Squeakross: Home Squeak Home

Picross is one of my favourite puzzle formats. I would play any Picross game I come across, even if there’s nothing else to the game than just solving the puzzles. But I do love it when indie developers find a way to make them something more. My favourite picross game ever is Murder by Numbers, a game that has you playing as a detective, where the puzzles are the clues you need to interrogate suspects. It’s an ambitious game, and it nails the delivery. There have been more attempts to create something similar, but none have grabbed me as much as Mediatonic’s effort did.

Until now. I should’ve known, really. During a previous Next Fest, I played the demo for Squeakross: Home Squeak Home and thoroughly enjoyed the hours of gameplay that was already included. It had been some time since I couldn’t put a Picross game down, but finally, here was another one. There’s no story mode like in the aforementioned Murder by Numbers, as developer Alblune has chosen to keep things a bit more simple.

To start the game, you create your own rodent friend. There are plenty of customisation options to begin with, so whether you want to recreate a real-life pet or prefer a fantasy creation, you can get it done. After you’ve created your new best friend, they enter their new home, only to find it… well, a bit barren. It’s just an empty room. Luckily, there’s a furniture catalogue to hand where you can gain new items to decorate your new place.

And that’s basically it: you solve Picross puzzles, these become furniture or items of clothing, and when you unlock them, you can use them in the game’s decoration mode. At first, you’re only able to place one of each item, with no customisation options. But not to worry; just solve puzzle variants and you can unlock plenty more colours and the option to place duplicate items.

If all of that sounds a little basic, I have to be honest; it’s me not finding cuter ways to describe it. Because this game is ADORABLE, and my words don’t seem to do it justice. First of all, your new little pet friend is so much fun! They interact with the items you place in their little home, and you can find out whether or not they like certain things. During customisation, you can choose a couple of character traits for them; you will know that your rat is one of a kind and will react differently than that of anyone else playing the game. And then there are the hats and scarves and whatnot that you can make them wear! Utterly delightful.

The furniture also looks very cute indeed, and with all of the customisation options, you can really make the place your own. It’s completely up to you whether you want to keep things neutral or if you want it to come alive through the use of vibrant colours. And to make things even better, there are hundreds of items to unlock, so you can keep evolving your home’s style. Before you know it, you’ll be upgrading your place so you can add even more cute things!

The picross gameplay is a joy too. It all feels very smooth, and switching between puzzles happens swiftly. The game feels super accessible for newcomers to the genre, although the difficulty of the puzzles ramps up pretty quickly if you choose to go for the puzzle variants to unlock more colours. But it’s not just newcomers that will enjoy Squeakross. Veterans of the genre will be delighted by the puzzles on offer, and even if you start to struggle, there are plenty of accessibility options on offer to guide you through.

And I haven’t even mentioned the stickers yet! After every five puzzles you solve, you receive a new set of stickers you can decorate your game with. Yes, the game itself! The loading screen, the home screen and the puzzle screen can all be enhanced with colourful stars and banners, all kinds of inclusive flags and more. These stickers also pop up when your little rat friend is sleeping, as my pet Ratherine was dreaming about the trans pride flag at one point.

There is just so much to love about Squeakross. There’s a reason it shadow dropped during the recent Wholesome Direct. It’s a gentle game, and it wants you to have a cosy time, even when the puzzles turn a little less forgiving later on in the game. It invites you to interact with it in any way you want, as much as you want. You just want to solve Picross puzzles? That’s totally fine! You want to create the cosiest home and the cutest little rodent? Just as valid.

I truly love that about Squeakross. It doesn’t demand your attention by being loud and crass; instead, it hooks you with amazing gameplay and the most adorable little friend to hang out with. And it works. Before you know it, you’ve solved a couple of dozen puzzles, and you have even more stuff to put into your home. But then you notice another item in the catalogue that would be perfect, so you play just a little more… And all of a sudden, hours have gone by.

I was pretty damn hyped for Squeakross, and I’m glad the wait for it is over. Even though I have plenty of other games ready to play for review, I’ll probably just settle in for another night of picross goodness instead. Steam Next Fest can wait another day.