Being a fan of the PixelJunk Shooter games, I found it an odd but mostly pleasant surprise that developer Q-Games was branching out with PixelJunk SideScroller — it’s definitely not the free-moving planetary spelunking game that Shooter is, but instead a much more cramped shoot-em-up from back in the day. You may think that’s a step back, but it’s really a step sideways — making a pretty good complement to two great games.
From looking at SideScroller, it has a decidedly retro look to it in more ways than one: First, there’s the vector-inspired look that makes the game seem like it’s being played on the world’s most bad-ass oscilloscope — complete with monitor curvature effect. And it’s also, duh, a side-scrolling shooter, as familiar as classics like the beloved Gradius — though in this one you can’t die by touching walls. That said, SideScroller is not some direct parody/tribute/homage to any one game: The boss fights may likely remind you of a boss in so-and-so game that had a similar attack or something, but otherwise, this is an original piece of bullety mayhem.
