Also On: PS4, PS3, PC, Xbox One, Wii U
Publisher: Curve Digital
Developer: Funktronic Labs
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: No
ESRB: E
The more I play Nova-111, the more I feel like developers Funktronic Labs simply looked at Pixeljunk Shooter and thought, โHmm, what if we made it a turn-based real-time strategy game?โ
Thereโs nothing inherently wrong with that thought, of course. Pixeljunk Shooter was a fine game, so if thatโs how Nova-111 came to be, it could certainly have had a worse genesis. Even more importantly, Funktronic was founded by Q-Games veterans, which means that if they were being influenced by Pixeljunk, they were at least coming by their influences pretty honestly.
But it also means that Nova-111 doesnโt come off as super-original, either. After all, in both games youโre traversing underground alien worlds in search of missing scientists. When the only thing you have to add to the equation is that, instead of making you worry about moving too quickly and overheating (as was the case with Pixeljunk Shooter), you can only move one space at a time, it should come as little surprise that the overall experiences donโt vary that greatly.
To Nova-111โs credit, of course, it tries to add a little humour to the proceedings. Specificity is a great tool for humour, which means that itโs kind of hilarious to pick up a scientist and discover that youโve just rescued, say, Marie Curie. Likewise, having Dr. Science narrate your movements and rewarding you with โScience!โ definitely hints at a bit of a Portal influence as well.
On the downside, however, Nova-111 doesnโt have the same visual appeal as its spiritual predecessor. Points for going for a retro-influenced, โ70s kind of vibe, to be sure, but at the same time, the gameโs slightly washed-out look, when put side-by-side with Pixeljunk Shooter, just looks kind of tame.
Still, all in all, itโs not a bad game. It wonโt make anyone forget what came before it, but if youโve been craving more Pixeljunk Shooter-like action for the last few years, Nova-111 should at least give you a bit of a fix.