Pixel Worlds Review

Pixel Worlds is a contemporary, free-to-play, pixelated, 2D, sandbox, MMO game created for mobile phones (Android and iOS) and, subsequently, ported to PC via Valve’s Steam platform. It was made by Kukouri Mobile Entertainment.

Given its 2D world, the game is obviously a platformer but it has somewhat stiff and simplistic controls, clearly a legacy of its mobile origins, which are both uncharacteristic of the genre and inadequate for the PC.

The gameplay is structured around grinding for resources (by destroying the pixelated blocks), using said resources to grow and harvest small crops, and trading the resulting wares with other players.

The grinding part is excruciatingly long and tedious. The only way to skip it is by making use of your credit card in order to purchase resources (or VIP status) from the in-game cash shop. The more skeptically minded might suggest that the lengths and weariness of the grind have been designed specifically to render the real money purchases as tempting as possible.
Steam users have given mixed reviews to this one small game, part of an overgrown genre of pixelated sandbox games. Cited among the major problems of the title are lack of interesting areas, lack of desirable goals, terrible missions, lack of story, and an immature player base. On top of that, the servers have been quite unstable and the game has had peaks of terrible lag and frequent disconnects.

Although sandbox games are a welcome change to the genre, Pixel Worlds doesn’t seem to bolster much innovation. It looks, feels, and plays similarly to other, more successful, titles like Growtopia, Terraria, Starbound, and the likes, but featuring more grind.
The game’s presentation is, well, 2D and pixelated, thus somewhat plain and dated. It has acceptable sound design and seems to be well suited for younger audiences.