Piczle Cross Adventure
Piczle Cross Adventure
Game
Game2020
PictoQuest
Developer NanoPiko
Logic puzzles with a light RPG twist, here comes PictoQuest! From the Steam store page
203 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Oct 21, 2026 · last updated Oct 22, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
76
LovedLoved
141 positive · 44 negative
95% range 70–82%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 141 | 44 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 8 | 1 | 6 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
359 of 440 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
76% recommend · 142 yes, 44 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 186 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (513 of 622 positive).
The RPG elements are light and the story is often skipped. [1][2][3] The game is considered good value, especially on sale. [4][3][5]
Liked
Representative posts
- [12]
I can see from the negative reviews that a lot of nonogram players don't like being forced to play against a timer. To be honest, for me that is fine, I don't mind a challenge. But what really puts me off is the penalty for a mistake. And I am not talking about making a calculation mistake but rather an input error. Even if you mark the wrong square by mistake and you know its a mistake and want to rectify it …
- [11]
I beat the game. When playing picross games, I like to take my time. It's a relaxing game. But this game makes it time based. If I take too long, I lose health. The game is no longer relaxing and quite stressful. Therefore I don't recommend this type of game. I'll still give it a thumbs up even though it's not the type of game for me. I was able to beat the final boss.
- [4]
Fun Picross game. Well worth it especially if bought on sale with the amount of puzzles. I've been playing this daily for 2 weeks around lunch break & evening on steam deck and finally completed it today. Puzzles are a mix of combat (timed) and chest (will drain your gold if you guess too many incorrect tiles). Some of the combat-themed puzzles took a few attempts for me to complete since sometimes I didn't balance …
- [2]
Pretty fun Nonogram game that sort of pretends to be partly RPG but it's not really. The puzzles themsleves are well made, there's always a pretty obvious next move so you never have to think too hard - but you also have items to help you, just in case you can't spot the next move, though I hardly ever used them. The story is just nonsense, I skipped pretty much all of it after the first few encounters because it's …
- [1]
I enjoyed the idea and the majority of the puzzles. There's really no RPG element other than it seems like you're on a quest and you can use items. But you don't level up or have stats. While I enjoyed the puzzles, I disliked the "rush" element of battling and just felt like it took the fun out of working through the game. (I get it's part of the premise, but still.) Still worth a recommend if you need a good batch …
Summarised from 34 of the 205 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
76% of the 186 Steam reviewers we collected recommend PictoQuest. The complaint that keeps coming up: timed combat makes the game stressful. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 203 · most liked firstI can see from the negative reviews that a lot of nonogram players don't like being forced to play against a timer. To be honest, for me that is fine, I don't mind a challenge. But what really puts me off is the penalty for a mistake. And I am not talking about making a calculation mistake but rather an input error. Even if you mark the wrong square by mistake and you know its a mistake and want to rectify it immediately, you are already penalised. At the earlier levels when it is 5x5 grid,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I beat the game. When playing picross games, I like to take my time. It's a relaxing game. But this game makes it time based. If I take too long, I lose health. The game is no longer relaxing and quite stressful. Therefore I don't recommend this type of game. I'll still give it a thumbs up even though it's not the type of game for me. I was able to beat the final boss.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PictoQuest is a free mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a paid product, as if it was a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. This mobile app is a barebones nonogram game. Nonograms are simple Sudoku like puzzles, where you deduce from the clues you're given which cells on a grid need to be coloured in and which ones don't. Deduce all the right answers and you get a little pixel image as the result. That's all there is to it. You can play these games…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoy picross very casually, and this was on sale, so I thought why not. Well. First of all, I dislike that this has the verified badge. On every launch, there is a settings window which you can't get past with controller. Sure, you only have to hold down the steam button and click on OK, but that's not verified for me when other games don't get it for lesser transgressions. Anyway. The game. It started out fun enough. Walk along a line, each node is a picross. Once it's solved, there's a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hello fellow tiny indie enthusiast! Here are a few I hold dear: [Beyond All Reason](https://www.beyondallreason.info/) - FOSS RTS game about robots destroying each other. Pick one of 3 factions and build up your army to crush the opposition. Great for multiplayer co-op or PvP, even has modes to face off against boss factions. Surprisingly robust and balanced. [PictoQuest](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1014040/PictoQuest/) - Picross is a pretty niche genre, but it's a very rewarding…
