They Bleed Pixels Image
Metascore

Mixed or average reviews - based on 8 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 39 Ratings

  • Summary: Featuring a distinct visual style that blends pixel art with paper and ink textures, They Bleed Pixels is a singular mix of intense platforming and fierce beat-em-up action. It tells the story of a young girl haunted by a mysterious book and her violent Lovecraftian nightmares.

    They Bleed
    Pixels uses a simple one-button combat scheme with surprising depth at its core. Button mashing is discouraged while kicking shadowy monsters into saws, pits and spikes is rewarded thanks to a unique checkpoint earning system: instead of being evenly distributed at set locations, players must earn and place checkpoints through stylish kills. The more and better you kill, the faster you fill your checkpoint meter. Avoid combat or button mash mindlessly and you'll find checkpoints uncomfortably far apart. Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Sep 19, 2012
    82
    If you don't let yourself get too tripped up by the sometimes convoluted combat controls, then this charming, well-crafted platforming bloodfeast will really sink its fangs into you -- in a good way.
  2. Feb 12, 2013
    80
    They Bleed Pixels arms the player with tight controls and a wonderful checkpoint system in a frustrating yet high challenging, dark-themed platformer that will put your skills to test.
  3. 80
    If you're up for the challenge, They Bleed Pixels is a fast and fun action-platformer that will put all your reflexes to the test. It's utterly unapologetic about killing you, and because the controls are so smooth and precise every single failure feels exactly like it should- as something that could have been avoided if only you'd played better. It's not a game to play when you're looking to wind down at day's end, but bring all your skill and a load of patience, and They Bleed Pixels will make you feel like a magician with a gamepad.
  4. 72
    Super Meat Boy fans will relish the insane challenge, while the rest will have their temper and keyboards destroyed. [December 2012]

See all 8 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 13
  2. Negative: 4 out of 13
  1. This game is absolutely incredible. The story is short but very interesting, while the game play is fun and smooth. The levels of the game after you pass the first 2 becomes extremely difficult and can take pretty long to finish. The thing i love the most is the checkpoint system ( even if most times I want to rage quit because i put it in bad places ) and the unlock-ables. One of the best games I played this year. Expand
  2. They Bleed Pixels is a 2D puzzle/platform game on Steam. It was released on the 29th of August. Why did it take me so long to post a review, you ask? Lets just say I like to finish games before I write about them. I pushed and pushed my way through this game and still haven't finished it. It is insanely hard and insanely frustrating and insanely fun.


    The premise is simple enough. You play as a young girl who has gotten a hold of a book that turns her dreams into Eldritch horrors. Her hands turn into Wolverine-like claws that allow her to slice and dice her way through enemies as she jumps, slides and climbs her way through puzzles and platforms.

    Neither the premise or gameplay are unique. However, it all comes together for a rather engaging experience. The two button control scheme is simple enough to allow anyone to pick it up, but still allows for some complex abilities and moves. The combos are visceral and satisfying. The only knock is that sometimes the controls are slightly unresponsive, especially when doing timing based jumping sequences. I would repeatedly die while jumping over spike-filled chasms because the analog stick wasn't as precise as I needed it to be. The game recommends an X-Box controller and I couldn't agree more. Playing this without some sort of analog stick would be a total nightmare.

    By the way, this game is hard. Be prepared to get extremely angry at your computer. The good news is that besides the occasional hiccup in the controls, the majority of deaths are the players fault. Many times I would die because I couldn't make a jump and then proceed to try to make that jump 20 more times, spraying my pixeled blood everywhere.

    The graphics are in a classic pixel style that a lot of indie games have been employing lately. The short cutscenes between levels add some nice plot elements to the game and are really well done. The copious amounts of pixelated blood adds a lot of color to the sometimes dreary backgrounds.The main character is adorable in a kind of horrifying way.

    The music is adequate, even though it can get repetitive at times. I did like how it would fade out as I lost more life, as this adds even more tension to the already frenetic pace of the game.

    The length of game makes it a very nice value at 10 bucks. It uses a ranking system with achievements to add some re-playability to the levels. Each level also contains difficult to reach collectibles. My only complaint on this front is that sometimes the levels feel a little longer than they should be. Granted, you can start the game at your last checkpoint, but finishing up a level before quitting a playthrough feels much more natural.

    If you are looking for a challenging platform experience at a bargain price, this is the game for you. It has enough variety to keep it interesting. It is also an excellent game to play on your TV if you have an HDMI setup and Steam's "Big Picture" service.
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  3. Nice art style, nice combat concept, and great music.

    I docked it a few points due to the game attempting to be a "hardcore" platformer, bu
    t with lousy controls, and an awful attempt at physics. Jumping feels too lofty, and the character feels a bit too large for the level. The one attack button was a terrible idea, as you'll stumble over the attack controls for a long time, and when you start to get used to it, the game will be over.

    This is definitely worth picking up for
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  4. Image playing super meat boy but with bad controls. There you go, not a lot more needs to be said really. Shame because I liked the music and the visual style. Expand

See all 13 User Reviews