Review written by Playstation4.net staff member John Millman
Pixeljunk monsters is one of those rare gems of a game that appear once in a blue moon often going unoticed and overlooked, (ICO springs to mind). However, this game is certainly not one to be missed. The basic premise involves building an assortment of towers in trees that are scattered throughout each level in order to deal with wave after wave of monsters that are hungry for your ugly babies that reside at your base. If anyone has ever played Desktop Tower Defense on the PC, you will be familiar with the concept.
The graphics are simple yet neat with almost static backgrounds bar the windswept trees, and all displayed in glorious 1080p. The gameplay is borderline genius, grabbing your full attention and keeping you coming back over and over and over, like a monkey with a miniature cymbal, the joy of repetition surely is in you.
The player must navigate their strange looking creature (for want of a better name)throughout levels building towers in trees with the aim of destroying monsters before they get chance to eat your ugly bouncing babies back at base. Each tower is effective against a certain type of monster. Towers range from Cannons and arrows to laser towers, mortars and flame throwers. All towers can be levelled up in order to make them more efficient, this is done by either dancing in the tower or by using precious blue gems dropped by monsters as they are destroyed. When a monster is destroyed they drop coins which allow you to build more towers to cope with the incoming waves. If a player completes a level without losing all their babies then the level is complete. If the stage is completed without losing a single baby then a rainbow appears above the completed stage which in turn allows access to secret stages where special abilities can be achieved.
Trust me getting a rainbow on every stage is a very hard task indeed, and this is where the replay value works like a dream. This is one hard game that has no doubt contributed to the ever growing bald patch appearing at the top of my bonce.
The soundtrack adds a dual nature to the game, on the one hand the difficulty of the game can at times be frustratingly challenging, while on the other hand the soundtrack is blissfully peaceful and perfectly scored creating a confusing and utterly satisfying atmospheric experience.
For the price of a pint of Lager and a packet of crisps there are months and months (perhaps even longer with the announcement of a possibility of trophy support being added in the future) of pure gameplay to be had.
There are not many negatives that can be said about this game apart from a few gripes with the ineffectiveness of certain towers, (such as the ice tower) apart from that one small gripe this game is the mutt’s nuts and an absolute must buy.
By far the greatest game on PSN by far IMO and at £3.49 (on Euro PSN) this should not be missed!! Absolute beauty in simplicity at a budget price. Amazing value, Check it out. 9/10