neutral · AI labelView post →Fun Picross game. Well worth it especially if bought on sale with the amount of puzzles. I've been playing this daily for 2 weeks around lunch break & evening on steam deck and finally completed it today. Puzzles are a mix of combat (timed) and chest (will drain your gold if you guess too many incorrect tiles). Some of the combat-themed puzzles took a few attempts for me to complete since sometimes I didn't balance the timing in between correctly triggering rows & columns so I get hit a lot or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was very excited when I first came across this game because I love pictocross puzzles. It was such a big disappointment to find out the primary method this game uses for difficulty is the dreaded timer. Timers are a lazy way to add difficulty. I was hoping for a something a bit more clever. The timer isn't even hard, it's just there ensuring you can't take a sip of tea until you beat the entire level.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey y'all, this shit slaps. Definitely give this a demo if you like Picross (or Squeakross or Pictoquest or any other nonogram games). Honestly if the full game dropped the way it is but with more puzzles, it would still easily be a top nonogram game on Steam. I might recommend it over Picross!
positive · AI labelView post →the combat mechanic made the puzzles stressful when nonograms are something i take time with. I resorted to just taking pictures when i got to 1 heart so i could start back up where i left off. once you get to a point it's hard to actually use logic to find where pieces go especially when you're on a time limit. It would be a fun puzzle game without that.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PictoQuest is a nonogram puzzle game ranging from 5x5 puzzles all the way to 20x20 puzzles. The UI is really clean and I love the art style of the whole game, with the addition of the shop. Some of the puzzles were time-based which could be quite challenging. Definitely recommended!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The use of "combat" giving you damage if you are careful with filling out nonograms and take time to count squares makes me less logical with my nonos, which feels like it defeats the purpose of such a puzzle. The path is linear, which is frustrating if you'd like to try a different one, or have choices. The patterns are based on shapes which often feel very contrived, compared to PiczleCross Adv.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked this game until I launched it for a second time, and was stuck at an infinite loading screen. I went to check my save file and it was completely empty.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not so much a negative review as a mixed review. The nonograms are all pretty easy, and the overall quest with items and monster battles is at about a zero in terms of difficulty level. Some of the dialog is pretty charming, though.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I enjoyed the idea and the majority of the puzzles. There's really no RPG element other than it seems like you're on a quest and you can use items. But you don't level up or have stats. While I enjoyed the puzzles, I disliked the "rush" element of battling and just felt like it took the fun out of working through the game. (I get it's part of the premise, but still.) Still worth a recommend if you need a good batch of new nonograms to solve.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unfortunately, I don't think this game is very good, although the description sounded very interesting. Since your health gets reset to full after every puzzle, it means that there is a ton of leeway for making mistakes. I beat the game without losing once (which meant I had to lose on purpose 10 times for my final achievement), despite purposely rushing things and filling in incorrect squares constantly. There is certainly some potential in how it does Picross combat. The game is at its…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nonograms aren't meant to be a speedrun. From the nonograms perspective huge QoL things that are missing are auto-strike for completed lines and pencil marks (PictoQuest only allows you to either fill the cell or put an X in it). RPG elements are intrusive via animations and at some point started clearing already filled cells. You have health which "drains" over time via enemy attacks and as such you are forced to distract yourself with it and use in-game items like health potions to prolong…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you liked puzzles with a time limit this might be for you but I can't stand that mechanic for nonograms. Overall I liked the presentation and was looking forward to this with the overall story and cute art. The pressure to complete things in a timely fashion kills all the fun for me. Requested my refund of $0.79 cents after buying it on sale in the same day.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like nonograms, but the RPG elements added turn this into more of an action game than a puzzler. Not for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The hardest achievement to get was definitely "I'll be back".
