Review: They Bleed Pixels fulfills those lovecraftian needs

These pixels be bleeding yo. After picking this game up on the past Steam Halloween Sale, I’ve gotten pretty into it.  They Bleed Pixels is a platformer / brawler created by Spooky Squid Games Inc.

On the most basic level, They Bleed Pixels is a lovecraftian horror, brawler, side scroller, and platformer.  The plot involves a young girl who goes to an Academy for Troubled Young Ladies.  She finds an evil text, reads it, gains demonic powers, gets haunted in her dreams, and tries to rid herself of the ancient text.  Through button inputs, the protagonist can kill her enemies in multiple ways and platform her way to victory. 

What I found inactive about this game is the whole save / checkpoint system.  As you kill foes and collect red orbs, you start to fill a meter on the top left of your screen.  Once that is full you can save your game and set up a checkpoint where ever you want (minus near a spike, near foes, or on ice).  This is the ONLY way to save your game.  This act will also rejuvenate all your health.  The checkpoint function is great if you like to explore like I do.  Hint – there are always spikes.         

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The platforming works off of double jumps and a Ninja Gaiden style wall clinging.  The potential for close calls and death defying leaps of faith are quite frequent – and the majority of the excitement.  There are hidden pages throughout each level and it usually takes feats of agility to get them.  Each time you die your corpse remains where you died, so you get all those friendly reminders where you failed recently. That’s my favorite.

The combat works off what’s situational and when you can be an opportunist.  If there is a cliff, kick the foe off it.  Spikes on the roof?  Knock the jerk up into them.  The later monsters will be much more of a pain in the neck but often you can trick them into suicide into spikes; so much blood.  What I was really enjoying was how running into monsters doesn’t hurt you. The monsters actually have to attack you to deal damage.  If you both just run into each other, no health will be lost on either side.  While this may not sound like a big deal, think of how often it happens.

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Over all, this game is just fun.  It’s extremely simple in design, you’re not bogged down with a second rate plot, the game is what it is.  I enjoy how the challenge increases as you get deeper into the game.  At times it can feel repetitive but I feel the challenge outweighs this fact.  For the price, how long you’re going to play the game for, for the play style, and for the art (I love the art) – this game is definitely worth it.  Bleed pixels today!              

[Reviewed on PC]

Historian, teacher, writer, gamer, cheat master, and tech guru: follow on Twitter @AndrewC_GZ