Review: Pixeljunk Shooter 2

The Pixeljunk series, according to the founder of Q- games, thrives under this motto: "Simplicity, familiarity and originality". They are high quality, affordable 2D games, that typically mimics the older and near forgotten genres of old, but in a new way. Earlier additions include a cart racer, a platform game and a tower defense game. But what all of these have in common, is that they introduce something new, into something familiar.

I was therefore a bit surprised when at the end of Pixeljunk shooter, there was an obvious cliffhanger, and in not to long a while, an announcement for Pixeljunk shooter 2. Then, if we are to believe their motto, we must presume that they had more «originality» to present.

The «It’s good, but we have seen this before», argument is extremely common in game reviews in general, and this will remain true for every game that is a true sequel. But in a way, this argument is mitigated somewhat by the fact that the second game is presented more as the second volume of an overarching story, and that it continues to expand the chapters with new concepts of gameplay, just like in the first game.

I’d say the obvious connection between the first and the second game makes the argument above banale, if not weak and trite. So in what way can we trace the originality, the simplicity and the familiarity? In what manner does this game expand upon it’s predecessor. In what areas does it excel?

It manages to deliver on it’s promise of high quality content. The visuals are beautiful, the controls are fluid and the areas are new and exciting.

However the game is quite hard. I’m glad I played it along with a friend. In the two player mode - if one ship gets destroyed, it re-spawns if your partner manages to stay alive for ten seconds. This mitigates some of the challenges emensly. What often happens in a level, is that at the very end something dramatic and frightening happens, which means that you also have a high chance of dying.
My friend and I quickly devised strategies for avoiding just such a calamity, but in a way we wish we didn’t have to.

I'm glad a friend helped me with this one.

Difficulty levels are notoriously hard to determine, because the skill of a player is so different. For game number one, you can except that everyone is unfamiliar with the concepts, and you have to teach every player the tricks. However many who return to a sequel expects a better challenge. And for the most part, PixelJunk Shooter 2 delivers on that promise.

It’s smooth, nice, and well made - but is this something exceptional I should not miss? That is the question many players ask themselves before they buy. And I’m sad to say, that for the most part that answer is no.

Admittedly this is a game that focuses on gameplay, and not on story; but the story seems to have been forgotten altogether, and towards the end there is no resolution to the conflict that has been (somewhat uncaringly) carried throughout the two games. In this Q- games has squandered a huge opportunity to lift their game to the action- filled equivalent of «thatgamecompay» standards.