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to enjoy this but found it way too harsh. With the cute art + the tagline "PictoQuest is an addictive game for everyone" I was expecting to be a lot more lenient than it was. But, there were no hint feature, and there were essentially two type of monsters you could meet: Ones where if you miss you loose gold, and ones where if you miss you loose health. Gold isn't so bad, but the heart ones were brutal. Got attacked when missing, got attacked if taking too long and with only 3…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am 32 years old. My ex-wife and I have a daughter together, and we adopted our son together. Both are now 4 years old. When we were going through our separation, I felt lost and unhappy. I was self-destructive. One day, I was so angry with everything spiraling out of control that I punched a concrete wall in a moment of overwhelming emotion. This resulted in breaking my fifth metacarpal in my right hand—the hand I worked with, played games with, and used to carry my children to bed—the hand…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The problem with looking for simple, cozy games is you end up going through them VERY fast. Thus it is, I have completed Pictoquest: The Cursed Grids A nonogram game with very light RPG elements, I would have played it forever if I hadn't run out of levels.
positive · AI labelView post →This is a fun nonogram puzzle game. There's a story here but I honestly blew through it. There's not much for RPG elements aside from collecting money and getting items you can use to help solve puzzles. That being said, nonogram puzzles are fun and you can just jump right from one to the next.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've got a present for you all! Tonight we're going to be playing a game gifted to me! Some PictoQuest at 6 EST! I've got some Plum Wine so we're gonna get a little wild and giddy on stream! Puzzles and Drinking! What could go wrong?
neutral · AI labelView post →There are much better nonogram titles out there that are a better use of your time. No option to re-bind keys. No option to auto-strike empty spaces in completed lines. The game has an 'RPG' theme, so when you make mistakes, you take damage (at the start of the game, six hits would kill you / force you to retry the puzzle). But it only considers incorrectly filled spaces to be a mistake. It will let you incorrectly strike an empty space, which feels arbitrary and inconsistent and will trip…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The clue marking system is overly eager and greys out clues which are not yet surrounded by crosses. This constantly trips me up and forces me to go at a snails pace. If this was a different game, this might be a good thing, but PictoQuest IS about going fast. I would rather turn off any clue marking, but there are no gameplay options, only minimal display and sound settings.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stupid because of the stupid ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ timer. Instead of being able to go through the challenge of using your brain to figure out the nanogram puzzle, you get ♥♥♥♥♥♥ by ATB ♥♥♥♥ which ultimately ruins the entire experience completely. Right when i'm getting ready to finish the puzzle, my HP hits zero. Yeah no.. ♥♥♥♥ this game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty good picross game. Added combat mechanics give it a nice challenge on higher difficulty puzzles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's hard to recommend this game unless it's on deep discount and you're out of nonogram games to play. It attempts to spin the nonogram formula with some very, *very* light RPG elements, but they largely boil down to minor variations on the timers and time penalties of other titles in the genre. Moreover, it is heavily held back by the puzzles being extremely basic. Very little detail is rendered from the puzzle images, resulting in puzzles that are front-loaded with information and therefore…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was fun
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have to reccomend it considering it's only a dollar on sale. The main problem i have with it is the unneeded difficulty. It could have easily been fixed by having a less strict timer or having the enemies doing less damage. It makes the game take stressful which isn't normal for a picross game, but i can ignore it for the sake of meta progression!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's *fine* considering you can get it for less than £1 on sale. The monster designs and music are nice, but the levels are repetitive and the shop items are useless. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this over the thousands of free picross games on mobile.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like Picross games, this a wonderful little version to play through. While it's very simple in the long-run, the puzzles coupled with a very light RPG mechanic is a fun variant of the standard Picross you know and love. Got my money's worth, and if you're looking for a nice little diversion, it's well worth your time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PictoQuest, developed by NanoPiko and published by PID Games, is a colorful and inventive puzzle adventure that merges the traditional logic of nonogram puzzles with light RPG mechanics. It reimagines the familiar structure of picture-based grid solving into a charming fantasy world filled with quirky enemies, spells, and an overarching quest to save the land of Pictoria. At first glance, it seems like a simple puzzle title, but it stands out for how it injects personality and energy into what…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fairly good Picross game with a quaint and silly story. There are some typos, strange grammar, & minor graphical bugs but they add to the charm for me. The ability to quickly change & mute the music is great, preventing the tracks from getting too annoying to listen to on repeat. My biggest gripe is how long it takes for enemies to attack once their meter is full or when you make a mistake, waiting a few seconds when you were in a flow state isn't my favorite thing. Though I will admit, I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The time trials were a bit annoying but otherwise based picross.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Platinum 162 - PictoQuest Not much to say, just a fun little picross game. Easy platinum, though a few stages were quite difficult due to you fighting enemies and having health. #MegaPlatinumList #PlaystationTrophy #PlatinumTrophy #TrophyHunter
