Header of the game Pictective. Credit to Noobzilla, embedded from Steam.
Header of the game Pictective aka 📷🔍 Pictective. Credit to Noobzilla, embedded from Steam.
This article is written in English. Untuk membaca versi Bahasa Indonesia, klik di sini.

TL;DR

Into casual and lighthearted games where all you do is find where a certain object is located? Well then, this game—Pictective—should be right up your alley if you're looking for something light and entertaining, without having to rack your brain figuring out where everything is.

Notice and Specs


Notice
  • This article aims to review and share information about this game.
  • There is no intention to infringe any copyright.
  • Copyright of any images, videos, or any other media used in this article belongs to their respective owners, whether the developer or publisher of this game, unless stated otherwise.
  • The author is not affiliated with the developer, publisher, or any other parties related to this game. Although I received a key to write this article, I am not affiliated with the developer, publisher, or any other parties related to this game.
  • This article is purely a review from the author's perspective.
  • This article is based on my experience playing this game with a total gameplay time of 1.2 hours. Future updates/changes to the game may not be reflected in this article.
  • This article was translated from Indonesian to English by Claude. The quality may not be up to par with human translation.
Click this box to see my PC specs.
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
  • GPU: Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7600 XT 16GB
  • RAM: Crucial DDR4-3200 2x8GB
  • SSD: TeamGroup MP44L NVMe M2 1TB
  • Monitor: Lenovo L24i-40 100 Hz and Samsung S3 S33GC 100 Hz
  • Gamepad: 8Bitdo Ultimate 2C Peach
  • Mouse: Logitech Signature M650 Rose
  • Keyboard: Logitech K380 Rose

Game Details

Details

Hero Capsule of the game Pictective. Credit to Noobzilla, embedded from Steam. Version Played: Full Version
Developer(s): Noobzilla
Publisher(s): Noobzilla
Tag/Genre(s): Casual, Hidden Object, Puzzle, Point and Click, Family Friendly
*Review key for this game provided by Noobzilla.

Trailer

Go ahead and watch the game's teaser below :)

Pictective

Credit to UB channels on YouTube.

Quick Review and Rating

Quick Review

Before playing the full game, I had already played the demo version a few months before the full game launched. So I was already pretty familiar with the game's mechanics. When playing the demo, even though it was a bit monotonous, for a "light" and "casual" type of game, it was solid enough. Then the review key arrived via email, so I got to play the full game on stream. Ehe. Hopefully it reaches the right audience...

Quick info about Pictective 2!

While we're on the topic of Pictective, I also want to mention that its sequel, Pictective 2: Around the World, is currently in development and already has a demo available on Steam! I've personally downloaded it, but haven't had the chance to play the demo yet, ehe.

Quick Rating

Category & Rating Details Score
1. Mechanics & Gameplay
  • Controls: The controls in this game are incredibly easy for anyone to understand. Just use your mouse to control the game and find the objects you're asked to locate.
  • Game Loop: Honestly, it's pretty monotonous. Because the concept is as simple as, "Here's a photo snippet, find where it is in the full picture!" That's it. Each full image also has three modes — full colour, sepia, and timer-based — and you're basically doing the same thing for every image and every theme. So yeah... It can get a bit boring...
  • Difficulty: You could say it's "easy." Per image, the snippets presented are basically the same when repeated. Per mode, it also basically uses the same photo snippets, so... It's safe to call it "easy."
 8.7
2. Visuals & Aesthetics
  • Art Direction: The images used as the objects to find are real photographs. Outside of these real photos, everything else takes on a Cartoony style — from the pointer, UI, and so on.
  • Optimization: Runs like a dream! FPS, CPU, GPU, vRAM, RAM — all smooth. The game is very lightweight, and there's no noticeable stutter or lag while playing.
  • UI/UX: It's fine. Everything is readable and easy for the player to see.
 10
3. Story & World
  • Pacing: For me this falls under "fast." Each image can probably be done in 2–3 minutes, maybe even less. So this game should be perfect if you're looking for something short but good for killing time.
  • Characters: There's really no character worth discussing here except... The cat mascot — Oyen — that we as players need to find. We play as "Doma," a detective who has to find specific photo snippets within the large displayed image, before being able to find Oyen. Once you find the mascot, the level is "complete."
  • Additional Note: If you manage to complete all nine images in one theme, you can earn coins, which can later be used for gacha 🤣
 10
4. Audio & Music
  • Sound Design: The sound is fine. Not distracting, and it supports the experience while playing the game.
  • Music: The music itself feels... Monotonous, actually. Because it's just one track looping over and over. But somehow it doesn't really feel boring.
 9.5
5. Replayability & Value
  • Price vs Content: The price is incredibly affordable. Just 19K IDR, and on sale it drops to 15K IDR, and... That's really cheap for the amount of content you get. So... It's very much worth-the-price...
  • Post-Completion Content: Honestly I haven't finished it yet. I'm planning to and the game is still on my PC. But with around 12 themes — plus maybe some extra levels? — it shouldn't take too long to complete...
 10
TOTAL SCORE xx

Gameplay Video

Want to watch my gameplay video? You can watch it below:

(ID/EN) Pictective - Gameplay #Noobzilla

Adli's gameplay on Adli_HM's channel on YouTube.

Steam Price

Closing

This might be the first Indonesian-made game I've written about on my review site and... It feels nice. Ehe.

I'd actually wanted to write a review of the demo for a long time, because it was genuinely interesting. From a studio that started with a game about finding a cat — as far as I know — to now having expanded into a more niche photo-finding experience, the studio's growth has been slow but steady. Though I'm not sure about everything else going on with them, ehe.

And this game, if the target audience is people looking for light, casual games, who enjoy hidden object gameplay, nothing too complicated, nothing too brain-intensive, short, and easy to complete — this is a solid pick. It's like... Doing a crossword puzzle in your free time. Thin, short, but still gives your brain a little workout.

So yeah, this short game won't disappoint you, despite how monotonous the gameplay is.

That's all!

See you in the next Adli's Quick Games Review :)