
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    Honestly I’m not expecting it to be the whole story or anything with the game other than the puzzles and graphics are pretty lacklustre.
     
  20. Remote_

    Remote_ Well-Known Member
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    May 26, 2011
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    I love Picross games, but this was over a bit too quickly for my liking. Graphics were okay, music not bad, but the progression was a little obvious.

    And I never once even came near needing to buy anything from the shop as I was never close to dying. It felt like a bit of an afterthought, really.

    Overall it wasn't too bad, but hardly the best out there.

    Shame as I was looking forward to it.
     

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