Pixeljunk Shooter

It takes courage to establish oneself as a developer that takes a genre and distils it too its purest form. Removing any hints of photo realism and modern flair. It takes exceptional skills to do it well and that is why I would name Q-Games one of the most exciting developers in the present although they don't quite get the credit they deserve.

Pixeljunk Monsters was the Tower Defence genre boiled down to its essence and best elements, while Pixeljunk Eden was a pure and hypnotic platform experience that ranks among my favourite games this generation.

Pixeljunk Shooter is something entirely different. Instead of doing away with a bunch of unnecessary elements and distilling a genre to its purest form, Pixeljunk Shooter is an action title that brings its own original mechanics to the table.

I'm on a rescue mission in my little space craft. Out to save humanity in a distant future where Earth's resources have been depleted and mankind needs to search new planets in order to survive. One of these planets turned out to be a death trap and below the planets surface there are a whole lot of stranded scientist that needs saving.

Rescue missions of this nature in video games often results in dishing out laser death to enemies of all shapes and sizes, but in Pixeljunk Shooter its not the organic creatures who try to thwart your mission that is your greatest threat but the environments.

In the first of the three worlds lava is common theme that runs through the levels. The lava fills every crack it finds. And even though my little craft is build with all the latest technology the future has to offer, heat is its Achilles' heel, and every time it comes into contact with the lava it spells destruction.

My laser cannon has little effect on the lava, but it does have a lot of effect on my surroundings. This in turn makes it possible to redirect water in the levels to make contact with the lava. The result is solid rock, something I can remove with ease thanks to my trusted laser cannon.

Later on the lava can be combined with new elements such as flammable gas, ice and a magnetic oily substance, and with these Q-Games have created challenges that are both original, challenging and completely logical at the same time. I keep returning just to give it another go.

The developer has found clever ways of providing the short supply of levels without secrets that you are always willing to go back. Three worlds with few levels each is all the game offers, but on top of finding all the confused scientists there are also a large number of hidden diamonds in each level. A set number of diamonds has to be found in order to unlock the next world, but if you are like me and have a compulsion to find everything Q-Games have included more than enough extra ones.

And there are a lot of little game mechanics that are never explained, but become second nature almost immediately. Regular laser shots from your cannon barely make a mark on your heat meter, but if you hold down the button to release four heat seeking missiles it's quickly elevated. If your craft is hit by enemy projectiles and set on fire you can still save it by plunging down in some cool puddle of water before it explodes. You can loose five scientists in one level before it is considered a failure, but new tries can be gained by collecting coins your vanquished enemies drop.

The fact that Q-Games felt no need to explain all of these mechanics is a clue as to why their latest creation just as good as their previous efforts. Despite offering more originality and puzzles than most games, the challenges always appear possible to solve and inviting. You will rarely find yourself stuck for more than a minute or two and you will come back in order to perfect the level.

This accessibility is combined with packaging consisting of simple shapes, beautiful colours, and amazingly realistic fluids, and add tracks provided by High Frequency Bandwidth that fully lives up to the high standards Q-Games have set with the soundtracks of their previous titles.

Pixeljunk Shooter is one of few games in recent days that made me consider the highest scores on the scale before I had even played it for an hour. Much like many of the games that come out of Kyoto giant Nintendo, where Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert previously worked, it's based on a simple idea that has been polished and worked on until the end result is simply irresistible. Unfortunately what is wonderful is also short and Pixeljunk Shooter is over in a couple of hours, and if there had only been more levels I would have named it the best title to come out of Q-Games without any doubt.

Pixeljunk Shooter is an experience that could very well provide you with some of the best hours of gaming you will have this holiday season. I only wish there had been more of it...