Adventures Of Pip originally launched back in March 2015, but has been brought to current generation consoles! This time it has come to the Nintendo Switch with new features that enhance the experience all around! Such new features are achievements being added that help track saving townspeople, finding secrets and perfecting levels! Another new feature is the ability to fast travel from the world map back to Town! Adventures Of Pip is a fun 2D side scrolling platformer game that has been made with extremely fun gameplay, and charm in mind.
The epic pixelated tale
Adventures Of Pip starts out with the evil queen, Queen DeRezzia attacking the kingdom that Pip lives in. Her goal is to destroy the world and remake it in her version. She captures the princess of the kingdom, Princess Adeline. Capturing Adeline lets Queen DeRezzia access the Bitstream and increases her powers tenfold. As this is happening Pip awakes to the commotion and makes his way out and sees that the kingdom is being destroyed. Pip makes his way into the throne room and sees the Queen take off with the Princess. Even with the King remarking that Pip is just a pixel and not a hero, he still takes on the effort of journeying out into the unknown.
While the characters are good, I found the story to be just okay. There was no real twist or anything really shocking that happened with it. It was a very straight forward story that got its job done. There is no problem with that but in the end it is just unlikely hero saves the day and saves the princess from the evil enemy. Regardless Princess Adeline and Queen DeRezzia were both charming throughout the game. Both had some great dialogue that helped set the mood.
Different forms of Gameplay
Adventures Of Pip has three different kinds of gameplay it tries to balance. Each form Pip takes it grants him different abilities. When Pip is in his Pixel form he can only jump and hop around. The Pixel form is helpful when Pip needs to squeeze into tight areas or become lightweight so the air can push him into the sky. The 8-bit form allows Pip to run, wall jump and swim underwater. It also allows Pip attack with punches. Finally the 16-bit form allows Pip to hold a sword to attack and be able to push heavy objects around. This is Pips heaviest form however so he will sink like a brick when he touches water. The 16-bit form also stops Pip from wall jumping.
Cycling through the different forms heavily relies on certain blue enemies that infuse Pip with power from the Bitstream. Defeating these enemies will let Pip evolve into his next form. If one wants to devolve all they would need to do is to hold L or the A buttons. Certain obstacles will make Pip need to devolve to break through pink barriers. Some will even make Pip devolve back to back and force him into his Pixel form.
Fearsome Bosses and the Areas they inhabit
While the bosses aren’t crazy hard, some do have a challenge to them. Once again Pip will need to balance out when he should evolve and devolve. Some bosses will need to see the player in one form or another to access their weak point. All of the boss fights were a lot of fun and had me on my toes trying to figure out what to do. The challenge was fair and if I died or got hurt it was entirely my fault.
Adventures Of Pip features 5 different areas. Those being Forest, Swamp, Caverns, Lava and Castle. Four of the Five areas contain 8 levels each while one of them only has 4 levels. Each level has hidden treasure that Pip can find to buy upgrades back in Town and missing villagers to rescue. There are 3 missing villagers in every level and once they are found they will return back to the main town. You can visit the town at any point with the newly added fast travel button from the world map. Pip will be easily transported back to town and when leaves he is back where he left off.
The alright tunes of Pips Adventure
I had high hopes for the score of Adventures Of Pip. Composer Jake “Virt” Kaufman who has previously done music for Shovel Knight, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Bloodrayne: Betrayal, and more was brought on to compose. Some of those games had some of my favorite tracks so I was pretty let down after listening to the entire OST. While I found some of the songs good to listen to. The majority of them felt generic and didn’t really stand out for me. I don’t expect bombastic amazing tunes but it felt very standard to me. The final boss music really stood out to me and I was really feeling that the entire fight. It had me excited to actually fight the final boss while the other boss fight music (which is shared with the other 4 bosses) was just okay and did nothing for me.
Lasting gripes with Pip
I have already touched on many gripes I have had with the game such as the story being very straightforward and generic. As well as the music not being anything special except for one song that really stood out to me. There are also certain parts of the game where parts of it feel unnessaccary. For example there will be a barrier Pip will need to break after wall jumping but breaking it adds nothing to the level. As there is an enemy right after the barrier you can destroy to power back up. Keep in mind this is on flat ground and not an aerial obstacle to overcome. It feels unneeded and does nothing for the level in mind. Finally the game just sort of ends as you enter the final area.
Previously I brought up that one area only has 4 levels and that is the last area of the game. The last area does get harder but the levels are still around the same length. It feels like the game came to a sudden halt after I entered the last area. While I enjoyed the challenge of the last few levels I wish there were more to keep me challenging me. It all felt rushed even though the level design was great.
There is also the visuals of the game. While they are good nothing really pops for me again. I love the designs of Queen DeRezzia, Princess Adeline, and 16-bit form Pip. In the end though it still feels like I have seen this style before.
Pip’s journey ends for now but the future is bright
Adventures Of Pip is truly a fun game. Bouncing off enemies and changing forms is a lot of fun and I wish there was more of it. Once I started playing the game I couldn’t put it down. The gameplay really shines in Adventures of Pip and I hope Tic Toc Games makes another and expands on Pips moveset. I clocked around 5 hours overall and enjoyed my time with Adventures Of Pip. Each level also has replayability if you missed out on villagers or if you didn’t unlock all the upgrades. While some things felt generic and straightforward to me, I believe Pip has a bright future ahead of him. Adventures Of Pip is out on September 10th so do not miss out!
Thank you to Tic Toc Games for giving us an opportunity to review Adventures Of Pip for the Nintendo Switch!
