Super Jigsaw Puzzle: Generations

Hours played at review time, across 53 reviews with recorded playtime.

positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up

Super Jigsaw Puzzle: Generations is exactly the kind of game I can put on when I want to slow down and just concentrate on something. There is no story getting in the way and no complicated system to learn. I pick a picture, choose how difficult I want the puzzle to be and start putting the pieces together. The game has more than 70 puzzles in the main package, four difficulty levels and a simple interface that makes it easy for me to get straight into solving. The actual puzzle tools are better than I expected from such a simple game. I can drag pieces around, group them together and use boxes to separate pieces by colour or other features. I can also zoom in when I need a better look and change how the pieces snap together. I really like having control over the snapping because I do not want the game deciding that two pieces are close enough when I am trying to work things out myself. Autosave is another small feature I appreciate because I can stop halfway through a large puzzle without worrying about losing everything. The relaxing side of the game works well for me too. The music is deliberately calm and the whole interface stays out of my way, so I can spend a long time working on a puzzle without feeling rushed. Some of the larger puzzles can take quite a while, especially when I increase the difficulty, and I like being able to slowly build groups before joining everything together. It gives me that satisfying moment when a section finally comes together after I have been staring at individual pieces for ages. The biggest weakness is also the most obvious one. There is not much variety in the actual gameplay because it is still just jigsaw puzzles from start to finish. The different pictures give me something new to look at, but I am using the same basic process every time. That is completely fine when I am in the mood for jigsaws, but there is nothing here that is going to suddenly make the genre interesting if I already find traditional jigsaw puzzles boring. I also think the free base game is a little limited compared with how much the overall game has grown. There are now a huge number of optional puzzle packs covering things like animals, places, landscapes, food, vehicles and many other themes. The original package gives me a decent selection to start with, but the amount of additional content available as paid DLC is much larger. I do not mind the model too much because I can try the main game without paying, but I would have liked a little more variety included from the beginning. What I appreciate most is that the game understands what a digital jigsaw puzzle should do. It does not fill the screen with unnecessary features or try to turn something relaxing into a competitive challenge. The zoom, grouping, autosave and adjustable snap settings all make the process more comfortable, while the four difficulty levels let me decide how much of a challenge I actually want. There is also Steam Cloud support and achievements, although I see those more as useful extras than reasons to play. Overall, Super Jigsaw Puzzle: Generations is a simple but well made puzzle game that I think does its job very well. I like the comfortable interface, relaxing music, useful tools and the amount of pictures available to work through, and being free to start with makes it easy for me to recommend. The basic gameplay does become repetitive because there is only so much a jigsaw game can do, and the larger collection of puzzles requires extra purchases. Still, when I want something quiet that lets me focus on one thing for a while, this is a solid choice. Rating: 7.7/10