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      Gamereactor
      reviews
      Pix the Cat

      Pix the Cat

      ChuChu Rocket meets Pac-Man meets Snake as Pasta Games delivers a surprisingly addictive arcade puzzler on PS4 and PS Vita.

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      Pasta Games' Pix the Cat had completely slipped under our radar until it launched on PS Vita and PS4 this week (as part of the PS Plus Instant Game Collection no less). The main mode (arcade) can best be described as a mix of Sonic Team's ChuChu Rocket!, Pac-Man and Snake.

      The basic concept is that you navigate grid-based levels, picking up eggs (that hatch chickens) and transporting them to holes (nests?). There is a timer relentlessly counting down and you speed things up by timing your turns on walls (gaining a boost) and chaining together great moves and perfect rounds (collect all the eggs before leaving any off) - finally you enter the colour-inverted fever mode at top speed. Throw in ghosts (you can only kill these when in fever mode - á la Pac-Man), mines and more, and your heart will be pumping to the beat of the frantic music before long.

      It's arcadey addictiveness distilled to its purest form, and mastering the simple concept requires a lot of skill as well as a strategic mind for solving puzzles on the fly.

      The game has a nice progression system in place for unlocking further content, such as increasingly difficult sets of arcade maps, the four-player arena multiplayer mode (exclusive to PS4), the less stressful all-puzzle Laboratory mode, and finally the black and white Nostalgia mode (that puts another spin on the base concept). Ultimately it would have been nice with all modes unlocked from the get go, only unlocking extras (such a bonus voices, artwork, more difficult maps, etc.), as things like the Nostalgia mode take a bit of an effort to unlock.

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      PS4 Gallery:

      Pix the CatPix the CatPix the Cat
      Pix the CatPix the CatPix the Cat
      Pix the CatPix the CatPix the CatPix the Cat
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      The art-style is easy on the eyes, even if it may not be as iconic as say ChuChu Rocket! or Pac-Man, the games it draws inspiration from. And the Nostalgia mode is really inspired in terms of visuals. The idea of going deeper into the grid, zooming in to find the next level with the blocks you navigate in your current level, is very clever and allows for some forward thinking. How do I not only clear the level perfectly, but also set myself up to go quickly from the last chicken (or duck, we're not sure) to the entrance of the next level? Some levels will have quick and immediate solution, others will require you to see them once or twice in order to formulate a plan, while others are simply difficult when it comes to timing and execution. This is one of those game where your scores will drop the instant you're feeling a little bit off or tired. You have to give it your full focus.

      We've played the game on both PS4 and PS Vita (cross-buy), and there are benefits and drawbacks to both versions. We preferred playing the game with D-pad over analog stick, and the Vita D-pad treated us better than that of DualShock 4 (though it is a minor preference). However, playing certain small-scale levels within levels (ones that aren't zoomed in as you're asked to duck in and out of them for the quickest times) in arcade mode, things get too tiny on the Vita screen - it's obvious this has been designed with a larger screen in mind. It never gets to a point where it's unplayable, but it does hamper your high score hunting, and that is what the game is all about.

      PS Vita Gallery

      Pix the CatPix the CatPix the Cat
      Pix the CatPix the CatPix the CatPix the Cat

      Pasta Games has taken an approach to trophies that will appeal to the most hardcore of core players. As of Friday the most common trophy (ten "perfects" in a row) was only accomplished by 14.3% of players, most trophies are at 1% or below [PS Vita] - the percentages on PS4 were even lower. All but one being "ultra rare". So even if there's no Platinum trophy some of these will surely make for great bragging rights (for those who manage to get them).

      Pix the Cat borrows a lot of elements from the games mentioned in the first paragraph, but it does so without ever becoming derivative. It's highly addictive and challenging both in terms of quick reflexes, and if you're a PS Plus member it's a no brainer to download on both PS4 and PS Vita. The nature of the game itself makes it a great fit for the handheld (with the slight caveat of those levels within levels) and it really should be enjoyed with headphones on.

      08 Gamereactor UK
      8 / 10
      +
      Addictive arcade puzzle action, Catchy soundtrack, Very challenging, Decent variation found in the various modes.
      -
      The PS Vita's smaller screen makes some levels within levels difficult to see, Modes should have been unlocked from the start.
      overall score
      is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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      Pix the CatScore

      Pix the Cat

      REVIEW. Written by Bengt Lemne

      "It's arcadey addictiveness distilled to its purest form, and mastering the simple concept requires a lot of skill as well as a strategic mind for solving puzzles on the fly."



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