If you have any inkling that you like this game due to it's art direction, then likely you're wasting your time with this review, and should just get to playing it. Charm Studies is not only free, but only an hour long, less if you are familiar with Picross type games.

Charm Studies intrigues me in the sense that it's not only a Picross for beginners type of game, but it certainly helps lend Picross to more visual novel games. I've seen this done with another game, Murdered By Numbers, and overall I'm a really big fan of it. Picross does feel like it lacks an award at times, and with the way this game goes off to explain the little pictures you make while passing it off as studying is really charming.

As someone that is a bit of an avid picross player, I wasn't really challenged with this game, and while I don't think that's a bad thing it certainly can leave many picross fans adrift. There are no where near as many puzzles or difficult arrangements, but the overall mechanics used for Charm Studies helps beginner players understand picross far better than any previous game I've played. If anything, I'd argue this is for fans of picross to send to their friends so they can start getting into it too. The visual novel setting, and quirky characters make for a nice set up, and can really help show why Picross is so fun.