Game Review: Polimines Deluxe

By Al

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox One, XBox Series, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Android, iOS

We've been reviewing a lot of smaller, indie-released puzzle games recently, and I'm all for ones that break the mold. Polimines Deluxe is a game that mixes together elements of Minesweeper and nonograms (AKA "Picross") into its gameplay, and that's an idea that's so crazy it might just work. It recently released on just about every platform imaginable, and we're going to be taking a look at it today on the Nintendo Switch. There really isn't a need for any further intro, so let's dive right in!

Polimines Deluxe is actually two games in one. This package brings together two releases that I believe originally came from mobile platforms, Polimines and Polimines 2. Together the games make up a total of 90 puzzles, with both sets of puzzles playing pretty the same. There are some slightly more difficult puzzles to be had in the second game, but there aren't any noteworthy gameplay mechanics introduced in the sequel. As stated earlier, Polimines Deluxe is a cross between Minesweeper and nonograms, and its gameplay takes quite a bit of getting used to if you're not already familiar with both types of games. Personally, I fall into the camp of people who never understood how to play Minesweeper, but I'm a sucker for anything even tangentially related to nonograms. Since there really isn't much else to discuss, let's move on and try to tackle the topic of gameplay.

Each of the 90 puzzles takes place on a board made up of several squares. These squares can make up all sorts of shapes, have breaks in between them, and don't have to be placed evenly between lines or rows. Your goal is simple: Reveal each of the "safe" spaces in each puzzle without making a mistake. You can also mark spaces that you suspect are mines, and can even change your mind on the spaces you marked as potential mines. Accidentally uncovering a mine isn't a game over, though the game will keep track of your mistakes. It's not just guesswork though, as the numbers above, or next to, each row or line act as clues. For example, seeing "2 2" above a row of five squares means that two of them will be mines, and the space in between them will be safe. Things get more complicated from there, even including clues that are simply a "?", but that's the basic idea to the nonograms type of clues.

Let's not forget that half of the gameplay is Minesweeper, so you get those types of clues too. Sometimes safe spaces will also reveal a number. These numbers refer to how many mines are in each of the squares that surround the space. For example, if the revealed number is a 4, you know that there are four mines to be wary of in the spaces surrounding it. Discovering the location of these mines is party done via process of elimination, but you sometimes have to use both sets of clue numbers together to find all the mines. Actually, you pretty much always have to do that, as that's the core gameplay loop. A small fanfare goes off once you've revealed all the safe spaces, and clearing a puzzle unlocks a handful of new puzzles to take on. You then continue on in this fashion until you beat all 90.

I booted up Polimines Deluxe thinking that I would have a blast, and found that I had a tough learning curve ahead of me. I don't know if I was just being a bit too dense, but it took me several puzzles to actually learn how to play the game. There is a tutorial of sorts in the first few levels, but I don't think it's worded all that well. I read and reread each direction, and pretty much had to still figure things out on my own. Making matters even worse, the button choices feel odd, and I often made mistakes that I didn't mean to. I've played many puzzle games that were extremely difficult, and just as many that had wonky controls, but rarely are those two things present in a single release. These issues didn't exactly ruin the game for me, but they did make me want to quit within the first fifteen minutes or so. I did soldier and get the hang of things, but I can't help but wonder if that would've been the case if I didn't have a review to write. There's definitely a lot of brain-teasing fun to be had here, but you have to go through a trial of fire to get to it.

While I wouldn't go so far to say that I grew to love Polimines Deluxe, I did find myself clearing all the puzzles in nearly a single sitting. There is no time limit, no scoring, and nothing for you to unlock, you just have to clear 90. The overall vibes of the game were so chill that I just moved on from puzzle to puzzle until there were none left. There's definitely a lot of positives to say about this game's minimalist style, but it also made it so that it didn't really stand out in my eyes. Everything looks rather bland, the music sounds like it should be playing inside of an elevator, and nothing really sticks out as particularly memorable. It didn't take me very long to beat the game, and I was left wondering what to do next. Puzzle games having a finite time in one's game library is nothing new, but this one felt like it was done and dusted far too quickly. It's a neat premise for sure, but there just isn't any sort of longevity to it. Also, even though I went on earlier about difficulty, you can also just trial and error your way through all the puzzles. Each one has a single solution, so you can just reveal every space, and then reset the puzzle to only reveal the safe ones. I'm not sure why anyone would want to do that, but you definitely can.

At the end of the day, I enjoyed my time with Polimines Deluxe, and can say that it's definitely worth picking up. Having said that, I can't help but feel that it's a bit overpriced at $9.99. I'd be far more comfortable recommending this at half of that price, but I guess that might just be a matter of opinion. This game might not be the best fit for the casual puzzle game player out there, but it's a must-buy for fans of either nonograms or Minesweeper. If you're somehow the fan of both, then stop reading now and buy it already. (Also reach out to me, since I really doubt that there's someone out there who loves both nonograms and Minesweeper.) As for me, maybe I'll load up classic Minesweeper and see if I can understand it now, or maybe patiently wait for Polimines Deluxe 2. Either way, see you in the next one!

Check Out Polimines Deluxe on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/polimines-deluxe-switch/

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Story: N/A
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound: B
Value: C

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ A fun and intriguing cross between Minesweeper and nonograms.
+ Can be very challenging, and that might be up the alley for some puzzle game players.
+ Even if you're having trouble, you can technically trial and error your way to victory.
+ The minimalist look and feel of the game can be very relaxing.
+ While I would've loved more, 90 puzzles does mean you have a decent amount of content to sink your teeth into.

Cons:
- Understanding how to play can be very difficult. The tutorial doesn't do a good job of explaining the core gameplay mechanics at all.
- Knowing how to play doesn't make the game any easier. This probably isn't the game for casual puzzle players.
- There really isn't any reason to keep playing once you've cleared all 90 puzzles, a task that will probably only take the average player a couple of hours.
- Feels a bit overpriced for the amount of content you get.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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