Review: Pixel Galaxy

October 14, 2015 Ailingforale

Ever wanted to pick up spare pixels and use them as weapons against other rampaging pixels that are coming to end you? Yeh, I can’t say that thought has ever crossed my mind either, but now I’ve lived out this specific fantasy of someone over at Serenity Forge in Pixel Galaxy. It’s a bit of a trip and I have no idea how this game ever came to fruition. All I know is that it’s a game that comes off as rather easy and then laughs at you when it inevitably does get you. It is inevitable.

It's nice when things clear up, but it's always calm before the storm right? — It’s nice when things clear up, but it’s always calm before the storm right?

Stranded in the vastness of space or whatever they’re calling this ether space this go around, you must fend for yourself. Gather allies by running into them… just like real life! Surround yourself with friends so you don’t have to parish. Yeh, ok, now it sounds like a game where you sacrifice your friends to survive. I wonder if this is actually a zombie apocalypse game? You know how it goes, gather a large group in the name of survival, but really you just want to increase your odds of living by having other visible/slower people nearby… but you’re friends right? I’m not sure how deep we want to take this comparison.

Boss fights! Most of them are more awesome than The Pixel, but I've ended up fighting this guy three times in a row before. What are you going to do? — Boss fights! Most of them are more awesome than The Pixel, but I’ve ended up fighting this guy three times in a row before. What are you going to do?

You can grab your pixel buddies all willy-nilly, but there are some things to keep in mind. What you want to protect the most is your core (your starter pixel). You need to fully encircle yourself. After that, man yourself with all sorts of firepower (including bosses!). At the same time, if you have too many guns, you can kill some of those that would have joined your cause for survival. It’s rough, but give it some time and you’ll lose some of those upgrades without a doubt. You’ll have room again soon. Pixel Galaxy throws a lot at you when it wants to.

I lost a lot of pixels to this trap/trick thing until my bud pointed out to me that the shoots weren't coming from off the screen, but from two little pixels to the right of the screen that I should have seen and shot... but I didn't. — I lost a lot of pixels to this trap/trick thing until my bud pointed out to me that the shoots weren’t coming from off the screen, but from two little pixels to the right of the screen that I should have seen and shot… but I didn’t.

Pixel Galaxy does the achievement system right as well. I like that you have some achievements for how you build yourself. You can build yourself as a perfect square or as a straight line. It’s what I like, achievable achievements.

Pixel Galaxy is the latest in Bullet Hells that are surprisingly fun. I had a hard time with this game though. It may look simple enough, however, Pixel Galaxy throws a ton of stuff at you and it’s really tough to figure out where you are at times all the while it’s also hard to figure out which pixels are possible friendlies sometimes. At one point I felt I was probably killing more buddies than baddies. Pixel Galaxy is neat and fun and while I feel it may not super amazing, it’s fun enough that fans of the genre should pick it up for sure.

More Pixel Galaxy info: Facebook / Official Page / Steam / Twitter