Ugh, don't you hate it when there's a game that looks like something you'd really be in to, and when you finally get it and check it out, it just doesn't do it for you?
That's where I'm at with They Bleed Pixels right about now. At first glance the game seems like an interesting combination of platforming and combat. There's a basic combo system, and lots of environmental hazards for you to knock enemies into, so you can kick an enemy to launch him backwards, follow up with a dashing punch to stun him, launch him into the air with a different kick, jump up after him and punch him into a nearby sawblade, sending fountains of pixelated all over the place. It's really fun for a few levels, and I found myself really excited to see what comes next.
Then the game started ramping things up, and not in a good way. The game introduced other monsters and more tricky platforming, and that's when things just went off the rails. All the other enemies the game introduces so far are completely excempt from that interesting combo system I mentioned earlier. They either die in a single hit or will teleport away after you hit them, making the combat go from "not particularly deep but still fun" to "stilted and annoying". It really doesn't help that the game starts throwing some of these annoying enemies at you while you're trying to do some of the insanely tricky platforming later on. Think the birds from the original Ninja Gaiden all over again.
Even the interesting approach to checkpoints didn't help. For those who don't know, there are no fixed checkpoints in the levels, you build a meter by performing combos and picking up orbs, and when it's full, standing still for a second will create a checkpoint and refill your health. It's a neat idea in theory, providing some strategy and an incentive for doing more involved combos (more frequent checkpoints). The thing is that the game limits you on where you can place them. You can't place them on slippery surfaces (more on those in a sec) or when there are enemies or certain environmental hazards too close. This is fine,and there are several sections where you can tell that the level designer was explicitly blocking the player from creating teleports (sawblades embedded in the wall, etc) to ensure that people have to master a certain section in one go, but these sections often go on for FAR TOO LONG. I finally got fed up on a part in the third chapter (about seven levels into the game) where, right after finally getting through a really hard section that involved jumping over some sawblades in a tight corridor, I ended up on a long section with a single moving platform being showered with monsters. All the while I had a full meter for a new checkpoint, but nowhere to place it.
So, about those slippery floors... This has to be the downright oddest implementation of a slippery floor I've ever seen in a 2d game. Graphically, they look like they're supposed to be "slimy" and not "icy", but the implementation almost makes them feel "frictionless". It's far too difficult to come to a complete stop on them, and even jumping straight up and down results in your character inexplicably sliding the direction you're facing when you land on one. Of course, the game also requires you to fight enemies on these surfaces, which ends up being more annoying than challenging.
To compound these issues is the fact that these levels are LONG, and checkpoints only return you to a spot if you die, not if you quit the game. Far too many times during my time with the game I would have already spent 20 minutes in a single level, gotten through several tricky sections, and be ready to quit, but I had to keep trudging on in order to not lose my progress. Also unhelpful is the god-awfully dull music, which I can only describe as "generically ominous". A soundtrack like Binding of Isaacs, equal parts ominous and whimsical, would have really gone a long way to make the longer levels more tolerable, but the soundtrack is completely bland and totally forgettable. It's not as bad as Pixeljunk Shooter's, but considering the game's subject matter and look, I was expecting something more interesting.
So yeah, while the game does have its moments, I can't really recommend it, and I think I have to sadly relegate it to the "Never Again" category in my Library.
I guess I'll just wait until it shows up on Humble Bundle again lol
