Zoo Review: PixelJunk Eden
Zoo Review is a monthly feature at Murderblog 3D in which our esteemed review panel pores over the hottest new game and breaks it down into a score that you can understand.
PixelJunk Eden has made one thing quite obvious: I love to jump.
When my little brother and I first got a PS1 (almost thirteen years ago now) we only had one game and some demo disc that I think came with the system. The game, Battle Arena Toshinden, was terrible… but we played the shit out of that demo disc, if only for one reason: Jumping Flash. Damn, that title was solid. Or at least the demo was, we never bothered with the full game (something like a milk-for-free scenario). The player controlled some sort of rabbit thing that leaps around a 3D environment. The entire game is from a first person perspective, with the camera pivoting downward in mid-air to allow for precise landings. Various ledges and platforms were littered throughout the environment and provided the incentive to explore, while trying to use double- and triple-jumps to collect power-ups and chain jumps off of enemies provided the difficulty. The entire thing had this draw–how high can I get?–which, I’ll admit, may have had a lot to do with the time limit on the demo. The game has recently surfaced on the Playstation Network as a downloadable title, but I don’t think it’d be worth trading my fond memories for an objective viewpoint.
I guess it’s not that I love to jump as much as I love to climb. It’s a combination of my passion for unguided exploration, something like Metroid, and the tight platforming of a game like Super Mario Bros. Combine the two and you get… er, Super Metroid or Super Mario World. But also things like Crackdown and PixelJunk Eden.
Pixeljunk Eden is somewhere between Jumping Flash and Bionic Commando (another game I spent quite a bit of time with in my youth). I’m not sure how to describe it in a narrative sense. Something about ‘Spectras’ lost in gardens that this spider-fairy called a ‘Grimp’ has to locate. It’s got the typical bullshit filler story that I’ve come to expect from timeless games. Basically… there are things to find, they are somewhere in these environments, and the player has to jump and swing around until they’re uncovered.
Add in three player local co-op and I’m in love.
If my description doesn’t make you want to run out (er, run in) and buy it, that’s because it isn’t the type of experience that caters to summary. The only thing I knew about it before downloading the demo was that it was pretty. It utilizes the graphical organic flourishes which have become so passé recently (check your local Target’s t-shirt designs for more info) but they still impress when in motion. I imagine a game being pretty may often be someone’s only criteria for purchasing it (how else can you justify all those Final Fantasy games?), but most people need a little more than that. So: it’s addictive, it’s fun, it controls wonderfully, and it’s an all around enlightening experience. It’s also quite pretty. Beyond that… I don’t know. It’s a complete package.
That’s not to say that it’s a perfect title. It’s not for everyone. If you hate games that require skill, concentration and determination then you should not download this. The co-op play can get very difficult if you absolutely suck at the game. If the first few challenges prove too difficult for you, you will not enjoy the full game. The complete package is not easy, but that’s kind of what I like about it.
Mostly, this seems to be what happens when you get an artist together with a competent dev team.
The mechanics are rock solid and the aesthetic is binding and cohesive without getting in the way of the game itself.. It feels very similar to those Bit Generation titles I love so, so much.
