Axel & Pixel: Review

There is a category of games for which only one definition fits: enjoyable. Here, not good, not bad, but pleasant. Well, maybe they’re still cute. Because you can’t seriously evaluate something as simple and even unassuming as a quest-like game from the point of view of the quality of gameplay, graphics and other “adult” parameters Axel & Pixel.

Indeed, what kind of “porridge” can be cooked on an explosive mixture of multi-style art from deliberate two-dimensionality, funny, unusual tasks and an almost complete absence of a meaningful plot? Oh yes, we almost forgot about psychedelic fantasies as the main ingredient – for a special aftertaste.

Who are all these mushrooms?? And where are my things?

Axel & Pixel — a casual adventure game, slightly infected with an arcade spirit. If she could be proud of anything, she would be proud of her ostentatious casualness. It’s not surprising that instead of a script, the developers gave us something very unintelligible.

The artist Axel and the thin-legged orange dog Pixel find themselves in the world of either fantasy or Axel’s dreams (but we know that substances are to blame for everything). To get out of there, you need to take possession of the golden key, which is kept by a nasty pink cartoon rat. The rodent constantly runs away, and our heroes catch up with the enemy, simultaneously overcoming various fantastic obstacles. Actually, this is where the plot ends. Hallucinogenic pictures of Axel dreams are very conditionally related to each other.

However, the lack of a clear storyline does not spoil a project of this type at all. On the contrary: a story suddenly falling on our heads would only weigh down the wonderful, airy line of adventure. The main thing in a psychedelic quest is that? To make it “more and more strange”. With this just in Axel & Pixel Everything is fine.

And https://bingositesnotongamstop.co.uk/review/slots-amigo/ I’m so small

Each level has only one two-dimensional screen. When interacting with objects and phenomena of the fantasy world, we must provide Axel and Pixel with free passage, flight or swimming. It is not known whether the artist tried Caroll’s pies and bottles with various bad, enticing inscriptions. The only obvious result is that our characters are very small compared to the surrounding reality. Various insects are approximately equal to Axel in height, and the turtle next to him looks like a tank. It is no coincidence that a tank caterpillar is attached to her paw as if by chance.

At first, the player may be misled by the simple way to solve problems. Some actions can be performed by the main character himself, some things can be entrusted to his four-legged friend. We have to do many things on our own, with our divine will and yellow finger-shaped cursor, changing circumstances. There are very few items to use along the way. Moreover, all selected sticks, leaves, glass shards and other necessary things are applied automatically, you just need to click on the desired place. It would seem that this is a casual’s dream.

In fact, it turns out that not everything is so simple. Solutions that are individually elementary and at first tend to combine into delightful long chains. The closer to the end, the more difficult the quests become, sometimes turning into real puzzles. So, for example, a task with glass fragments, with the help of which you need to catch the sun’s rays, forces you to seriously strain your only gyrus, which saves it from complete alignment. And a sequence like “grow a strawberry on a bush – put it in a nut shell – crush it – pour strawberry juice on a strange creature in order to take away from it a wheel for a complex mechanism that moves a tree cone” combines the simplicity of each individual action and the sophistication of the execution as a whole.

Of course, this is impossible due to Axel & Pixel don’t remember the glorious adventure game Samorost from Jakuba Dworski. These two games really have a lot in common: from gameplay to art.

Subtleties of landing

Is it true, Axel & Pixel there will still be more – both in volume and in the variety of gameplay. In addition to many riddles, we are treated to arcade mini-games, which are also quite interesting. We need, for example, to guide a balloon through a narrow underground ditch without touching the walls. At the same time, we cannot control the flight directly. Only indirect methods are available to us: apply gas so that the aircraft rushes upward or, on the contrary, reduce the pressure so that the heroes descend a little. A mini-arcade racing game is built on a similar principle, which suddenly reveals good physics. The small yellow SUV accelerates, brakes and rolls over due to strong impacts on the ground quite believably.

Actually Axel & Pixel – new only for computer territory. A year ago, Xbox 360 users already managed to join this unusual game. For console realities, we note – doubly unusual, because, as a rule, modern casual projects are intended primarily for PC. How else can an office employee brighten up his working time if not with casual entertainment??

Among other things, Axel, being an artist, stops from time to time and sketches the next landscape he sees. But not just like that, but with our help. In order for the maestro to take up his brush, we have to prepare a picturesque scene for him every time: “opening” flower buds and all that.

Eclecticism starts and wins

Okay, but how did the developers themselves prepare their “painting” for us in the locations?? Let’s answer in one word: strange. The very first impression of art can even be sharply negative. Like, “what are these cartoon figures against the background of photo collages, the twenty-first century is in the yard, after all”! A little later, having taken a closer look and become imbued with it, we begin to understand that it is precisely such a deliberate discordance of methods of visual embodiment that creates a single and somewhat unique style Axel & Pixel, which is probably worth many brilliant 3D crafts.

Anticipating comments like “Again at StopGame.ru Casual girls are given “Amazing”!", we inform you: yes, we are betting, we have been betting and will continue to bet until casual games are as organic, balanced and amazing as Axel & Pixel.

Pros: graceful action sequences; unusual mini-games; original art; harmony of all gameplay elements.
Cons: not a mass product.

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