Picross dev's puzzler Logiart Grimoire hits Steam early access next month

eurogamer.net:

Jupiter Corporation — the studio behind Nintendo's long-running Picross series — has unveiled a new Picross-style puzzler, Logiart Grimoire, which launches into Steam early access on 11th September and Switch sometime next year.

Logiart Grimoire introduces players to its titular tome — a magical book formally used to solve mysterious Logiart — and a helpful wizard-y companion, Emil. Of course, that whole framing device is secondary to the real business at hand: solving 'picture logic puzzles' that feature horizontal and vertical rows of numbers used as hints to place dots and form illustrationa.

If that sounds familiar, it's because Logiart Grimoire is essentially Picross in all but name (Nintendo owns the 'Picross' title, while Jupiter owns its systems), albeit with an added magic twist hooking into a new «fusion» system that challenges players to figure out how to combine materials gained through solving puzzles to unlock new ones.

When Logiart Grimoire launches into Steam early access on 11th September, it'll feature all its planned puzzles — 280 in total, split into grid sizes of 5×5, 10×10, 15×15, 20×15, 30×30, and 40×30 — but Jupiter says it'll be using feedback from players to «actively work on improving the difficult and lacking parts of the game». In particular, it wants to ensure Fusions — which involve deducing combinations of materials from sentences — are not «unsolvable» problems, while making other «enhancements to create a better experience».

Logiart Grimoire is expected to be in Steam early access for around six months, during which time it'll gain a tutorial screen, collection screen, a finalised English translation, and finalised sound effects. Additionally, the initially predominantly mouse-only