So, PixElated Adventures, or the PixElated Festival, is currently underway on Steam – it’s a digital festival with a noble goal: to celebrate pixel art games of all shapes and sizes. And guess who loves pixel art games around here? Well, we do. You can probably see where this is going, but I’m going to tell you anyway: we tried a bunch of demos, picked out our favorites, and now we’re here to tell you about them. Trust me, there are some juicy titles in here, so do read on!
System Purge: Hollow Point
I’m just going to start off our list with my personal favorite, or to put it another way, the game I found to be the most memorable in my demo lineup. System Purge: Hollow Point starts out as a cute little platformer with cute pixel art that wastes no time in letting the player know exactly what it’s all about: intense platforming. Featuring some moody visuals and an atmosphere thick enough to be cut with a knife, System Purge is a game that reminds me of Super Meat Boy – a precision platformer with a punishing difficulty level that requires you to try, try and try again until you figure out exactly when and how to jump in order to complete the elaborate obstacle course presented to you. It was a joy to play through, all in all, and I was determined not to give up until I finished the entirety of the demo, dozens of untimely deaths be damned.
Beacon of Neyda
I really enjoyed this one. Despite being initially confused by certain game mechanics (I’ll just chalk this up to me being a slow learner), Beacon of Neyda provided a rock-solid gameplay experience in a detailed post-apocalyptic world brought to life with gorgeous pixel art. The basic loop of scavenging for materials, building up my main base, fighting off waves of mutant creatures and then hopping into an elevator to explore some underground tunnels gave me pleasant flashbacks to Fallout 4, and before I knew it, I had already spent a solid hour tinkering away in this dangerous but endlessly fascinating world.
The Girl from Arkanya
Zelda, but cuter – that’s more or less how I could describe The Girl from Arkanya, a project I knew would make it to our list the moment I heard its adorable protagonist hum a chipper little tune in the sound options menu when I was simply trying to adjust my volume settings. Either way, the game is quite solid as well: seemingly inspired by the older Zelda titles, it’s a top-down pixel art adventure with adorable visuals, a lovable protagonist with a lovable accent, and a playable magic capybara. Because what game doesn’t need a playable capybara? Exactly.
A Fox Tale
Okay, so do you want another precision platformer, but one that’s maybe not quite as punishing as System Purge: Hollow Point? In that case, A Fox Tale might be the title you’re looking for. Also, you play as a fox, which is always a plus. Other than that, I found it to be just a really nice, chill experience with satisfying platforming challenges, fluffy fox tails and interesting mechanics. Now, full-on disclaimer: it’s entirely possible that the game gets significantly more punishing on later levels, but what I’ve played of its demo managed to find a certain sweet spot that I personally was happy with, so there’s that.
Specters of the Sun
Specters of the Sun caught my attention with its striking art style – gritty, cool, and focusing on my two favorite colors: black and red. In this oppressive dark fantasy universe, you play the role of a specter whose mission is to find and reclaim his own corpse, which honestly sounds pretty Dark Souls-y on paper, now that I think about it. In any case, if you’re looking for something that looks like Castlevania and a heavy metal album cover had a baby, give this one a try.
Clockwork Ambrosia
Clockwork Ambrosia describes itself as a “vibrant fusion of metoidvania and 2D shooter gameplay with a weapon-building twist”, and that’s more or less what I got out of it, too: colorful pixel art meets tight gameplay as you take on the role of an airship pilot and explore a wide variety of zones teeming with monsters and robots. The aforementioned weapon-building aspect is what made the game particularly memorable to me: your gear can be customized with parts that do a variety of different things, allowing you to experiment with a multitude of different weapon types. Which, honestly, sounds pretty cool to me.
