The next instalment of the PC revamp of the PixelJunk series takes us below the surface of the planet to save a group of scientists who went missing while mining. It’s up to you to take command of a little spaceship to navigate through the subterranean cavern systems, in order to rescue the scientists and discover the source of their problems.
PixelJunk Shooter is an action multi-directional shooter with some puzzle elements. The levels are designed so that you need to put some thought into completion, and thankfully aren’t always something totally obvious. The growth of difficulty in the game is enough to make you spend some time thinking about how to complete the level and may cost you a few restarts here and there, but not enough so that the game comes to a complete standstill because you get frustrated with something. Though the difficulty jump between worlds one and two to world three is quite noticeable. There are 15 levels spread over 3 worlds for you to work through, with each world having a different theme and surroundings which I won’t spoil here, since it’s fun to be able to have something different to look at.
Your control options are either a keyboard and mouse, or you can use a controller – though I found the controller really awkward to play with. The use of the two control methods comes into play together when playing local co-op mode, though I wouldn’t voluntarily pick the controller to play with. Controls are simple with very few things to memorise. Movements are basic, but you also have the option to spin your ship which will in turn sort of act as a drill on the softer soils. Your ship is equipped with a gun and a grapple as your main attacks, with the ability to equip other suits when provided with the opportunity. These various suits will allow your ship’s abilities to change depending on what suits are available to you. You don’t have the choice of what suit you can equip, but they will become available when needed to complete a level and will disappear after the level is completed.
There are three kinds of suits that will become available to you: A lava suit, a water suit and an inversion suit. The lava suits allows you to shoot streams of (you guessed it) lava, the Water suit allows you to shoot (drum roll) water and pull snow, and finally the inversion suit inverts the effects water and lava have on you. The suits add a nice variety throughout the levels to change up the advancement and the playstyle from the usual plain ship that you start off with. I mean, who doesn’t like throwing fire at things?
Gameplay is straightforward; pilot your spaceship around and pick up all of the scientists in the levels to open the gate to the next zone. Use your left click to shoot through soft ground or utilise the elements (in the form of lava and water) to try and save the scientists. Physics in the game will end up putting you against the clock before scientists get burned by lava from volcanoes or lava that you accidentally released from an area. The elements also play off against each other; an abundance of water will turn lava into rock while an abundance of lava will evaporate the rest of the water.
In each level there are diamonds to find – which are the items that you will need to unlock the final level of the world – and the boss fight. Dotted around are also named scientists that will give you some insight to the storyline and why the scientists are in their current predicament. Boss fights are where the “shooter” aspect mainly comes into play, with some loose tactics that you need to bear in mind when you are fighting the boss. For a small indie game, it adds something nice to the genre, combining the physics of the water and lava in game with puzzle completions and trying not to burn the scientists alive. The length of the game is relatively short with completion taking approximately 6-ish hours, though I wouldn’t go into this game expecting a lengthy tale of adventure or anything – everything is very simple, but that is also it’s charm.
The art style of the game is very simple and 2D, it won’t win any awards for the best art, but it’s a nice aesthetic that fits in with the game’s overall minimalistic style well. It can end up getting slightly monotonous throughout due to the simplicity, this can make restarting levels a chore. I found playing it in small batches instead of binging out on it worked well to stave off the monotony. The soundtrack is very subtle for the most part and increases with intensity as you begin to encounter more dangerous situations in the levels, which adds a nice immersion to the game as you’re playing it. At times I kept forgetting the game even had music until I noticed its soft ambience in the background. As I’ve said, the simplicity is a negative point, it’s also a charming part of the game. PixelJunk Shooter wouldn’t seem as well played as it was without the charm of a simple little spaceship battering through rock and avoiding lava.
Even though I wasn’t able to sit down and complete the game in one sitting (I did it over a few sessions) due to the lack of attention I was able to give the game for prolonged periods of time, it is however worth the price that it holds. I may not have rated it highly, but needless to say, it’s not something that I regretted playing at all and I quite enjoyed the combination of the physics and puzzles that the game offers. It adds in a nice touch to the genre and it’s something I will most likely go back to at some point to finish the game more fully – beating level times and collecting all the scientists and gems.
PixelJunk Shooter is available for £6.99/€8,99/$8.99.
A review copy was provided for this review.