The climax of Return of the Jedi ultimately revolves around Darth Vader’s choice: save his son or defeat his master? As we all know, his expressionless visage alternately gazes in both directions several times before he resolves to deny his instincts and rescue his son. The scale was somewhat less consequential, but I essentially went through the same dilemma when I was presented with two open kiosks on the E3 show floor. On one end there was Killzone 2, Guerilla’s avant-garde FPS of mythic proportions, and on the other was PixelJunk Eden, Q-Game’s ridiculously intriguing thing that carried undeniable aesthetic allure, but fundamentally ambiguous gameplay. My inner fanboy pushed me toward Killzone, but my own curiosity toward the dazzling art direction ultimately lead me to select PixelJunk Eden. Just like Vader, this spilt second rational turned out to be the more rewarding choice (Note: unlike Vader, I later experienced the other option after a considerable wait in line).
Thankfully, Eden’s delightful aesthetic was matched with equally compelling gameplay, but that should come as no shock to fans of Q-Game’s previous entries in their ambitious PixelJunk line. PixelJunk Racers was an inspired (though flawed) jump out of the gate, but last winter’s PixelJunk Monsters won universal acclaim as the ultimate desktop tower defense style game. Eden, as one would expect, is wholly original and entirely unrelated to previous PixelJunk titles. If I had to nail it down to one genre, Eden would best fall under the classification of a classic 2D platformer. How a game plays and how a game feels are two entirely different perceptions, but I can tell you now, Eden engages both with masterful competence.
Unwind
Eden divergence from genre standards is evident as soon as you load the game. The title screen doubles an evolving hub-world and general area to practice in before dropping into one of ten available levels. Practice is essential to one enjoyment of Eden, as its mechanics, while rooted in classic platforming, take some getting used to. You play as a small insect like creature known as a Grimp. As the name would suggest, a Grimp’s primary activities involve jumping and gripping objects. The stand alone goal of a Grimp involves collecting Spectra in each level, which enables you to expand the lush confection of your hub-world/personal garden. At its core all you’re doing is jumping up, down, left, and right to find/collect Spectra hidden throughout each level, but reducing Eden to a base impression would deny it the mask of complexity hidden behind its simple mechanics.
And simple is definitely the word. Your move list as a Grimp is all tied to the X button. A single tap of X allows your Grimp to jump in any direction you’ve aimed with the left analogue stick. Upon launch a tether of silk is also deployed, which keeps you attached to your launch point (more on this in a minute). As one would expect, spinning around a few times with your silk will create inertia and result in a longer jump. Should you not wish to be tethered, a double tap of X will result in a more traditional leap. Precise trajectory is paramount, as your jump distance is always the same and your post-launch angular control is minimal at best. Grimps will automatically land on any structure, but can pass right through most objects by holding down X, if desired.
The remaining mechanics lie with your Grimp’s ever present line of silk. Deployed and attached to your launch point, silk can be used to spin around and gain momentum or as a means of collecting pollen. Pollen is contained in Pollen Prowlers, star like objects infinitely flowing throughout levels, which can be eviscerated and freed of their pollen via direct contact with your Grimp or your silk line. Most of the stray pollen will then free flow into the nearest Seed capsule which then, upon contact with your Grimp, will bloom into a flower. Thus, new platforms are created and level progression can be engaged.
Your tethered silk line is only good for a couple rotations, so you’ll have to act quickly once the line is deployed. As a bonus, the more Pollen Prowlers you successively destroy in each swing, the more pollen they release. Acting as a bonus multiplier, this concept easily lends itself to sessions of timing and strategy development for maximizing your pollen output. More pollen equals faster seed creation, which equals faster progression, which takes less time. Yes, while there no life gauge or hit points in for your Grimp, a timer bar is fills the gap as a constant obstacle. Time can be replenished with crystals scattered about the levels but these, unlike the Pollen Prowlers, are in limited supply.
Level progression was different than anything I was used to, but it wasn’t necessarily for worse. Locate one Spectra and the level ends. From there you can proceed to another level, or re-enter the same level and accept the task of finding two Spectra – including the one you just spent time seeking. This pattern continues until you progress to the point of finding five Spectra in each level. It’s easy to label such repetition as needless and flawed (as some justifiably will), but this means of progression is inherent to Eden’s particular style of gameplay. Its precise method of platforming is all about exploration, experimentation, efficiency, and the natural progression between those three themes.
