Part crime drama, part Picross anthology, Murder By Numbers is a surprising blend of mystery visual novel and grid-based mystery solving. The mediatonic detective adventure features stylishly dressed characters, a trashy ex-husband, a dour detective, a glamorous awards ceremony, and a cute robot. Plus, in one scene, a giant little sword crashes into the side of a drag bar. It's fun, flashy, and has a decent amount of puzzles. Think "Phoenix Wright": think "Ace Attorney.

The player is Honor Mizrahi: Miss Terri, an actress in the mystery TV series "Murder. Shortly after being fired from her job, Honor's boss is murdered and she decides to quit her acting career and become an amateur detective. An adorable robot called Scout helps her by scanning crime scenes and hacking computers, and after the two solve their first case together, they begin their detective work, which will affect their personal lives for better or worse.

The story of Murder by Numbers is divided into four different cases, each with its own bright and bubbly characters. The cast is not only worthy of the best-dressed group in gaming today, but also diverse. A stunning highlight is the previously mentioned incident in which a small sword float crashes into the side of an LGBT drag bar and a drag queen shouts, "I'll make you wish you'd never left your mama's porch."

The case itself is fairly linear and plays out similarly to the "Ace Attorney" game. In order to find the truth behind the crime, you must interview witnesses, search the crime scene, and show evidence to the suspect. There is no guessing or finger-pointing; you follow a linear storyline, occasionally choosing the right answer to a question or presenting evidence at the right moment. Despite the twists and turns, the four cases are more like a "Murder Case of the Week" TV show, nothing earth-shattering but still enjoyable.

Honor and Scout carry the heavy detective work so you can save your brain power for the picross puzzles. When the scouts are out looking for evidence at a crime scene, a puzzle will appear when an object catches their attention. Solving the picross reveals what the object is and adds it to their inventory.

Puzzles range from simple 5x5s to intimidating 15x15s, but thankfully there is a very forgiving assist system. The hint feature gives you a much-needed push by filling in five random squares. There is also an "error check" option that shows which squares are filled in incorrectly and highlights the rows and columns that can be solved.

While the title "Murder By Numbers" suggests that you will meet your end by being beaten to death by a numbers puzzle, the picross grid is surprisingly tame. Picross veterans will feel right at home with the difficulty level, and even as a picross novice, I was never frustrated by the puzzles themselves.

In "Murder by Numbers," the picross squares are everywhere, and it was a real challenge to color in the little squares for 20 minutes; when the 15x15 grid is slapped on, you can't tell who the culprit is and the case comes to an abrupt halt.

In "Murder by Numbers," I try to shake things up with a timed picross puzzle where I complete 5x5 squares in quick succession. I enjoyed these frenetic squares more than the larger ones that took 20 minutes to complete.

If you like picross and mystery visual novels, Murder by Numbers is the perfect game for you. The story and characters are brilliantly campy, and the hint system is forgiving, so I would recommend it to anyone who just wants to experience the story and doesn't mind a little brainstorming along the way. It didn't quite convert me to liking Picross completely, but the story and cast were so good that I couldn't turn it down any more.