ID@Xbox Spotlight: Pixel Galaxy Turns Space Invaders on Its Head

If you’re looking for a game that’s easy to learn, hard to master, and a blast to pick up and play anytime, look no further than Serenity Forge’s Pixel Galaxy, coming to Xbox One via ID@Xbox. Designed to put a key twist on traditional arcade shooters, Pixel Galaxy puts you in an arena, facing off against tons of enemies… with no weapons whatsoever. Your only options are to dodge, and to absorb your foes by colliding with them – but not their projectiles or weapons’ edges.

It’s considerably more challenging and addictive than it sounds. There’s a bevy of different types of enemies, and each has a different kind of attack. Latch onto one, and he becomes an attacker for you – but be careful, you don’t necessarily want to blow away some potential helpful future enemies before you get a chance to assimilate them. There’s also the issue of size and space; a game of Pixel Galaxy takes place on a pretty small map, so the more enemies you take on, the less room you’ll have to dodge future bad guys. Not to worry, of course, as your newly assimilated friends act as hit points of sorts – but skilled players will want to plan how and where they latch onto new allies, to ensure the most efficient use of space.

You earn points for every enemy you take down, and for how long you last. You might be surprised how addictive it is to try to beat your score (and your previous time record) with each playthrough. A game of Pixel Galaxy is a quick affair – between one and 10 minutes or so – but each session is frantic and exciting. It’s challenging without being frustrating, and the large variety of enemies and options makes no two playthroughs the same.

As its name implies, Pixel Galaxy has a very minimalist, pixel-based art style with an old-school soundtrack. This is a lightweight, pick-up-and-play affair. That said, the visuals and audio never get boring, and the game is perfect for a little lunchtime romp or a long, after-school de-stressing session. Like a lot of modern games that have a 1980s look-and-feel, there’s more to Pixel Galaxy than meets the eye.