Pixel the cat gathers the ducklings and leads them to safety, descending ever deeper into the Grid of Infinity as they do, going faster and faster through its winding corridors, colors shifting around as they travel into the unknown until, at last, a voice rings out and the world is inverted, white becoming black—it’s fever time.
This description of Salvador Dali’s favorite dream is, in fact, the basic gameplay loop of “Pix the Cat,” a puzzle game from French developer Pastagames.
At first glance, “Pix” is a pretty simple game. The basic idea is to go around the level gathering the eggs which hatch into ducklings and deliver them to spots in the level. The challenge comes in multiple forms. First, the player’s movements aren’t super-precise, so players have to think ahead a bit before they make that turn, and since the gameplay gets faster as the player’s combo increases, that can be easier said than done. Learning how Pixel moves is essential—sometimes the eggs and the drop off points are very close to each other, and dropping off a duckling before collecting the rest of them sacrifices the perfect bonus players get at the end of the level for getting all their ducks in a row in one go. The other challenge comes from those same ducklings, which string themselves behind Pixel as they go through the level. Running into them destroys both them and the player’s score. There are enemies and other hazards on some levels, as well. The player’s combo multiplier steadily increases as the player completes levels. When it hits the maximum, the game goes into “fever mode,” inverting the colors, beefing up the soundtrack and giving players the chance to increase their score even more. Going through the levels and racking up points unlocks more grids, modes and artwork.
In many ways, this game is similar to the mostly-bygone era of weird Japanese import games that “Pix” draws its influences from. There’s elements of “Chu Chu Rocket,” “Pac Man” and the old-school classic “Snake” to be found in the game, but everything is tweaked just enough that “Pix” stands on its own. And when it’s layered atop the crazy visuals and excellent soundtrack, it becomes a truly unique experience.
Speaking of layers and crazy visuals, this game looks like nothing else. Everything glows like the inside of a nuclearreactor. There are flashes and pops of color and light every time the player increases their combo. As the player advances, and their combo increases, the color scheme of the level changes. It’s almost psychedelic. The grid’s levels are all stacked on top of each other, each leading seamlessly to the other. Completing a level opens up a portal to the next, and the player can go through this portal as much as they want. This actually plays into the game’s strategy—on some levels, it’s prudent to go through the portal and up to the last level to bypass a hazard or shorten travel time—and as the game is on a strict time limit, learning how to go through the levels efficiently is the key to a high score.
Other than the single-player arcade mode, there’s a local multiplayer arena mode for up to four players. Gameplay is a little different in this mode—instead of herding ducks, players (represented by “Pix-Bots”) gather up eggs and shoot them at other players, stunning them. While stunned, players dash through them to defeat them. First to three points wins. Like the rest of the game, it’s simple but effective. There are also leaderboards where players can compare their score with other players both globally and on their friends list.
“Pix” just looks simple—there’s a surprising amount of depth and challenge in this game, and the core concepts of the game come together to make it an excellent, fast-paced and addictive puzzle game.
“Pix the Cat” is available on the Playstation 4 and the Playstation Vita through PSN for $16.49. It’s free for PS Plus members through the month of October.
