[b]sep 2022 edit:[/b] halloween dlc out with 102 new puzzles, plus base game and dlc prices got raised. for all the content it's still not bad but the game+2dlc used to be 7ish eur until now.
[b]infinipicross 2.0[/b] is one of the best nonograms on the market. to be fair, there's not much competition on steam, as most games in the genre lack all sorts of necessary features, and while this isn't perfect either, at least the developers know what makes nonograms fun to solve.
they know nothing about designing a remotely acceptable user interface though. [b]the puzzle shouldn't be figuring out what the icons do in the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ menu.[/b] you know your game has a bad ui when a random player has to write an entire [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2182851131]manual[/url] for it, so skim it and configure the game to your liking. after choosing a [b]pleasant color scheme with the paintbrush icon[/b] and some practice with the controls, you're golden. [b]the too small ui in the top left corner won't really be an issue[/b] either, all you need is the mouse and a few hotkeys for bigger levels.
speaking of size, the base game has [b]304 puzzle between 5x5 and 100x100(!)[/b], and 3 pieces of dlc are available with about 100 more levels each. it's worth noting that not all are divisible by 5, so there's 23x30, 14x18, etc. which is always a bit confusing. either way, that's [b]600+ levels and a seed-based level generator[/b] (if random pixel noise is your jam, between 3x3 and 100x100), much better value even at the new price set in september 2022 than those fancy-looking, often overpriced nonograms with barely any content or basic functionality.
what [b]basic functionality[/b], you ask? in no particular order: [b]mid-level saving[/b] for individual puzzles, the selection stays in the current line (very handy for marking really long sections), numbers show how many cells are selected, undo, redo, timer toggle (only with the whole upper left section of the ui, which you won't really need after a while), number clues fade out one by one, and no mistakes counter, level reset or other nonsense, [b]just pure nonogramming[/b]. there are also hints if you get stuck, solving a random square, and they keep recharging every few seconds.
[b]what's missing is marking a cell as maybe and confirmation before level reset.[/b] no pause either, but progress is saved when you quit, so might as well do that if completion time is that important, but it's not even shown on level select, which in turn can be filtered by vertical and horizontal size (small by medium, large by small, etc.). pretty cool, and solved levels can be hidden as well, but thumbnails are so tiny it's hard to see what's on the pictures sometimes. oh, and once a level is complete, you can switch between the grid, the colored grid and the actual image, then load the next puzzle without visiting level select again.
with such huge levels, [b]zooming and panning are just as essential[/b]. my understanding is the first game doesn't have them, which is baffling, but that one only has boring random levels, so what do I care? both can be achieved here either by [b]clicking tiny icons in the corner, or with the mouse and keyboard[/b]. mouse wheel goes up/down if the puzzle is zoomed in, ctrl+mouse wheel zooms, caps lock switches between mouse wheel up/down and zoom, and if you [b]pan with mouse wheel held[/b], there's no need for the keyboard at all, but wasd also works, +/- to zoom, etc. [b]it's a bit fiddly to get the sides and corners closer to the middle of the screen[/b], as you can only move the level to the right and down until it hits the edge, but it's doable with some zooming and moving around. or you can solve stuff off-center, I just find it less convenient.
there are toggles for current line and row highlights, and another really handy option, especially for levels that need to be zoomed in: [b]coordinates in the bottom left corner[/b]. e.g. '5.15' means the cursor is in column 5, line 15, and number clues for the current line and row are also visible, solved sections faded out as if you were looking at them on the sides. it's extremely useful and [b]makes solving gigantic levels a lot less painful[/b]. never thought I'd have the willpower or patience to do a 100x100 nonogram, too much of a good thing, no need for anything bigger than 50x50, but it was really fun with the way things work here.
audio is just a bunch of ambient noises (bird sounds, fire, wind, water, etc.), can turn them on/off and adjust their volumes individually. I didn't bother, just put on my own music. vsync and windowed mode available with a resizable window, and many color schemes, as mentioned above.
while most nonograms don't offer basic functionality and however promising they look, they're worthless, this one makes an awful first impression, then puts most other games to shame by offering everything that makes nonogramming fun. [b]it's not perfect, but pretty damn close[/b], and that's with the abysmal ui. if you're even remotely interested in one of the best puzzle types ever (and my personal favorite), [b]take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the controls and you'll be set for a long time[/b]. many thumbs up! (and a few down for the ui, I mean come on...)
