Axel & Pixel review

Picture almost perfect

12DOVE Verdict

Pros

  • +

    A splendid slice of silliness

  • +

    Like a childhood book in game form

  • +

    QTEs and minigames mix things up

Cons

  • -

    Some unfairly obscure puzzles

  • -

    Quite short

  • -

    Will be too weird for some

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It’s been said that nobody makes wacky games quite like the Japanese. By the same standard, nobody comes close to Eastern Europe either. In weirdness stakes Eastern Europe runs a close second: Eerie, Indiana to Japan’s Twin Peaks. The latest slice of down-the-rabbit-hole bonkersness comes courtesy of Axel & Pixel: a point and clicker following French artist Axel and his friendly dog Pixel as they pursue an evil key-thieving rat through four seasons of nightmarish worlds clearly inspired by free PC favorite Samorost.

Like many point and clickers its solutions range from the forehead-slappingly obvious to the unfairly obscure (such as coaxing a young bird into the mouth of a giant tortoise to use its head as a ladder). What is impressive, however, is its use of QTEs and minigames to bolster the adventure and inject fresh ideas into the predictable template. The adventure’s a bit short, but a decent selection of collectibles will drag you back once you’re done.

Nov 11, 2009

More info

GenreAdventure
DescriptionAn artist (Axel) and his dog (Pixel) enter a strange world and must work together to solve puzzles in this XBLA release. The engrossing adventure is a bit short, but a decent selection of collectibles will drag you back once you’re done.
Platform"Xbox 360"
US censor rating"Everyone"
UK censor rating"7+"
Alternative names"Axel and Pixel "
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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