Review: Adventures Of Pip (PS4)

You play as Pip, who despite the fact that he is only one pixel in a world full of 32-bit characters, is the only one brave enough to stand up to the Skeleton Queen and rescue the kidnapped princess. 

Pros:

• Pixel art graphics.
• Platforming RPG gameplay.
• Small download size: 177MB.
• 20 trophies.
• Ongoing tutorials.
• Simple easy to learn controls.
• Checkpoints throughout levels.
• Auto saves.
• Three save slots with copy and delete options.
• Collect pixels from enemies. Pixels is your currency.
• Retro atmosphere.
• Can skip cutscenes if you wish.
• Play as Pip who can freely change between a boy and a single pixel. Hit a special common enemy to turn back into a boy.
• As a pixel you have higher jumps, can float and fit in tight platforms. As a boy you can wall jump and punch things.
• Main village hub where you can unlock further stores to buy and upgrade your character.
• World map screen akin to the Super Mario games.
• Rescue villagers throughout the levels to increase your level completion rank.
• Chests littered throughout.
• Secret areas and shortcuts can be found.
• Wide selection of enemy types.
• Enemies respawn upon death.
• Huge massive boss fights that take up the whole screen.
• Lovely somber soundtrack with some booming beats for boss fights.
• Very pick up and play and accessible to new players.

Cons:

• wall jumping is a bit awkward as you really struggle to just climb up a tiny lip of a platform.
• Being able to morph into a pixel whenever is cool but the placement of enemies to revert back is not always ideal.
• Needs more checkpoints especially in boss fights.
• Difficulty spikes happen when you least expect it.
• Earning enough pixels to buy items is a slow process.
• Slow starter.

Adventures of Pip is a curious title to hit PlayStation 4. It has the appearance of retro gaming, The difficulty of retro games yet has a lot of other games injected into it. Now the task for the developer is can they pull it off? I mean on paper it looks like just another generic ” I wanna be retro” platformer? Well after a days of play and countless tantrums and pad throwing I can announce that game is brilliant fun! If you want a summary where I use other games to describe it then thats easy. Its got the RPG nature of Zelda, The platforming prowess of Metroid games, The map of Super Mario Brothers and the boss fights of a Castlevania game. It is a well tidy little package where it will reward your efforts but punish your mistakes, Very much a innocent looking game with devilishly difficult undertones. All gamers a like will love the world to explore, The secrets to find and the bosses to defeat. Wonderful.