PixelJunk Eden
Developer: Q-Games Limited
Platform: PlayStation 3 (free demo, paid full version)
Nominations: Excellence in Visual Art, Excellence in Audio, Technical Excellence
Website
Description: Swing around on alient plant life, smashing things as you go along, as well as growing new plants.

Adam’s Thoughts:
PixelJunk Eden is yet another 2D platformer up for the IGF awards. This one stands out as being more abstractly arty than the is typical of the genre, but the interesting gameplay appears to arise from the fact that you can’t actually walk. The little avatars in PixelJunk Eden ambulate by jumping; they hop from plant to plant like a trio of tiny ninjas. Also interesting is the fact that the platforms ceaselessly move, making an undulating and sometimes growing path (in fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if the reason you can’t walk on the dynamic terrain is that tracking the collision would be a nightmare). In addition to jumping, it looks like you’re able to swing in grand arcs from the plants, which makes the gameplay look like a more improvisational version of CarneyVale: Showtime.

Aside from the mechanics, the game is drop-dead gorgeous, with gracefully arcing plants and colors swarming in the background. It seems like it’ll be a pleasure to explore, just for the tourist joy of seeing what’s out there. The music, being percussion-heavy and otherwise minimal, may well be unique among games, which makes it refreshing. Now if only we had a PS3 to play it on (hint hint, Sony).

Katie’s Thoughts:
Sadly for our impression of PixelJunk Eden, we haven’t shelled out the $400 for a PlayStation 3. We’re currently stuck basing our impressions on the pictures and videos available on the web. You seem to jump and swing around plants, and the game seems to inherit a lot of the play mechanics of Ninja Ropes. It also seems to have a little Bionic Commando, in that a basic mechanic of most games is absent in this game (PixelJunk Eden doesn’t appear to let you walk).

The base-heavy music is enjoyable, but hopefully changes from level to level, or it would get extremely repetitive. The swirly plant life and abstract backgrounds make for a visually different game. I’m looking forward to getting a chance to finally put my hands to this game at the GDC.

What do you think?
Do you have a PlayStation 3? Download this game’s trial version, and let us know what you think in a comment.

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Tags:   Excellence in Audio · excellence in visual art · GDC · IGF · Technical ExcellenceNo Comments

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