Calum Petrie reviews A Pixel Story…
A Pixel Story is a bold and bouncy adventure filled with cute characters, bouncing puzzles and nostalgia filled levels. Developed by Lamplight Studios and published by Rising Star Games, this game was originally released on Steam and is now making its way to consoles. The BAFTA nominated indie title is a joyous tour of the early days of gaming, and sees our protagonist and players exploring four different graphical generations to liberate the system from The Operator.
Our journey with A Pixel Story starts off nothing more than a simple “Mario clone”, where the player can do nothing more than jump and move from side to side. The game only becomes a creature in its own right when the introduction of the teleportation hat is included, and now we have a Mario clone mixed with Portal. These two concepts have proved to work extremely well for their respective games, but when you bring them together here, it does make a bastardised game that works pretty damn well.
The basic platforming principles coupled with thought out puzzles and precise timing to pull off leaps that throw a player across the screen. This is a platformer that has redesigned the wheel in respect to the simple Mario clone, and from here on out it is unfair to call Pixel Story a simple clone of anything. Puzzles can be daunting and off putting at first glance, it is only after an hour of being stuck and dying for the 689th time you realise that you should have taken a break and come back fresh. The game requires players to use trial and error to overcome the gruelling and something rage inducing puzzles. When players finally crack a simple crossing puzzle, are filled with the joy and overwhelming need for an alcoholic beverage (or a soft drink for our underage readers) to calm their nerves.
One more thing I would like to add about the movement mechanics are the lack of attack buttons, as in there are no actual enemies in the games early stages. The first three generations have no enemies to kill, players are only in danger from obstacles and pitfalls, it is not until the fouth generation where players are finally granted the ability to attack. The game proves for its majority that you do not need enemies and boss fights to make a simple game work, rather provide a compelling enough puzzle game and solving the puzzles is its own reward.
The story of the game is simple and elegantly executed; the protagonist is born into the role they have no say in carrying out. You go from a pong ball to a fully formed being washing up on the shores of Gen 1 where you are straight away told to save the system. The game is filled with fantastic nods, references and Easter eggs to pop culture icons and classic film quotes. Players will find something to bring a smile onto their faces when exploring the vast levels within the game.
The biggest thing that put me off the game when I first viewed it was the art style. I just feel the retro pixelated art style is overused and lost its edge to bring in a retro loving audience. I was extremely and pleasantly surprised to find that the graphics of the game advance when the player progresses to the next in game generation. When players reach the 3rd generation they will find less block style graphics and the introduction of smooth and rounded edges. The background music and sound effect also advance with each passing generation; the players are treated to a more smother experience with every increasing generation. The trade of for the smoother experience is advanced puzzles, which on more than one occasion had my launching my controller across the room, luckily the Xbox One controller is a bulky controller that was designed for short tempered puzzle game players.
The game does have challenge rooms; these are designed specifically for people who are a gluten for punishment. These are big rooms filled with instant death obstacles and you have to complete them in a single run through or it is right back to beginning again. If you are setting out to earn the full 1000 Gamer score or Platinum trophy for this game the you better be damn good at the game and very, very patient.
There is proof in this game that proves that not all award nominated/winning games have to be multi-million dollar budget games like The Last of Us or Mass Effect. A Pixel Story has and extremely simple concept carried out extremely well can leave players with a satisfaction level greater than a £55 game that you found to be mediocre.
I love smaller indie titles, many of which can be overlooked as there is no shortage of indie developers. This game was created by an extremely small team and then built over the course of two and a half years. There is proof that their hard work has not gone unnoticed and they are not just another body in the faceless mass that is the indie market.
A very sold and infuriating game, if your pride will not let it beat you then you will be getting your monies worth out of this game. The games selling point is its simplicity, when players have got to remember than every puzzle is solvable. There is an extremely enjoyable game filled with beautiful level design and loads of puzzle rooms and side quests to keep even the most avid gamer occupied for a few hours.
Rating – 7/10
You can find A Pixel Story on the Microsoft Store and it is available now.
You can follow me on Twitter – @Cetrie
Originally published March 3, 2017. Updated April 15, 2018.