While the first two levels generally feature the same type of progression a handful of new elements are introduced in each subsequent garden. Garden 3 is especially proficient in training you to deal with enemies, while Garden 4 features and abundance of impassable rocks and a straight vertical accent. From 5 on the game repeatedly turns itself upside-down and continually dumps new challenges upon your surprisingly adept Grimp. Pollen Prowlers that cut through your line, warps, cannons, elevators, and unexpected shifts in gravity all come into play (true mindblowers appear in the final gardens and I dare not spoil those). Continuously expanding the mechanics helps keep the gameplay fresh, but also drops the feeling of sameness that I initially figured would be prevalent as the game advanced.
Trapped in Paradise
It starts becoming evident by level four, but by the time you get to the eighth garden the difficulty curve really takes a sharp turn upward. Acquiring one Spectra in each level shouldn’t be a problem, but gathering all five, especially in the later levels, lies far beyond the scope of what I originally thought Eden offered in terms of difficulty. At E3 Eden carried the stigmatized label as a simple game to help PSN cater to the casual market and, while the initial appeal is valid, I prefer to look at it more as a gateway drug into hardcore gaming. Eden can hook anyone through simplistic controls and inviting gameplay before slowly ramping up the difficulty to forge a demanding challenge. It’s brilliant really, though I fear some of the final Spectras may be too hard for even the most seasoned platforming aficionados.
As if simply finding all of the Spectras wasn’t enough, Eden also has the honor of being the first Playstation 3 game to launch with full achievement trophy support. Nineteen bronze trophies and one silver are yours for the winning, though their relative weight is on the lower end (Q Games, only allowed a small number of Trophy Points for PSN titles, chose quantity of quality). Bronze, usually on the easy end of trophy acquisition, is an illusion, as 90% of these trophies are considerably difficult to acquire. Opening all seeds on each level is manageable until about the seventh garden, and the rest border on insanity. Collecting 100,000 pollen particles, finishing a level in ten minutes, and netting a fifteen combo of Pollen Prowlers round out other challenges that help Eden add new definition to the word ‘achievement.’ I’ve never been much of an achievement whore with my 360, but I loved trying to pick all of these things up, regardless of their alleged impossibility.
Bring out the Grimp
Eden also offers a bunch of intangibles in the gameplay department. For starters, the full game is complete co-op with up to three players. While there are some issues with a group penalty if someone falls off screen, trapeze-ing your fellow Grimps to bypass seeds and other areas is a good amount of fun. For those who own a PSP, Remote Play throughout the entire game is a viable option. I had some trouble seeing some of the finer level details, and there was some inherent lag, but it was quite playable. Global leader boards for each garden are available as well, just in case you want to see how many people are statically better than you.
By far my favorite feature, and one entirely new to console games, is the ability to record yourself at any point in the game and then upload that video to YouTube. When I first heard about this I figured it would be a cool gimmick to occasionally catch crazy maneuvers or speed runs, but I totally overlooked the possibility of using it as a learning tool. Whilst lurking through the PixelJunk Eden thread at NeoGAF, I noticed that some members were having trouble getting trophies or finding certain Spectra. Within a few hours other posters helped them out by specifically recording videos of how to solve their problems. The seamless nature of this feature does wonders for the game’s community and accessibility, though it’s a shame it’s bound by YouTube’s ten minute video limit.
Without a doubt, Eden’s most inviting feature is its marriage of art direction and audio presentation. The game engages both of your senses in tandem, and absorbs any spectators in the process. Eden looks unlike any other mainstream title, always eliciting “what the hell are you playing, man” comments from roommates or friends whom happened to walk by. It’s incredibly inviting; I remember watching demo reels of Eden and, despite having no idea how to actually play it, knew it was a game I could get into based solely on its art direction. The music, a progressive build of ambient techno, wasn’t quite as reflexive or ambitious as I had hoped for, but it’s very much in sync with each level’s mood and theme.
To keep my rampant adoration of this game at bay, I think it’s fair to mention a small assortment issues Eden gave me. While inviting to casuals, misjudging a jump and plummeting to the bottom of a level is incredibly disheartening – and, for those with few patience, repeatedly failing will definitely deteriorate your ability to enjoy Eden. It’s definitely not for everyone, including those whom seem uninterested in any title where you don’t have a gun in your hand. Also, while I applaud the inclusion of three player co-op, I found the feature’s lack of online play to be a puzzling exclusion.
