Having always been a huge fan of the Picross puzzle series, appreciating its specific mix of strategy and what’s usually some cute pixel art as well, it’s been great to see a new one pop up more than once a year typically. Thankfully they’ve not all been the same, since while they do tend to have a new numbered entry in the series every year they’ve also tended to have yearly collections that have deviated from the norm in some way. This has typically been a matter of pairing up with some other license to make a variant that will usually feature different puzzles, music, and presentation.

Without a doubt, Juufuutei Raden's Guide for Pixel Museum falls into that category, as it stylistically goes in a very different direction from the overall series. You won’t be playing this co-op with your friends or family, and there aren’t the alternative versions to check out like Mega Picross or Color Picross, this is a strictly more traditional affair. The thing is, if you’re a fan who loves to be challenged by the puzzles in the series, this absolutely seems to be focused on that general direction. Even in some early puzzles you’ll face (assuming you go through them sequentially) the images will get larger, they won’t always be symmetrical, and you’ll need to use your deductive skills carefully to complete them. The multiple larger-scale works of art composed of multiple puzzles of all sorts of shapes and sizes even further tends to shatter any hope of looking for simple symmetry or patterns for guidance.

The game’s other greatest feature though, is its focus on art from all sorts of cultures and in all sorts of styles, and this is where the Pixel Museum element comes into play. While it can be fun to see how classic artworks can sometimes be reduced into representative pixelated pieces, the challenge is that so many of them are non-symmetrical and don’t tend to have traditionally sensible patterns, which will really make you lean on your Picross-solving skills at times. If you’re a true art fan the fact that you’re able to also dig deeper and get even more information about different pieces is also appealing, making it a true art fan’s dream of sorts. While this may be one of the most niche Picross offerings to date, its focus on art and dedication to giving so many classics their proper due in puzzle form makes it quite wonderful.