Could .PXL be the hardest damn video game man has ever made?

As far as profanity-inducing, frustratingly difficult, one-tap endless runners go, .PXL is right up there with the best (or worst?) of them. It’s no secret that I’m a pretty big fan of punishingly difficult games, but .PXL takes the cake.

A similiar game: One More Dash Review - A Finger Tapping, Eye Popping, Mind Drug

A fairly simplistic, but useful, way of describing .PXL is a stripped back version of Mr Jump (which, in itself, is an infuriating game). But rather than controlling a little stick man with a penchant for suicide, .PXL wants you to keep – yep, you guessed it – a little black pixel alive for as long as possible. Cue lots of tapping and stabbing of your iPad screen to avoid all manner of maddening obstacles.

Despite .PXL floating down the rather well-worn path of difficult endless runners, it’s implemented well. And even though there aren’t lots of pretty, flashy visual or a massive variety of obstacles, it's strip-backed attire feels rather appropriate. In keeping with the simple idea of controlling a little pixel, it feels like you’re playing inside of a rudimentary computer program.

Also Read: Our exclusive making of interviews for One More Dash and the savagely hard Wave Wave 2.0 in Grab It Episode 8. 

Even in its simplicity, there are some fairly challenging sections. Navigating over and around rotating platforms may sound basic enough, but when that’s combined with an inversion in gravity and rapidly narrowing corridors, iPads will be broken. After awhile I did become familiar with the patterns of the obstacles, but it still didn’t guarantee success. 

Admittedly, .PXL does not boast much staying power and you’ll probably delete it off you iPad after a few weeks. But working your way up the leaderboards is fun for a time. And, if you’re wondering, I had crept into the top 100 out of 85,000 players at the time of this writing. Nonetheless, for a free game (if you can stand the intrusive ads), it’s a good time waster. Just be mindful that you probably will lose your temper more than once.

Grab the game here.

Writer:
Stephen Mitchell

Can Ronin sneak out from behind Gunpoint's 2D stealth-based ninja strategy shadow and surprise throw it out a window.

Initially, Ronin reminded me of Gunpoint, the 2D, noir, sprite-based, stealth hacking game from 2013. Yet different people, with very different intentions, made these games. Ronin may also be 2D, sprite-based and feature noir leanings, but it focuses on assassinations and sneaky ninja antics, rather than spies and hacking. Where Gunpoint had you avoiding combat where possible and working in multiple layers with stealth and hacking, Ronin makes the combat the centre point and adds layers to it with larger levels, more enemies and a laundry list of ninja abilities including holograms, shuriken, teleports and grappling hooks.

I did struggle at first to differentiate my feelings for Gunpoint from my experience of Ronin. I loved Gunpoint, and somehow took the similarities in control schemes, jumping mechanics and aesthetic with some offense. That is until I played past the first level and first saw the over-the-top way that Yakuza thugs spurt blood like pixel piñatas. Ronin is actually a whole different beast. Because Gunpoint never made me laugh with evil genius glee when I sliced down that last suited Mafioso. And Gunpoint also never made me throw my keyboard to the floor in frustration after nineteen attempts at a room.

This co-op platformer for the PC has plenty going for it, but can't quite get it all to execute in a fun and rewarding way.

Bambi is perhaps one of Disney’s most iconic movies, following the life and times of a collection of woodland creatures as they fight to survive the harsh realities of existing at the lower end of the food chain. The Deer God, developed by Crescent Moon Games and Cinopt Studios, is an alternate reality where Bambi took the bullet instead of his mother (at least, that’s how I’m interpreting it). The deer hunter is then mauled to death by wolves, only to be reincarnated as a fawn by the vengeful, titular deity and tasked with redeeming himself.

This premise, coupled with the trailers and pre-released artwork, left me wanting nothing more than for this game to succeed - but, much like Bambi’s mother, the execution is a disaster.

This vault-inspired base-building sim is a great distraction, but is it worth your bottle caps?

