Needs Work! – Asian Riddles Review

Gameplay is ok, but this app has some serious flaws. First of all, the instructions are almost impossible to understand if you're not familiar with how these picross puzzles work. Once a puzzle is finished, it only stays on-screen for a few seconds, and I can't figure out what it is before its gone - the game never tells you what you made or even shows a thumbnail in the completed puzzles screen. You earn points, but they don't seem to be used for anything. Once I reached Level 6, the game kept telling me I had to complete the previous level, which I did. But I still couldn't go on. So I went back & got 3 stars on all puzzles. Nope. After much frustration, I discovered by accident that the next 2 levels are an in-app purchase. Sneaky! This would be fine, but it DOESN'T TELL YOU!! Last but not least, I don't like the layout of the controls. I hate having to tap to switch between marks and X'es, but putting the controls in the lower right corner is torture on my iPad. Lots of unnecessary moving back & forth of my stylus. The option to switch to the other side would be the least they could do.Mi made several mistakes because my hand was in the way of the selection box and I couldn't see that it didn't switch, or my hand or wrist bumped it and switched it for me. Two mistakes and you have to restart! Half the time I didn't realize I goofed, because there's no sound effect and the indicator is in the controls box, which is -guess where? - hidden under my hand! Things I do like: crossing out the clues when the boxes are marked! Getting points (IF they could be used for something... Hints maybe?). Trophies and "lives" - although ending abruptly after 2 errors is harsh. Sound effects, and the option to adjust sound & music separately. Nice artwork. Big puzzles! This game has potential to be great, but right now it's just barely ok. Lots of better options out there.
Review by Nofriendspls on Asian Riddles.