Without the practice of science, man would never have made it out of his beloved cave. We would still be bashing each other with clubs and starting fires (that’s how I imagine the cavemen behaved anyway).
But if there’s one thing for certain, it is that the world would be a much safer, and boring one, without mad scientists. You could say that all scientists were a little mad, but it’s the ones that conduct their experiments willy-nilly with little regard for their or others’ safety that categorise them as truly mad.
With that in mind, this is the reason why we find ourselves here; science has created a rather charming and unique puzzle title. At least, that is the story behind Piczle Lines DX, after a scientist creates a camera which pixelates items which it takes images of. The result? His world is pixelated and needs restoring by joining the pixels back up to make an image of his lost items before they are transformed back again.
A quick tutorial lays out the land for how the game works; each square has a colour and a number. Each referring to how many squares away its counterpart is of the same colour. Once matched together, the pixels make a complete picture which then restores the item back to the real world.
Of course, the early stages take place on a much smaller grid to get you familiar with the formula. Even then, some of the earlier stages can catch you unaware, making you backtrack and question your matches. I found that the best technique to employ is to try and find the easier pairings, such as the 2’s and 3’s, and also the outer edges. This way you can be certain these don’t need amending later on.
Piczle Lines makes use of the Switch’s dual functionality by allowing you to play in two different ways. Whilst docked, you can play with the Joy-Cons to navigate and select your pixel to manipulate. However whilst in tablet mode you can also play using the touchscreen which I found to be the most appealing and easiest method.
The game screams to me as a mobile game that is best suited to the Switch’s portable function and is great to play on the go or if you have a spare 10-15 minutes that needs filling. There are 100 levels in story mode to complete, with a further 200+ in puzzle mode to keep you going. Periodic updates will supply you with new levels free of charge should you exhaust the existing catalogue.
It’s a saving grace really that there are more levels to come as at £13.99 it seems a little steep to me. It’s fantastic to see that new games are coming to the Switch, tapping into its potential mobile market, but I feel that this may just be out of most people’s price range. If you fancy something new, however, and want to support what could be a flourishing indie scene on Switch, then Piczle Lines DX does come recommended.
