Maybe, I’ve been taking checkpoints for granted. Modern games (aside from Demon’s Souls) spread them generously and give players plenty of chances to try again. I can remember times where I fled enemies searching for a checkpoint that way I could attack without fear of having to replay a quarter of a stage.
You can’t do that in They Bleed Pixels. This 8-bit styled action game has a twist – checkpoints are rewards. You earn them by beating up enemies and finishing them with stylish kills. After you earn a checkpoint, you can decide when and where to place it. Save it boss or save on the spot. Spooky Squid Games have an interesting concept that rewards skill (and punishes pacifism), but will it make They Bleed Pixels to difficult for players who can’t toss enemies into spinning saw blades?
If it wasn’t clear from the trailer, players have to use the environment as a deathtrap for enemies in They Bleed Pixels. Also, the main character usually has a gothic lolita look… with deadly red fork hands. In a guest level created by Alex Bethke from Golden Gear Games, she changes into glowing energy in They Bleed Star Dust which replaces the nightmarish levels with an outerspace motif. They Bleed Ponycorns! transforms the girl into Sissy from Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure and has crayon art for backgrounds. Spooky Squid Games also has a crossover with the maker of Xbox Live Indie Games platformer Techno Ninja and the video game ‘zine exp. In the exp. level you jump around a black and white world as if you played a photocopied level. Neat.
They Bleed Pixels will be released as a downloadable Xbox Live Indie Game later this year.
