Opus Cortex: A Nonogram Puzzle Story

[b]My Playtime:[/b] 5.9h (100% achievement, finished the game) [b]My First Playthrough:[/b] 5.2h [b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] No. [b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] No. [b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No. [h1]Intro[/h1] [i]Opus Cortex: A Nonogram Puzzle Story[/i] is a mix between a visual novel and a Nonoram game. It has 53+ puzzles in total with varying lengths. [b]Pros:[/b] - 53+ puzzles ranging from 5x1 up to 30x15 and 20x20 variants - Some challenging levels [b]Cons:[/b] - Mediocre story [b]Specs[/b] Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 [h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1] [i]If you enjoy Nonogram games, want a bit of a challenge, and don't mind the short length, you can get this one at a sale.[/i] [hr][/hr] [h1]In-Depth Review[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] Despite looking great in the screenshots, I found the visuals to be lacking. Characters only have one portrait, which tends not to be enough to show what the character is feeling at a certain moment. The UI looks cheap with icons being thrown on the edge of the screen, and the log book doesn't look great either design-wise, especially when it can take a bit of effort to close. That being said, the background images look alright. [h3]Story[/h3] Characters talk too much with unnecessary dialogue—it would be better if some details were either omitted or put into the narrative instead of letting the characters voice them out. Moreover, the conversations make the characters feel like a robot, which is ironic since the main character, which is a robot, sounds more lively compared the others. The story is wrapped nicely, though, which is a good thing. [h3]The Game[/h3] [b]Gameplay[/b] You'll divide your time between reading dialogues and doing Nonogram puzzles. The dialogues are straightforward, with a logbook that covers all dialogues from the beginning of the game until the current dialogue. I like how the game introduces the tutorial. It starts with an easy puzzle first for those who are not used to it, which will be more complicated as it goes on. Since the game is short, the difficulty spike tends to occur quickly, with you having to deal with puzzles of a bigger size after a few puzzles. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3442642368 Puzzle sizes vary. Each puzzle has a different dimension, although it tries its best to keep the overall size to be similar. However, this also means that puzzle sizes aren't made in multiple of 5. Luckily, all puzzles are small enough to fit on one screen—it will go as high as 30x15 and 20x20, with the higher size being shrunk down to fit the screen. Moreover, the bigger puzzles only appear near the end of the game and are few in number. Despite the dev [url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/3139280/discussions/0/603024535590016869/#c595143265765832385]claiming[/url] that there is no guessing involved, I still had to guess in one or two puzzles. There was also one time when I had to simulate filling in one of the two options to figure out which one was correct since I couldn't figure out how to progress otherwise. The game seems to support this by giving an option to half-fill the cells, making it easier to erase them if needed. That being said, the guesswork was mostly minimal and didn't give me any trouble. [b]Length and Difficulty[/b] I finished the game in 5.2h. I replayed the game a bit afterward to finish my [url=https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/483600-opus-cortex-a-nonogram-puzzle-story/faqs/81828]guide[/url]. As for the difficulty, it's easy at the beginning, although you need to work your brain a bit to finish the ones nearing the end. [b]Issues[/b] The game doesn't have an undo button. You also can't redo the puzzle that you finished unless you start a new game. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Despite lacking in the story and visuals, [i]Opus Cortex: A Nonogram Puzzle Story[/i] still does a good job in the puzzle design. Most puzzles are designed to be challenging, without reaching the point where it's frustrating to finish. However, the game is very short and there are only 53+ puzzles, so you might want to get it on a sale. [quote]This game was reviewed with a key provided by the developer for free through Curator Connect.[/quote] [quote]Follow our curator page: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.

Fun puzzles and a decent enough story to make them relevant.

