PixelJunk Raiders
Publisher/developer-Q-Games
Format-Stadia
Release-Out now
With its long-running PixelJunk series, Q-Games has taken familiar genres and imprinted them with its own idiosyncratic personality. Now with its latest entry, developed for Google’s streaming platform, it’s taking a stab at the modern Roguelike. This is something of a change of pace for the Kyoto studio, whose projects are often rooted in retro and arcade nostalgia. That it should seek to break out of its comfort zone is something worth celebrating, but in execution, Raiders is an excursion into new territory that hasn’t entirely paid off.
An unexplained cosmic anomaly has engulfed the planet Tantal, flooding this normally peaceful desert world with violent, tentacled aliens. Embarking on a rescue mission, your unnamed character uses a remotely controlled avatar to travel to the surface, fight off the invaders and rescue the planet’s inhabitants – who have no weapons or, seemingly, any ability to do anything other than stand and watch you do all the work. It’s light on story to the point where it fades almost entirely into the background. Plot is far from vital to a Roguelike’s success, but some motivation to keep exploring, beyond unlocking more missions, would be welcome.