The puzzle itself is a rewarding challenge, but the presentation is cheesy and a little obnoxious.
In Picross 3D, players use clues on a rectangular prism to remove blocks, creating a 3-dimensional object. The game offers plenty of puzzles at many different difficulty levels and can be very challenging (although anyone who played the first game will probably find the first few levels pretty easy). Previously, beating the puzzle could take you as long as you wanted, but you would only get to see its animation if you did it in under an hour. Mistakes added time on. In Picross 3D, you're allowed only one hour and 5 mistakes (which do not affect your time, if you make them) and are awarded stars based on your performance. At the end of each level there are a few puzzles that can be unlocked once you've earned enough stars within that level. It adds a nice touch to the game, to make it feel actually "beatable" (3 stars on every puzzle), instead of just finishing all the puzzles. Another cool change from the first Picross to the 3D version is the addition of collections. Previously, levels were themed, with every puzzle related to the theme. Now puzzles are sorted by difficulty, and each one belongs in one of dozens of collections, which can be completed and viewed. It's a little daunting when you first begin the game, since it hardly feels like you're making any progress until you get a little farther and actually start completing some of them, but it's a fresh way to organize the game, which is nice.
What's not so nice about Picross 3D are the graphics, music, and sound effects. The first game had a very simple, straight-forward layout. Some players might have found it boring, but the themed levels and the catchy (but chill) tunes kept it just interesting enough without making it distracting. This time around, the game has obnoxious music and loud, distracting graphics. The way it's designed, you'd think it was geared toward young children, but the puzzle itself is too challenging, so the graphics and music seem almost demeaning. A character on the top screen (some sort of box with wheels) moves around while you work on the puzzle, and every time you finish a puzzle there is an annoyingly long cutscene to reveal the object (of course it has to spin around several times before it can show its animation) and then another to place it in the appropriate collection. When you finish a level, the box character acts shocked and there's more annoying music. It gets old really fast - but the worst part is, the options give you almost no control over this. There's nothing you can do about the cutscenes - you have to sit through them. You can turn sound effects off - but not the ones that happen during cutscenes. You can also select the music that plays during puzzles (there's one really nice one that's just the ambiance of a stream, if you're as picky about game music as I am), but can't do a thing about what plays on menu screens. My suggestion - play with the sound off. And just try to be patient through the dumb cutscenes.
A few other nice features of the new game include multiple save files and a very easy-to-understand tutorial level (which, while a little long, is extremely helpful, especially if you haven't played 2D Picross). As a whole, the game is still great - the real substance of it is great fun and offers many hours of addictive gameplay. Just don't expect the class of the first game's layout, and you're sure to enjoy it.