positive · AI labelView post →Pretty fun Nonogram game that sort of pretends to be partly RPG but it's not really. The puzzles themsleves are well made, there's always a pretty obvious next move so you never have to think too hard - but you also have items to help you, just in case you can't spot the next move, though I hardly ever used them. The story is just nonsense, I skipped pretty much all of it after the first few encounters because it's just pointless filler. The one major problem is the time limits. I thought this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game #2 of 2025 Finished - PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids (Nintendo Switch)
neutral · AI labelView post →This is a very serviceable picross game. If you are worried about the "timer", just don't. It's not so hard that it actually matters outside of 1 or 2 grids, and you can always use items if you need to. I had to loose on purpose 10 times in the end for the achievement, that's how "easy" it is. If you come, like me, from Pokemon Picross, and you've played without pokemon abilities or done the Thundurus blue force only grid 100%, this will be a walk in the park. And for beginners, it's fairly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PictoQuest is a simple, but interesting, rpg-themed game that has enough puzzles to for a few hours of gameplay. The price, especially when on sale, is really good for the content that you are getting. Some of the rules take a little getting used to - varying the attack timers takes a little finesse - but overall the game is straightforward. The items that can be used add a little to the quality of life, but you probably don't need them all that much. I do wish the story was a little more…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As an active fan of nonogram games, this one is fine. There's better options out there, but it's in no way bad. I like that all the art gets animated once the puzzles are completed, and the health systems and power ups are pretty unique. But it's pretty easy once you get the hang of the 20x20s. After I beat the game, I was hoping to unlock a mega-picross type of "hard mode", but there was no post-game. In fact, I looked through the achievements after beating the game, and noticed there was one…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It really deserves a neutral rating. If you're into this stuff it can be fun but I'd say Hatsune Miku Logic Paint S was better in about every way. The RPG elements seem like an interesting hook but can wear out their welcome when you're trying to quickly solve a 20x20 puzzle against 3 enemies. There are powerups, but if you're like me you want to hoard them and solve the puzzle yourself. Music/presentation are good, puzzles aren't bad, for $8 you could do a lot worse, but it really really…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Make 20 mistakes" and "Loose 10 times" (yes, that's how they spelled it) are stupid achievements. I shouldn't be incentivized or encouraged to fail at the game. So far the puzzles are boring but that's my fault for having played Picross before. The music and presentation overall are surprisingly good. Get it on sale, if you've never played Picross, or both. Don't be afraid to watch videos or look up help if you find this game's hints and tutorials lacking. Edit: There's also no option to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Puzzles were decent but the item system sucks. Items should damage/freeze the enemies so you can solve the puzzle, not solve the puzzle for you. The enemies are also pretty lame. Most levels are so easy that you can ignore the enemies entirely, but some levels have you getting hit every few seconds if you're not clearing a row/column. There's some promise in it though: a few levels have a really fun balance of solving the puzzle and switching enemy targets so they don't hit you, but those…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a picross fan, this game was short and cute and at a decent but not too hard difficulty and fairly easy to 100%. Highly rec if you're a picross lover! But if you're not a fan of timers, may not be the game for you, though the timers aren't brutal or anything. There's lots of leeway and you can always pause, but if you're into that mechanic, you might find this game meh. I liked it though, I still had enough leeway to stream and talk while picrossing. :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ugh, I should've listened to the naysayers. The RPG-ness isn't so much "light" as "nonexistent". You follow a fixed path from puzzle to puzzle earning gold to spend on a total of 6 types of items (five consumables and a life bar upgrade). No weapon or armor. No skills. No character arc. Only the absolute thinnest veneer of plot. I imagine there's some variety of enemies, but the timed nature of the puzzles means I don't so much as think of looking anywhere on the screen but a the puzzle once…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really cool puzzle game, but these puzzles are not supposed to be timed. :)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What recommendations do you have? I really enjoyed Pokemon Picross on the 3DS and PictoQuest on Steam.
