PixelJunk Shooter – PSN. (Yes, a review. It has been a while).

Q-Games define the Pixeljunk brand as representing “simplicity, familiarity, and originality”. With this ethos in mind Pixeljunk Shooter’s title, manages to at least be fifty percent accurate, because it sure as hell isn’t a shooter. The problem is the term ‘shooter’ has become synonymous with a screen filled with bullets, requiring precision manoeuvring just to survive. In Shooter you are greeted with a more thoughtful experience that relies more on reason than twitch reflexes.

Titling the game ‘Shooter’ is not completely erroneous as it does from the primary interface with the game world. These bullet-based interactions are not as aggressive as you may anticipate, instead you spend the majority of you time shooting through rock to move torrents of various liquids (lava, water or a magnetic black goo) from one area to another in an attempt to melt, solidify or vaporise them. It is in these interactions, and how to initiate and control them that forms the more cerebral puzzle aspects that sit at the core of the game.

It scenes like this that really show off the fluid dynamics

‘Shooter’ takes a very holistic approach to design. From the graphics to the dynamic fluid physics it is clear that at each step the interaction of these elements and their effect on atmosphere and gameplay was at the forefront of the designers’ minds. The trance like music ensures a feeling of serenity as you make your way through tranquil cavernous levels. Even the enemies seem to be in no real hurry to do you harm, indeed sometimes antagonists are necessary to get through areas and need to be manipulated rather than dispensed with. Everything encourages you to relax and think leading you organically towards solutions.

‘Shooters’ damage system is no exception to its holistic ethos. Working in tandem with the world’s physics your craft’s health takes the heat. Over heating your ship results in a system malfunction causing you to drift, uncontrollably towards death. Being near a heat source causes your temperature to rise, while water and time allow you to cool. Because of this even if your overheated ship is set adrift uncontrollably landing in water will instantly cool you allowing you back in to the action. It’s a wonderful system, negating the need for health packs and instead tying your survival to your tactics.

On a few rare occasions the game grants abilities beyond those of the environment and your craft. By altering the properties of you ship you receive as many drawbacks as you do bonuses. One such ability is the lava spray, which allows you to shower lava down on levels, but doesn’t protect you from its hazardous effects.

Environmental changes between areas are not only cosmetic, they also alter the worlds rules.

It was this lava power that featured in one of my favourite puzzles of the game where I had to redirect a waterfall into a pool of lava to allow me to penetrate its porous solid form. Forced to fire the lava directly above my self to get the angle required to plug the waterfall I had to perform a careful balancing act between the effect of the cooling water and the burning lava as gravity dragged both back towards me. Carefully constructing the damn I managed to stop the path of the water, creating a basin that promptly overflowed, cooling the molten pool and allowing me to drill my way through.

Pixeljunk Shooter is filled from start to finish with similar example of this natural design. It leads you through levels, organically teaching you as you go. It is a beautiful game both in terms of its appearance and design. I was so swept up by the games design that I almost completed in a single (four hour sitting), and it was only sleep that finally pulled me away at 5 am.