Puppy Cross Review (wbthvohp)
I really wish this game was longer.
I wish the game had more long-lasting content, because by the time I finished everything 100% even after the cats dlc, I just felt sad and empty to move on from it. I was happy to even get the cats dlc, which was definitely enjoyable.
Honestly, I got this game and played through it at a time where my life has hit rock bottom and everything just feels awful. The sheer silly cuteness and sillyness and dogness of this game was a comfy comfort in that time. This is just a nice innocent little game, it feels like if you found a cheap eshop game on the nintendo 3ds or something and really liked it. Like, this game is a puppy.
The little shiba inu that talks to you and smiles in the interface if you get a good row or column, that's awesome. And the cat version is cool too. The dalmation representing the infinite mode looks a little bit like satoru iwata somehow, hehe. The music has this indie nintendo chiptune feel to it, which feels really cute and innocent and likable; like in one of the puzzle themes there's a few notes that are clearly off tune like a bit sharp I think, but it still fits the not-taking-itself-too-seriously vibe of the music and overall game. It's also neat to decorate everything and just be silly with it and pet the cute doggies and cattos.
So if you're into that kind of stuff, and if you find 5x5 to 20x20 picross to be a relaxing experience, then this could definitely also be a nice enjoyable game for you.
But honestly yeah, my main critique is just that I wish the game had a bit more content, cause it felt over too soon. 5x5 to 20x20 is on the easy side if you've played a buncha picross, and the game has a buncha quality-of-life features that make things go by even faster, like autofilling a complete row with X's. Maybe the game could have used some 25x25 to 40x40 puzzles like in other puzzle games, I dunno. Or like a dozen more level packs.
And my secondary critique of the game is that there's not enough interactivity with the doggios. Everything is honestly decorative, only really being tied to a few achievements if you try to figure out different decoration combinations for just that sake. But there's no sort of puzzle element, or rpg element, or cute little story progression with cute doggy characters, or sim element, all stuff I think could have made the dog stuff more nicely substantial. Hopefully if the developers have any ambitions to make a sequel they can make Puppy Picross Adventure or Puppy Puzzle Playground or Picross Puppy Life.
That aside though, it's gonna be sad returning to a life without Puppy Cross. The other picross games with more picross content dont have this level of cute puppy charm. My life is still in the dumps and everyday feels awful and this innocent happy little game definitely helped stave some of it off. So hopefully Puppy Cross gets more content updates or such. By the way, the dalmation mode definitely does not help replayability either. This is where I think rpg elements or story elements or like an inventory and shop and reward system with items could have helped add more to the game, because there's honestly no incentive to complete dalmation puzzles except a 50 and 100 puzzle achievement, which can easily be grinded at the 5x5 level either way (and I wish the game visually kept track of the puzzles completed towards this achievement too).
Either way though, I'm thankful I came across this game and had the chance to play it. Thank you Puppy Cross devs for making this little cute happy innocent silly game.