Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge at its core is an old school 8-bit pixel action/platformer where you go through challenging levels, fight bosses and find out why a young woman was abducted, and why did characters from old school games went evil.
General Gameplay
The game pans across several levels with boss battles and once they are defeated you obtain a power up that you can use on other levels. The Game Visuals for Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge are drawn in an 8-bit style that is very bright and vivid in colors, just like the old school 8-bit games from the 80’s era. All characters, backgrounds, enemies, and other graphical assets are all in this retro style. The game is a callback from mid-80’s gaming and therefore the game is presented in this way. The game detail in action is also easy to see in movement in the game and tell what from the game to the background is. As there is no colorblind mode, the games colors are quite easy to see on the screen and there is no need for it. In our playtesting, we did not encounter any issues with the game graphics. Audio in Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge is also presented in an 8-bit style. As you would expect a midi style soundtrack and all the in-game sounds are 8-bit in their audio presentation. Everything from the gun fire, to enemies, background sounds and other sounds that you would expect to hear in a game from that era are in the game in true form. The game is presented in a 5.1 surround sound and stereo 2.0 sound as well. We recommend playing the game with a gaming headset to truly get the retro sound that the game was meant to be played in. In our playtesting, we did not encounter any issues with the game audio. Controls in Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge are designed to be in a way to mimic the gameplay from the 80’s. You have a button to shoot your gun and a jump button as well the ability to go into the menu and choose a special weapon/tool to use in the game. Now as the game is mimicking 80’s style of gameplay, you cannot shoot diagonal or even duck your character. Now some may be used to this for older games, but most gamers may find this a little cumbersome to not be able to do in gameplay. There are some anchor points where you can grab onto but that is all that your character can do. As the game is designed to be played on a controller, your standard controller for the console is fine to use. To get the best experience with playing this game, we recommend using the D-Pad vs. the analog stick for moving the character. Some of our gamers that play tested the game saw more success in this method of playing the game. Outside of the D-Pad being used to play the game, we did not find any problems with playing the game with the standard controller. The game controller design is family friendly.
“Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge is the right itch for any gamers looking for a challenging old school game to play, however if you are a casual gamer, then this may be a game that you will pass on”
Family Friendly
Now to best understand what type of game Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge is to understand what type of gamer you and members of your gaming family are. Sometimes you want to play an old school game from the 80’s 8-bit era, but as you know that older gamers do come with the challenges that we take for granted. For example, shields, recoverable energy just by going and hiding, and so forth. Most gamers are used to having these luxuries during a platformer and where Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge difference. You do have a health bar, but you can only shoot in the direction that you are facing, not above you, below you, or even at angles. This makes the game at a great disadvantage for gamers used to the luxuries that most gamers are used to. Also, the game does no hand holding on where to start, just like the old school games from several decades you have to discover where to start first and what do you need to get to the next level. Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge is a good game, short, but still fun for those in your gaming family that love this type of old school challenge. If you or someone in your gaming family find games like this too hard to play, then we recommend that you pass on the game itself. To say that the game is a bad game is not the right description of the game but more of an acquired taste for a certain type of gamers that like games like this. In our special needs game testing, outside of our recommendation of playing the game with the D-Pad, we did not encounter any issues with the game graphics, audio or even controls, the game is very special needs gaming friendly.
Closing
Pixel Devil and the Broken Cartridge is a great throwback to the days of old school gaming. With challenging gameplay and 8-bit graphics to match, the game is more for those looking for a challenging action/platformer in your gaming family.
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