Pix ‘n Love Rush Review

While many recent iOS games seem to go for the flash and appeal of graphical enhancements (Chaos Rings and Infinity Blade for example) Pix ‘n Love Rush takes an effective and welcome step in the other direction. The game is entirely rendered in almost 8-bit pixels, with backgrounds and music clearly beholden to the halcyon days of videogames. Even the mechanics have a simple, yet challenging feel that will instantly transport you back to a simple side-scroller of your youth.

Pix ‘n Love Rush has no story, per se, but here is the crux of it: You are a pixelated, vaguely animalistic entity who can do three things: run, jump, and shoot a little missile up in the air. You run through various stages collecting little yellow plus signs and shooting down bats, while avoiding minus signs and hitting little angels. A simple enough premise, but one not without challenge. Pix ‘n Love Rush features a “5 Minute Mode” – not a euphemism in this case – a mode consisting of exactly 300 seconds where you rush through self-scrolling timed stages at increasingly frantic paces. If you manage to make it through to the end, you are given a score (the default highscore is in the 100,000s) and then allowed to try again. This improbably high bar to meet score-wise is only achievable by using the multiplier system. Each enemy you defeat or each plus sign you snag will add one pixel to a small counter at the top, eventually giving 2x, 5x, and finally 10x point multipliers. But beware: as the stages become faster and faster, your multiplier is in peril. A couple hits and you are back to where you started, combo-wise.

However, these multipliers are not simply for exponentially increasing your score, but for stylistic purposed that, I think, are the best part of the game. Each new level of score multiplication changes the graphical style of the game- from the yellow/purple standard to things like an infrared. The 10x multiplier has its own reward past even point opportunities, as the game assumes a truly engaging retro look that makes the game feel, instead of just look, older – in a good way.

Even if you’ve conquered the Five Minute Mode, which is no easy feat, Pix ‘n Love Rush doesn’t end there. A time-devouring Endless mode, coupled with Game Center support, leader boards, and achievements give more content than seems possible for its $0.99 price.

Author: Kit Marlowe