Adventures of Pip Review

In a world where the resolution of a person dictates their social standing, watch as the princess of the kingdom gets kidnapped by an evil queen that wishes to harbour the power of creating and destroying pixels. Take control of Pip, a boy that was born a single pixel, as he embarks on the journey to save the princess from the grasp of the evil queen in this 2D platformer.

Shortly after the game begins, Adventures of Pip introduces its most unique mechanic, as Pip obtains the power to connect to the bitstream and change his resolution. At first, the player can only control two different resolutions and destroy little blue enemies that grant the power of evolving into the next resolution tier.

The game masterfully uses this technique to force the player into changing between a single-pixel Pip and his second form. Each of the three different resolutions that Pip can control has different uses. While his single-pixel version can glide through the air and bounces higher, his second form runs faster, can punch, and can wall jump. Adventures of Pip knows exactly how to use this to create some of the most fun platforming puzzles I've witnessed without making the game feel like a memory platformer, and is just complex enough that the player can succeed on their first try.

The game gets tougher throughout its several levels, as Pip's third and final resolution gets introduced in the second world. This form wields a sword, can push and pull blocks, and is capable of squashing down the bouncy mushrooms. However, with each positive that all of the resolutions have, they also have their own weakness. The game incorporates these weaknesses to force the player into using all three resolutions, sometimes even having to devolve mid-jump to finish the final stretch with the single pixel's power of gliding.

I struggle to picture any other game succeeding where Adventures of Pip has. Despite being a part of one of the most common genres, the way the puzzles are incorporated throughout the platforming sections make every level incredibly fun and surprisingly different from the last.

Aside from platforming, Adventures of Pip incorporates saving some of the villagers that fled when the evil queen was attacking. With three different characters to save per level, these work as the game's collectables to ensure that players have to check every corner for invisible walls in which villagers might have cooped up in.

Aside from the villagers, Pip can acquire gold throughout his quest that ensures he is capable of buying the numerous upgrades present in the game. The first vendor offers heart containers that increase Pip's life alongside one-time use items that allow the player to find chests and villagers present in levels; these work for making the achievements easier to attain. Meanwhile, the second vendor appears in the first level of the second world, and he sells significantly more expensive items that work as more permanent upgrades that should make the player's journey easier. Although none of these upgrades are necessary, having them make for the runs being easier, which will come in handy later on.

The writing incorporates humour that might feel out of place sometimes, however if you go in with the mentality that the game doesn't take itself incredibly seriously, a lot of the lines are funny. These serve as a comedic break from the gameplay, and I personally found them enjoyable.

Although the graphic style in Adventures of Pip has simplistic pixel art, it has a charm to it that I was fond of. That being said, one thing that I felt the developers did a wonderful job on, was the beautiful music that plays throughout the worlds. My jaw was hanging even from the title screen theme, and I knew I was in for a symphonic ride.

Adventures of Pip is a puzzle platformer unlike any other. Its unique resolution-changing mechanic makes for very fun puzzles that felt perfectly incorporated, and the game makes the most out of its unique mechanic. The game is challenging enough that every world had me retrying them due to death, but not so much so as to justify calling it a memory platformer. All in all, fans of the 2D platformer genre are sure to love Adventures of Pip.