Pixel Survivors

[h1]Basic Information[/h1] [b]Title:[/b] Pixel Survivors [b]Developers:[/b] Sachonski, Renamilanesi & Sith [b]Publisher:[/b] Patagoniart Gaming Studio [b]Genre:[/b] 2D strategy [h1]General Impression[/h1] The combined efforts of three individual developers has brought forth a compelling indie title (with the help of the Steam community, successfully Greenlit as well). It shares some similarities with a game I previously reviewed, Retro-Pixel Castles. They are both reminiscent of old school god games, focusing on the survival and prosperity of a small community over which you have full control. Resource management is as vital as the initial defense of the settlement, since your planning skills shall be put to the test by both the natural and supernatural occurrences. I found it lacking in the visual effects department though the sounds had enough diversity to them. Still, I could not overlook the dim-witted villager AI which forced me to stop focusing on the future building planification, just to babysit them and make sure they don’t starve to death before the zombies get them. Apparently even out of Early Access, there are still some pathfinding issues lingering on. While Pixel Survivors is not more expensive than the other title I mentioned above, it does have slightly less assets and gameplay mechanics to it which in my eyes at least, doesn’t seem to warrant the 10 dollar price tag it has outside of Steam Sales. Most of the problems I stated previously can be fixed with a patch or two. It’s up to you, the potential buyer and player, if the game is worth your money and time. As a subgenre, god games in general can be lots of fun provided you have the pacience to learn all the ropes. [h1]Strong Points[/h1] + Customization options aplenty. + Steam Trading Cards & Achievements. [h1]Weak Points[/h1] - Slightly overpriced. - Micromanagement is crucial because of the shoddy AI. - Lack of an in-depth tutorial will deter new players to this subgenre. [b]Rating 6/10[/b] [quote]This review was submitted for [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews]Imperial Reviews[/url] and [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/Cubbes]Cubbes[/url].[/quote]

* The game i played was supplied by developer* well what to say what to say? ----- pros - surprisingly deep - a lot of creative freedom _charming graphics -------- cons - not very noob friendly - unforgiving - no real animation Well when you first start the game you are presented with a blank patch of sea, what you do from here is shape your island. To shape your island you use mana, this mana replenishes over time (or as far as i can tell it does it seems very inconsistent). But i will return to mana later in the review. Starting with the good, the game offers you complete creative freedom in how your island is shaped where things are placed,and how big your population can get. But mana is depleted with every tile of land you add. On every tile there will randomly be coal iron trees or a chicken. These are but a few of the resources you will use. Over all i think the mana for land situation is pretty good because as your population grows,and your production power as does your land mass. Because of this creativity steam sharing to share islands would be amazing. When you first start the game you really don't have much control, and this is jarring. In all honesty for the first 20 minutes it felt like i could do nothing to affect my creation. But after discovering the other mana ability aura, which allows you to lead your people for 10 seconds at the cost of 10 mana. When i first started playing i hated this but now i see that it does add strategy and depth of resource management, but i still am not a fan of having the cost be that high. The graphics are cute and simplistic, very minimalist. Over all i like them they fit the situation. But animation is pretty much non existent. When you collect any resources you just walk by i would like at least a pick up animation. But even without it will suffice. There is no tutorial in this game. There are not any hints on how to acquire materials or what order is recommended. To add to this to increase or resupply your population you need a male and female if all of one gender dies there is currently no way to get that gender back, So that is a literal death sentence for that save. Even placing your buildings in the wrong order can cause restart after restart. over all 7/10 i will be coming back to this one

This is a very light "god-game" that will task you with growing a civilization. The play style and overall theme is similar to "Retro-Pixel Castles", albeit a more simplistic version. You don't actually control your subjects, but you can construct houses, build wheat fields, and so on. My biggest gripe is the lack of a zoom feature...from what I told, such a feature would require the developer to recode the game. I admittedly know little about programming, so I don't know how much of an undertaking that really is. Time controls would be welcome too as most of your time will be spent watching and waiting for your subjects to collect the resources they need for you to keep expanding. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it's not a bad diversion for its current price tag. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4_skZVdI0M

I have over 90 hours on this game and I want to state that the DEV/S have been doing a fantastic job with tracking down and fixing bugs when they are reported. It is a sweet little building game that doesn't require being a hardcore gamer to enjoy. Most people that complain are people that try to build too fast expecting the little people/planks to rush around getting everything done right away. DEV/S are rewriting the tutorial and will have that ready soon enough. #1 You need tools to keep the planks doing their jobs. #2 You need mines and a forge to make tools. #3 You need livestock (chickens atm) to gather food and to be butchered to make fabric. #4 You need tailor shops where they will go to make cloth from the fabric. #5 To make seeds and food you plant wheat fields, then your planks gather extra seeds so you can make barley and trees for extra food. #6 If your stoage for some items is at max your planks will not be able to gather that item. It is an easy game to learn if you go slow enough and let the planks do their jobs. Just remember the DEV/S here actually do listen and are trying to fix the bugs, just give them a chance.

[h1] Nope. [/h1]

Did the whole Tutorial but failed to stay alive on Normal dificulty after 5 tries... I did like the game and my suggestions would be to improve the mana visualization, maybe incluse it around the resources UI and give quicker acces to the spells. Turn the "aura" spell into a placeable beacon that make your settlers favor the designated area for exploration and gathering. Add a progress bar on the chicken pens, crops, mine, etc to be able to see when resources will be produced (even if it's only visible when hovering over the resource). Stone and food were my problems, maybe add more stone to the land generation or lower the stone needed in the most basic buildings. Again, nice game and keep up the good work~

Pros: Fun for 10 minutes. Very intresting game structure, very much like populous. Enjoyable yet difficult gameplay even on easy. Cons: They are hungry buggers some of the designs and the tutorial could be cleaned up a bit, as it looks like a mess going through it. Possible A.I fixs to make them more effecent. and also when they're running away from the undead, Not to get stuck on the world border. All though I would not recommend this game to a friend, I do really hope to watch it grow, As it has a lot of potential.

This game had a nice concept that could've been fun with proper balancing; yet sadly it didn't. No matter how much you prepare your villagers, no matter what strategy you go at this game with, you just get massacred once the dead start waking at night. Pixel Survivors had everything in place to be good, but executed poorly. A few updates to the AI systems could fix it but development has gone dormant. On that note, I would not recommend this game sadly.