Pixel Puzzles Ultimate Review (Kijame)
It was enjoyable for me for a good while, casually puzzling away - until a big UI update happened that broke a few things. Some of which may have been fixed by now, I suppose. But I don't know how to describe it, I'm not generally against changes per se; something just took away my enthusiasm with the new update. I've been crawling my way through the packs I have already purchased to try and get as close to 100% as I can. But I also realized over time that this game is going to be an achievement hunter's nightmare because even if you finished it a year ago, new DLC will keep coming and coming and coming... And then you'll have to decide, can you deal with having -1 perfect game, previously completed, or will you buy the new DLC? And if so, will you wait for a discount or get it asap to get that +1 back?
Don't get me wrong, a game constantly and consistently updating is generally a good thing. New challenges now and then, for a game that is, at its core, free, what's not to like? I guess I'm just suffering from exhaustion at the thought of never being able to catch up. Games like Age of Empires II can be hella grindy with their achievements (I didn't get those 400+ hours for naught) but at least the end is in sight. There is a finite goalpost.
If I could give it a neutral review, I'd do that, but right now I'm more inclined to recommend against it than for it - from the perspective of someone who likes to wrap things up and get that 100%. If not having all achievements is not a problem for you, then by all means, give it a shot. You can unlock more than the initial freebies thanks to rewards for challenge puzzles, and I recommend waiting for a triple gold month if you really wanna make the most out of F2P, since you get triple rewards for regular completions which means you'll be able to unlock stuff faster as well. The new UI isn't all bad and if you haven't started this game prior to the update you might even wonder what the issue is. There's definitely some QoL improvements made. Me, I'm probably falling hook line and sinker for the sunk cost fallacy and keep going, haha. Fingers cross I 100% it one day, or at least that I 100% the packs that I've already purchased.
One nitpick I have is that I've seen some of the images in the dev's other puzzle games. I distinctly remember finishing a Challenge or Flash Puzzle with a certain purple-hued butterfly image either here or in the Traditional PP game, and later discovering the same image but in different hue in one of the DLC packs. I couldn't tell you which came first. And I think it happened with other images as well but after a while you do kinda lose track I suppose.
From what I understand there is currently only one dev, so I don't mean to be too harsh. Like I said, if I could I'd give a neutral recommendation.
Wish me luck in accumulation however many extra hours it may take to wrap this up. I'm currently not quite there yet, haha.