Blog
First Impressions - PixelJunk Eden
What Is That Thing, a Brine Shrimp?
by Raccoonacorn
HeyKidNiceRobot and I had a chance to sit down and play the PixelJunk Eden demo this morning. As self-professed indie game fanatics (a title that brings on quite a bit of ridicule in this office) we had both been anticipating the demo release.
To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel. The game looks beautiful, with excellent color pallettes and nicely designed fauna, items, and strange, shrimp-like characters. The music is great as well. It has a trance feel, but with a nice, relaxed demeanor. I wouldn't expect anything less from PixelJunk, they have a great eye for design and ear for chill, mood-setting tunes.
The controls were what got us, as they are a bit difficult to grasp at first. Swinging your character is simple enough, as is jumping and grasping items. However, it seems as if there is a move missing. It would be nice to “pull a Spider-Man” and be able to throw a thread from mid-air. Alas, this is not possible. HeyKid said, “Well, I guess it might make the game too easy.” Yet, with a time-limit already in place in levels, and already fussy controls, the game's built in difficulty is probably high enough.
Another issue was the camera during co-op play. It seems to randomly choose one of the players, and if the other falls off the screen, they have less than a few seconds to get back on. Otherwise, they evaporate and must wait until their partner lands in order to respawn. You would be surprised how long between landings a player can go, and this can cause some annoyingly long periods of sitting with nothing to do.
Besides the control and camera issues, though, this game has everything you would expect from a PixelJunk release. Unique gameplay, creative designs, and plenty of screams as you just barely complete your task before time runs out. If they can clear up the camera, then any control issues could be overlooked.
If you've got some time, give it a play. It's a free demo anyway, so it's not like you have anything to lose.
Related Articles:
Comments
this game is full of mmm's. silk-swinging, pollenated, colorful mmm's.
Mmm's abound!
Will be downloading today when I get home. Haven't had a chance to play anything all this week. Sucks. Not even my PSP or golf..., wait, scratch that. I have played golf and some GH: Aerosmith.
Anyway this game will be mine soon!
It looks pretty. I want to play!
@QMarc:
You HAVE to play it. We went back and just played it for another hour or so. Incredible, and the co-op is a ton of fun when you both know what you are doing. Again, only problem is the camera can be a bit tricky, but after a while, it's just another obstacle for you to overcome.
I liked it a lot! I was only able to play for about 15 minutes, so I didn't get a chance to really get into it too much. My meter died twice as my nephew asked me what I was playing. As I explained the game to him (he's 3 years old) he just walked away and I was restarting the demo for a second time. So, all in all, I got a glimpse of a great game and will play it again tomorrow night before I go to work again.
Next step is to get more friends on the PSN!