Join the pixelated ‘Adventures of Pip’ [Game of the Week]

In the wake of the Nintendo Switch’s launch this week, I admittedly haven’t had as much time for traditional mobile gaming as I usually do.

The expansive world of The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild has just been too engaging to pull myself away from. I did, however, manage to find the time to spend a few hours playing Adventures of Pip, a clever platformer from developer Tic Toc Games that features great looking Pixel art.

In the the Adventures of Pip’s world, characters exist in multiple resolutions, creating a tongue-in-cheek caste system where those with a greater level of detail, command more respect. As you may have guessed, Pip, who eventually takes a more humanoid form, starts off as an 8-bit character, but eventually evolves into a 32-bit version of himself, with additional abilities being thrown into the mix.

Morphing happens frequently during stages in Adventures of Pip. Each time a specific creature is taken down, Pip evolves, though players are also able to devolve him at any time by taping an on-screen button. This mechanic is the core of the game’s puzzle structure, with some sections of stages requiring Pip to even evolve mid jump.

Visually, Adventures of Pip features detailed pixel art graphics, with additional detail being added to Pip and in some cases other characters, depending on the stage. While the industry is full of games that feature pixelated graphics, Pip’s are charming and evoke the feeling of being pulled right out the 8-bit era of gaming. It’s also impressive that Tic Toc was able to blend two eras of gaming graphics so seamlessly.

Despite the game’s controls being touchscreen based given Adventure of Pip is a smartphone game, they’re surprisingly accurate, though there were moments, especially during platform heavy section of the game, that I wished I was able to use a tactile gamepad instead.

Each level also features three hidden villagers, giving addition tasks to complete in every stage. It’s rare I enjoy a mobile 2D sidescroller given the platform’s limitations, but Adventures of Pip is definitely worth checking out.

Adventures of Pip is $8.49 in the App Store.