Behind Sony’s mind-bending conference (...that FF7 announcement), Bethesda had one of the most spectacular showings at E3. We got a closer look at Fallout 4, discovered Dishonoured 2 and were introduced to a curious little base-building sim known as Fallout: Shelter. Now, I’m not normally one to delve into an F2P game so readily, but Shelter had three major draw cards: i) it was free, ii) it was available immediately and iii) it was Fallout (something). Honestly, it’s been so long I’d play Angry Birds: Fallout if it was put in front of me. But that’s neither here nor there, the important question remains: Is Fallout: Shelter any good? That question is actually harder to answer than you might think, but I suppose it comes down to two things, how much cash you’re willing to fork out and how proficient you are at micromanaging.

How does the second entry in Rival Games' noir crime thriller compare with the riveting first instalment?

Playing The Detail for the first time was like a punch to the stomach. It was raw, edgy and even left me feeling a little bit dirty. Unsurprisingly though, when you start out at such a cracking pace, maintaining that momentum is always going to be difficult. While From The Ashes (currently available on PC, with iOS arriving shortly) is another solid entry in this gem of a series, it lacks that killer punch delivered in the opening act.

Also Read:  Our Review of The Detail Episode One

After a gangland meeting went south (seriously, when do they ever go to plan?) at the end of Episode One, we were left with quite a cliffhanger as “reformed” criminal Joseph Miller returned home to his family. I won’t spoil too many details, but From The Ashes picks up directly where the first episode left off. Interestingly though, the focus of the story quickly changes gears in an almost jarring fashion, leaving behind a lot of what had been built up in Episode One. I’ll be interested to see how Rival Games ties everything together when the story arc comes to a close.

Vote 1 for BunnyLord in this violent sidescroller from the same house as Hotline Miami.

If the 2014 sidescrolling run and gun platformer Broforce was too heavy handed with all its stars and stripes, then Roll7 and Devolver Digital’s Britannic response Not A Hero might be more to your liking. If you can handle the relentless insanity, that is. Touted by its creators as a 2¼D cover-based shooter, Not a Hero follows the fabulously eloquent, anthropomorphic rabbit BunnyLord on his violent campaign trail to be elected mayor. Playing as one of BunnyLord’s gun toting “not heroes,” you are tasked with winning voter approval by cleaning up the streets, in a way more akin to Mad Max than Democracy 3.

Before playing Not a Hero, I was intrigued by the engine behind it, called ISO-Slant technology. Touted on ISO-Slant’s suspiciously vague website as being able to bring “an entirely different perspective” to the game. In reality, the extra quarter of a dimension is the difference between bullets whizzing harmlessly past you and turning you into a big red smear. It’s an interesting way to market the cover mechanic, toying with the idea that each game lately has a brand new technology, lighting simulation or artificial intelligence. Not a Hero makes fun of the way that other games try to reinvent the wheel, and this tongue-in-cheek humour sticks throughout the adventure.

SMG Studio has a history of creating incredibly addictive games, but can lightning strike twice for the Australian developer as it rolls out a sequel to mega hit One More Line?

I will unashamedly admit that I easily sunk dozens of hours into the SMG Studios' previous two games, OTTD and One More Line. Both games still occupy a special place on my iPad home screen and get regular use.

One More Dash is the latest finger-taping, eye-popping, mind drug from SMG Studio, which seeks to capitalise on the popularity of its predecessor, One More Line. As a direct sequel, One More Dash doesn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of gameplay - not that said wheel was awfully complex to begin with. However, the indie developer has taken many of the best features from One More Line and refined it like a well crafted beer to create a worthy sequel that bubbles with same addictive deliciousness required to justify the name "One More."

"In Hellraid: The Escape, a sorcerer obsessed with dark arts has trapped your soul in a magic prison guarded by demonic creatures. Why are you there? Who are you and why can’t you remember your name? To find the answers, you must first escape from this dimension of agony hung somewhere beyond time."

