The fourth title in Q-Games PixelJunk series is an exuberant take on the rescue-shooter popularised by Superior Software’s classic Exile. The parallels are many, from starting in the safety of a mothership, to the progressive descent into an alien planet, but the game has been filtered through the animalistic design of Darius (the aforementioned mothership is especially reminiscent of the series) and drawn like a Delphine release with a warmer palette. The effect is a strong, consistent aesthetic that is instantly appealing, and wonderfully tactile.
This tactility is borne out by the gameplay which, though initially seeming to lack enough challenge – there is no gravity to counter, and enemies are easily dispatched – soon proves to be an unburdened joy. Your craft is controlled with twin sticks, one to aim and one to travel, with a boost activated by keeping both in the same direction. This control scheme is intuitive and well balanced, meaning you will soon be navigating the twisting levels with ease and rather than punish the player for piloting errors, or unleashing bullet hell, every one is a simple puzzle to be solved at your own pace. The focus on experimental play is most obvious in the interaction between the levels' natural hazards: water, lava, gas and magnetic oil all flow around the organic cave systems with satisfyingly chunky physics, and change or cancel each other’s effects in combination.
This is further augmented by the addition of player tools, from the standard laser (with which you can sculpt or destroy rock barriers, flooding caverns with liquid) to grabbable sponges that absorb water or lava, allowing you to rain on other areas like a fire fighting Airtanker. As if any more encouragement were required, health is replaced by a heat meter, not only neatly integrating your survival into the game world (an overheating ship can be quickly cooled by diving into a nearby pool of water), but encouraging risk taking as you can always find a quiet spot to cool off. Lives are represented by the stranded scientists who dot the level under perilous volcanoes or in the path of dangling arachnoidal robots. Lose (or kill) more than five, and your game is over.
The tools at your disposal (and the hapless scientists) can all be grabbed using a chameleonic winch that shoots out, with a tap of L1, at lightning speed in the direction of the closest object of interest. Occasionally, this can lead to picking up an item you didn’t intend to, but the levels are designed in such a way that this is rarely an issue. As with the best exploration games, initial dangers are soon turned on their head and wielded, in this case via ‘suits’ which give you different elemental powers. It is with the introduction of these that the game really hits its stride, and Q-Games have even rethought their placement in two player, allowing cooperating pilots to combine opposing abilities, thus allowing subtly different level solutions.
Despite a few secret areas, some collectables and three enjoyable bosses, the game’s 15 levels will not take you long to complete. However, as with previous PixelJunk titles, the ending alludes to future DLC and, more importantly, is transformed when you begin attempting to trouble the online leaderboards. In this case, the game changes from a thoughtful physics puzzle into a frantic race to the finish: plotting the best line through each level to most efficiently collect all of the scientists and reach the exit. A brilliant juxtaposition, and one entirely in keeping with the games elemental laboratory. PixelJunk Shooter is without doubt Q-Games best work to date - more than worth the modest entry price on PSN.
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Jake from PC Gaming Enthusiast reviews the former PlayStation exclusive.
He writes:
"The ultimate edition received a major overhaul, which includes graphics. The overall artist effort truly shines on the PC. The water in each level looks like it is actually flowing, with perfectly precise physics, and subtle depth."
i love all the pixeljunk games and bought every one available for the ps3. not sure if it's worth buying again for the pc
Posted by Dylan Cuthbert on Aug 31, 2015 // President and Executive Producer, Q-Games Ltd.:
If you know anything about Q-Games, you know that we made a name for ourselves during the PlayStation 3 era with our acclaimed PixelJunk series. Debuting way back in 2007, we were one of the first indies to cut our teeth on the newly released console. Our idea for the series was simple: rework old school gaming concepts in beautiful high-definition visuals, while keeping the easy to learn, difficult to master gameplay that made us fall in love with games in the first place.
Great review... thanks!
No problem - thanks for reading it!