"Opus Cortex: A Nonogram Puzzle Story" takes players on a logical journey through the mind of an AI struggling to rediscover its identity in a mysterious world plagued by glitches and enigmatic puzzles. Developed and published by Rainier Interactive, this visual novel seamlessly combines an engaging narrative with challenging nonogram puzzles, offering an immersive experience that will test a puzzle lover's deduction skills. The game's story centers around an AI who must explore the world around them, piecing together their own backstory and the secrets of the powerful RoboCorp. As the player delves deeper into the story, they will encounter various locations and characters that add depth and intrigue to the unfolding narrative. At the heart of Opus Cortex are the nonogram puzzles, which players must solve to progress through the story. Most of the puzzles are handcrafted with and occasional randomly-generated series. They are designed to be solved using logic alone, though the game's intuitive controls allow for educated guesses without receiving an error message. The nonogram mechanics are bolstered by helpful features like green highlighting for completed rows and columns, providing players with the tools they need to master each puzzle. Opus Cortex offers a range of difficulty levels to accommodate both novice and experienced players, ensuring a balanced and accessible experience. The game's interface has mid-level saving, and provides both window mode and game controller support, allowing players to tailor their gaming setup to their preferences. Overall, "Opus Cortex: A Nonogram Puzzle Story" successfully combines an engrossing narrative with challenging yet satisfying puzzles, delivering a unique and memorable gaming experience for fans of both visual novels and nonograms. [quote]For more puzzle game reviews, news and everything puzzle-related, follow [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/25928931-Puzzle-Lovers/]Puzzle Lovers[/url] and check out our [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/puzzlelovers]Steam group[/url].[/quote]

“Opus Cortex” is a nonogram puzzle game (a picture-logic puzzle, in which cells in a grid must be colored or left blank according to numbers at the edges of the grid to reveal a hidden picture), with a backstory in the form of visual novel dealing with the topics of AI evolution and its risks. Puzzles themselves are well designed, with a rather steep difficulty curve, and you can use both mouse and keyboard controls for interaction. Story itself is plain and simple, targeted more towards the young-adult audience, with illustrations in manga-style, and music that is… well, a bit annoying at times, I just couldn’t attune to the melodies and instruments. But overall this is a good puzzle game, at least if you’re into this type of puzzles.

I liked it, I like nonograms, the graphic style is pleasant and story interesting enough, that I actually wanted to know how it ends. I definitely had more fun that I'd expect for an equivalent of a cup of coffee.

It's a bunch of nonogram puzzles. The story and graphics are fairly meh, but you didn't come here for that - you came here for the puzzles, and they're good. For this price, if you enjoy nonograms, definitely pick it up.

The first word that comes to mind when playing this game is "shoehorned". One part of this game is a predictable short story about a robot uprising from the perspective of its accidental instigator, Nono, who makes friends, realises the error in its calculations, and then helps establish peace between robots and humanity. The other part is a small collection of nonogram puzzles, clearly intended for people already familiar with how nonograms work due to how quickly the difficulty scales and how little help is available. With neither part being much on its own, the developers have chosen to follow the example of Murder by Numbers and try and fit them into each other, resulting in a narrative that has to suddenly stop after every few minutes of exposition until the player solves three tangentially related puzzles; for example, one character that appears near the end of the story is an old lady I feel only chooses to dress in a feathery outfit for the player to solve three feathery puzzles, especially since [spoiler]they're just an imaginary aspect of a character that's been male-presenting before now[/spoiler]. The art of the story is nice (though nearly every character only has one dialogue portrait), and the price is low, but overall it honestly didn't impress me. Sorry, Nono, but you're getting a No from me.

Nonogram puzzles with a little plot mixed in. What's not to like?

You can tell the devs really put effort into this. The difficulty ramps up nicely, it never felt too easy or too frustrating. If you’re into nonograms and want something with a bit more heart and story, Opus Cortex is totally worth checking out.

I've enjoyed nonograms for a long time, but this is the first time I've played a nonogram game with a story. I'm enjoying it a lot! The non-puzzle elements don't do anything that detracts from the star of the game: the well-crafted nonogram puzzles. One thing I appreciated a lot about this game is the varying difficulty - the puzzles get progressively more complex overall, but it's paced in a thoughtful way that makes progressing through the game smooth and fun. Art is cute, and I've found myself humming the background music here and there even outside of the game. Steam Deck support makes solving a puzzle or two before bed a really fun nightly activity for me lately! Easy recommendation for the price!