Broken up into a number of self-contained levels, the emphasis in Hellraid: The Escape is on using your wits to escape rather than frenetic button-mashing action. After diving headfirst into the game, I was thoroughly impressed by the time and effort developer Shortbreak Studios and Techland have clearly put into it. This is certainly not a mere cash grab or sub-par mobile tie-in with impressive production values throughout. Better yet, there are no IAPs or other intrusive in-game mechanics - you pay once for a premium experience.

Also read: Tormentum: Dark Sorrow Review - Disturbingly Brilliant

The puzzles are clever and challenging, and make smart use of the iPad’s interface. And not once did the puzzles ever repeat. Some of my favourite brain ticklers included brewing a potion to sneak past a particularly challenging enemy and rearranging a lock mechanism that required me to die multiple times before I could complete it. Make no mistake though, the puzzles err on the side of being quite difficult. You will die repeatedly to the point that it sometimes feels like you’re banging your head against the wall. But this just makes it all the more sweeter when you have that lightbulb moment and solve the puzzle.

As mentioned, for a mobile title the visuals are quite stunning, on par with some console and PC games that I’ve come across. Each dungeon is intricately detailed with macabre little items, like blood splatter, skeletons twisted in agony and grotesque monsters. It makes me all the more sadder that we may never see more of this twisted universe given that Techland has shelved plans for the console experience for which this mobile title was supposed to act as an entrée.

But something is better than nothing, and thankfully, Hellraid: The Escape manages to be more than just an entrée.

Grab the game here.

Writer:
Stephen Mitchell

With Jurassic World around the corner and Primal Carnage on its way, we’re reigniting our love for terrible lizards starting with Theropods

Made during the 14 day Adventure Jam, Theropods is Seething Swarm’s shout out to games long buried under nostalgic sediment, like The Secret of Monkey Island and Day of The Tentacle, and also a love letter to the Triassic age.

A classic point-and-click adventure, Theropods begins with the player character, a resourceful red-head, and her witch doctor buddy relaxing by the campfire. The chill-fest is promptly ruined by a gang of velociraptors that chase the witch doctor off into the woods and our nimble heroine up a tree. You must use every item at your disposal and interact with the environment to rescue your skull-faced pal without being gored, trampled or chewed.

The game is short, no doubt, but what matters is how much Seething Swarm manage to cram into the short-lived experience. It has enough polish to feel like a demo for a larger game. Other than a few small issues with direction (once or twice I resorted to desperately clicking the entire screen), the puzzles are actually kind of awesome. To save holding your hand by throwing some text on the screen, visual and audio cues are sometimes given to let you know you’re on the right or wrong track.

For example, one early situation has you stuck in a tree with a velociraptor nipping at your heels. The way out clearly has something to do with a weathered branch hanging over a campfire, but my character kicks the branch to no avail. Amid the thunderous thwack the kick makes, I hear a slight crack– encouraging me to try again. After a few solid boots the branch finally come free and bursts into flames below. Other audio cues, like grunts, do a good job of letting you know when you’ve hit a dead end.

Theropods ends on a bitter sweet note, both in story and in the sense that I was happy to have experienced it but left wanting much more. Seething Swarm have given no word on whether they’ll dig deeper into the Theropods universe, but whatever their next project is, I’ll have my ears to the ground and fingers crossed in the hope that it’s a dinosaur themed point-and-click adventure.

It's a flash game, so you can play it right now here.

For more on Primal Carnage, check out world exclusive making of interview and preview in Episode 8 of Grab It.

Part II of Tim Schafer’s ode to the genre he helped established has arrived, and it should have come with a pair of rose-tinted glasses.

The Golden Years. For many people, this period encompasses their transition from childhood to early adult life - that blissful interlude where opportunity outpaces responsibility. The joys and pains we experience during this formative time become the memories that stick with us to the very end. But memory doesn't work like recorded video; it changes over time, and the things we think we remember may be nothing more than figments of our imagination. While this has always been an inescapable limitation of the human mind, nostalgia remains an effective marketing tool.

It’s unfortunate then that the lustre of our treasured memories doesn't always hold up under the harsh light of reality.