neutral · AI labelView post →On a rating scale, this game is probably a 5 out of 10. It's one of the most mediocre games I've ever played. The RPG elements are almost non-existent, aside from a health bar, and the ability to get items (cheats, basically) using gold. You're on a timer, which may or may not appeal. I have enough nonogram experience in my gaming background that the timer was only a problem on the final boss, and I still won on the first try. The difficulty isn't the problem, though. Other nonogram games are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovely little gem for all ages. The adventure theme makes it addictive and the trophies just make it perfect. I really loved it and I can recommend it for anyone.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really boring and also only having 3 mistakes, especially for the much bigger boards that are harder to mark is not fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like picross / nonogram puzzles, this is worth a go. The biggest thing to consider, is that this game puts a timer on you, motivating you to not think too long about what you're doing. This may be a turn off for some. You'll be making more mistakes, but it's not too bad, as the puzzles aren't super hard in this one, and you've got items to offset those mistakes. I completed all the puzzles, and only had to retry one time, due to not keeping much attention. And I'm far from being a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PictoQuest: The Cursed Grids (2019) First game of 2026! It was very eh. The idea of a RPG w/ Picross combat could be neat, but the execution here is just not captivating at all. I didn't really engage with it nor the items. One boon it has tho is that the Picross art here really is incredible.
negative · AI labelView post →What you would expect from nonograms with a twist - mistakes or playing too slowly lead to losing HP or gold. When you finish a puzzle, the reward is an animated painting, which is a nice touch and brings a bit more life to the map. Some puzzles can be solved by following symmetry or intuition. The buff/debuff system could be clearer. This game is often on sale, so you might want to wait for a discount. Check steamDB for more info about that.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting game but sadly falls short as the attack meter on enemies makes the game feel like you need to rush rather than enjoy your time. The items are cool but the lack of upgrades other than health made the game stale rather quickly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, the game is only worth playing if you purchase it at 90% off. It's not one of the best picross games I've played, and it has flaws. For example, the boss battles are the easiest part of the game, and the limited time bonus item is annoying. Sometimes, the pixel art you solve doesn't give you any idea of what it could possibly be because it looks like it was created without much passion. I expected much more from the game, and I was disappointed after completing it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i like it :) i think maybe should have less intense option for people who dont like that like my pals but im cracked at picross so im okay :DD
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super adorable game with a fun little RPG twist! If you love puzzles especially pictogram/nonogram ones, you’ll feel right at home. It’s not too tricky if you’ve done these kinds of puzzles before, but it’s perfectly cozy and relaxing. The difficulty is just right for beginners too! Highly recommend for some chill puzzle time. Bonus - achievements are actually attainable without jumping through fire while solving puzzles blindfolded nonsense. 10/10 recommend for chill brain flexing.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a pretty basic picross/nonagram game, it's alright but not world-shattering
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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