Some games just have a a way of putting a smile on your face. Pixel Boy by Giant Box Games may be early in development, but its already overflowing with indie charm.
You play as Pixel Boy who is, well.. made of pixels. The goal is to help Pixel Boy (otherwise known simply as, “The Boy”) become the Dungeon Runner’s World Champion. Sounds simple enough, but as you might expect you don’t just walk up and high-five the town Mayor and hoist the award above your head. Dungeons await your exploration, and dive into them you shall in order to rightfully claim your title. There’s more than just glory riding on your success, as the economic stability of Resolutia lies squarely in your pockets as the vendors eagerly await your patronage.
Running through the dynamically-generated dungeon levels reminds me of Fourth of July fireworks. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure why but I think it might be because Pixel Boy’s color palette is extremely vibrant. Shooting glowing homing missiles at enemies that pulsate and glow might be part of it as well, but what I am trying to say is that Pixel Boy looks good. The lighting effects are solid and the game has a unique aesthetic to it that really works well. The visual flair also helps to pronounce its arcade-inspired gameplay, which is fast and relatively chaotic. My favorite element of the alpha build were the voiceovers. Honestly, they are probably placeholders but I thought they were hilarious. They were funny thanks to the witting writing, but they also gave the game a very ‘indie’ touch which is very endearing. The audio levels peak and it literally sounds like someone’s brother doing the voices for fun, but it works and I love it. I can’t really explain why I liked them, because based on what I just wrote you’d think they were amateurish and bad. But they aren’t. Honestly, I can’t explain it. They made me laugh, okay?
While the game has its indie flair, there’s also a lot going on under the hood. The crafting system looks intense, although that might be because the UI is a tad confusing. Truthfully though, the crafting looks like it’ll be one of the game’s best features. As you venture through dungeons, you unlock powerups that you find in treasure chests. You can merge these powers to create new combinations. For instance, you can combine Spread Shot and Heat Seeking so that you shoot multiple projectiles that seek out enemies in your vicinity. There’s a ton of different combinations, each allowing you to customize how Pixel Boy attacks. Leveling up allows you boost your stats, which allows you to give The Boy a bit of a boost. Whether you decide to boost your HP so you don’t die every 3 minutes or boost your attack range/damage, leveling up is vital to your success. Trust me, invest in your health and boost dat HP, you’ll need it.
Pixel Boy is on pace to becoming a really neat experience for dungeon crawling gamers. The people of Resolutia are waiting for their hero.