So I Tried... Adventures of Pip

Each edition of So I Tried… I will try a game that I haven't had a chance to play before. Am I going to fall in love with the game? Or is it going to be another game destined to sit on my Steam list? I'll play the game for a solid half an hour and see what my first impressions of the game are. This time I went for a game that was chosen for me by writers on the GameGrin site, Artura Dawn and Spooky_0ne.

What I thought it was

I honestly hadn't heard of the Adventures of Pip before, but I was assured this game would be right up my alley. Looking at the game's store page on Steam, I saw brightly coloured pixel graphics and that it was an action-platformer title. Adventures of Pip has five different areas to explore, consisting of multiple stages to challenge. The estimated time to complete the game is 10 hours, but that will be different if you are the type of person to get 100% in the game. 

What it actually is

Adventures of Pip is one of the best action-platforming games I have ever played! It has a great story with you playing as Pip, who is a single pixel (essentially a square). Where Pip is from, the more pixels you have, the richer you are. 

The villain, Queen DeRezzia, wants to steal Princess Adeline's powers to make pixels into nothing; she feels that she should be the only person in high res. So on the princess' 16th birthday, she attacks. 

Now that DeRezzia has stolen the powers, she has control of the Bitstream and drops the resolution of the King and Queen into single pixels. Pip decides that he needs to be a hero and tries to save the townsfolk, but she blasts the bridge below you, and you fall. 

You hear a ghost calling out to you; Sir Elwyn died trying to protect the woods, but he knows that you are the only one who can restore order to this world, so he gives you the power of the Bitstream. This power allows Pip to evolve and learn new abilities; when Pip evolves, he is transformed into an 8-bit boy. But not only can Pip evolve, but he can also devolve back into his single-pixel form. 

Each form has its own abilities, so depending on the stage you are in, you may need to switch between the two. As a pixel, Pip can bounce on mushrooms to give him a high jump and is able to cross large gaps as he can glide, his small size lets him pass through small corridors that the other forms can't fit in. The 8-bit Pip, I call Kung-Fu Action Pip because he can punch and kick enemies along with jumping up walls. As you progress, there is a third evolution you will unlock that will evolve Pip into a 16-bit sprite with a sword that he can use to attack enemies and break rocks. Now he can also push and pull blocks to areas of the stage where you need a boost. To evolve, you will need to jump on a blue crystal enemy in the stage; luckily, there are a ton around, and they will respawn when you jump on them. To go from first to the third form, you will have to jump onto two of the glowing blue guys. 

If you need to devolve, you can do that at any time by holding down the corresponding button. This will also be required to destroy the purple barriers that block off segments of the level. Many stages will require you to think and plan as you need to use the different abilities of all three but will have to figure out how to be in the correct form you require. 

There are townsfolk of various resolutions scattered around the stage for you to rescue. Some are in hidden passages in the walls or out in the open. It's not required to save them all, but if you do they will return to the town and can help you out — like the blacksmith or store merchant. 

Once you complete all the stages in that area you will have a boss to face. These fights aren't as simple as picking one form and jumping on them; they will require you to think fast and switch to the evolution that will help you at that moment. If you run out of hearts during the level you start back at the beginning or to the purple glowing checkpoint if you got that far. Boss fights let you begin right at the beginning of the battle.    

The graphics and sound are great; there is so much detail and layers to the pixel characters and levels they look fantastic. It's amazing how much personality a single pixel can have! This is one of the most challenging and rewarding titles I have played with great controls and a fun story!

Will I keep playing

I definitely will keep playing Adventures of Pip, I meant to only try out the game for half an hour before writing this, but four and a half hours later I was still playing. Artura and Spooky made a fantastic recommendation and I can't wait to play more. This game is the perfect mix of an action-platformer and kind of a puzzle game at the same time. It requires you to strategise to determine what evolution you will need to get through that area and how you will evolve to make that happen. There is so much more I could say about this game but instead just go play it, I guarantee you that you will not regret it! I can't wait to see what else happens in this adventure and how Pip takes down the evil Queen DeRezzia. I will definitely let them select other games that I should check out in the future!