PixelJunk Raiders

 Stadia
  • Release Date: Mar 1, 2021
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 71 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 71
  3. Negative: 17 out of 71

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  1. FantiR
    Mar 13, 2021
    9
    I've been playing the game since it came out, I had 0 knowledge of PixelJunk games and I didn't know what to expect. After nearly 22 hours I can say I love this game and I love how the community comes together thanks to State Share, when a level is too hard you can just take a screenshot, share it in the community forum/discord and someone else will play the level and when they createI've been playing the game since it came out, I had 0 knowledge of PixelJunk games and I didn't know what to expect. After nearly 22 hours I can say I love this game and I love how the community comes together thanks to State Share, when a level is too hard you can just take a screenshot, share it in the community forum/discord and someone else will play the level and when they create their State Share with their level progression you will find dropped weapons or used imprints that can be life saving to finish the level yourself. In all those hours i've cleared 28 levels, reached Rank 11 and unlocked treat levels 6 missions , I believe the maximum level is 10. I love exploring levels, they are all different and you can randomly create your own and share them with others. I love trying new levels shared by other people, every single one is unique. The best part of the game is that every time you load a new level you don't know what you will find, nobody knows how the game will end and it's so nice playing something you don't know anything about.

    Update: So after nearly 64 hours of playing the game, after beating 4 "boss fights" and reaching Rank 18 I've managed to finish the main story of the game, That doesn't mean the game is finished tho, I'm not top rank yet, I don't have all the updates or DNA unlocked... Q-Games have implemented a free season pass style system that makes you pick between 2 bonuses every level you unlock and it resets every 31 days so more imprints, weapons and DNA will be available to unlock soon. The community has shared more than 150 State Share that you can pick and play full of other people's avatars and imprints.

    After so many hours I still think that this is a great game and it will improve with time, an update was out on 12/3/21 addressing a request from community that was asking for inverted Y and X axis option, well done.    … Expand
  2. Buang
    Mar 8, 2021
    10
    Love this game, played it since it came out, 23 hours so far (died 81 times). I can see it being quite divisive though. Its very unforgiving, in a good way. The rush you get in those tense situations is very addicting for those with the right mindset.
    Levels are randomly generated. If you happen to find a really difficult one (or a really cool one) you can share it with others, and they    Love this game, played it since it came out, 23 hours so far (died 81 times). I can see it being quite divisive though. Its very unforgiving, in a good way. The rush you get in those tense situations is very addicting for those with the right mindset.
    Levels are randomly generated. If you happen to find a really difficult one (or a really cool one) you can share it with others, and they can leave turrets, mines, and friendly minions behind to help the next one who tries it.
    This feature is unique to this game.

    Here's a spreadsheet with lots of shared maps from other people https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jW91ucg7Vc0jFOhcGx3FWmZ1tZ6ctqoHmiCNI92T_uw/edit#gid=543076801    … Expand
  3. HawaiianSean
    Mar 4, 2021
    10
    Good art style. Interesting world. I think the voice acting is on point and the combat is hard but fun!
  4. NinjaGuyX
    Aug 10, 2021
    8
    Excellent game! I really like the combat and the roguelite aspect of it. The music fits very well (wait until you hear that ending credit song!). I'm pretty addicted to it. I finished the game months ago and still come back to it pretty often for the contract bonuses. So replayability is there.

    The main reasons why this is not a perfect 10 to me is because the level up progression is    Excellent game! I really like the combat and the roguelite aspect of it. The music fits very well (wait until you hear that ending credit song!). I'm pretty addicted to it. I finished the game months ago and still come back to it pretty often for the contract bonuses. So replayability is there.

    The main reasons why this is not a perfect 10 to me is because the level up progression is too slow (It took about 10 hours for me to actually start enjoying the game).
    Also, that last achievement is next to impossible to find. I never found the last 5 missing treasures even though I played more than 180 hours of the game.
    Multiplayer would be kind of cool too. They've updated the game to have inverted control, but never patched the game with anything else afterwards. Anything new to the game would give it a breath of fresh air.

    The Raiders community is small, but great! We help each other out and try to help out the new comers too. Join the Q-Games discord if you can!    … Expand
  5. Marxally
    Aug 8, 2021
    8
    PixelJunk Raiders gives a fresh air to the roguelike genre and a totally unique bet on Stadia. It is appreciated that more companies, whether Indian or not, are opting for the platform and creating products that make the most of Stadia’s looks and features. On top of that, we are left with a round game with addictive gameplay that is committed to indirect cooperation thanks to Share State.
  6. Hopybombr
    Aug 8, 2021
    8
    I held off reviewing this game after I initially playing it. It is really hard doesn't on board well and I had never heard of PixelJunk before.

    I came back to it because of the Stadia Summer Community Challenge and worked at it a bit. The game is really alot of fun once you get past trying to figure out how to play. The Stateshare function is a must! I joined the discord and found    I held off reviewing this game after I initially playing it. It is really hard doesn't on board well and I had never heard of PixelJunk before.

    I came back to it because of the Stadia Summer Community Challenge and worked at it a bit. The game is really alot of fun once you get past trying to figure out how to play. The Stateshare function is a must! I joined the discord and found the spreadsheet of saved states and my enjoyment sky rocketed. Game is still super hard but it is stunning and deceptively complex.

    It can feel empty at time, but at higher levels, those are your interval breathing rooms! It is intense and complicated in ways I didn't notice the first couple of times I played.
    Use the Stateshares to level up and enjoy!    … Expand
  7. JonoGreato
    Aug 8, 2021
    10
    This game is very addictive (I have done over 220 hours in this game), once you understand how to play it. You start off against the odds trying to survive, running from danger. Once you build up your character the game becomes easier and you find you can attack the hardest of levels. This is a game for people you like to be challenged. Plays very well on stadia, works beautifully, loveThis game is very addictive (I have done over 220 hours in this game), once you understand how to play it. You start off against the odds trying to survive, running from danger. Once you build up your character the game becomes easier and you find you can attack the hardest of levels. This is a game for people you like to be challenged. Plays very well on stadia, works beautifully, love the graphic touches. You can even share your game state with others to try...very nice feature. Highly recommended.… Expand
  8. lallo1138
    Aug 10, 2021
    8
    Before "Sable", that will arrive in September 2021, the French comic book artist Moebius was clearly a strong inspiration for the art style of the game. "PixelJunk Raiders" may be less stylish, but the game mechanics are solid and the atmosphere makes you feel a deep sense of loneliness, just like "Journey" did. No surprise this game has fully implemented Stadia's State Share feature:Before "Sable", that will arrive in September 2021, the French comic book artist Moebius was clearly a strong inspiration for the art style of the game. "PixelJunk Raiders" may be less stylish, but the game mechanics are solid and the atmosphere makes you feel a deep sense of loneliness, just like "Journey" did. No surprise this game has fully implemented Stadia's State Share feature: being visited by fellow players in the form of holographic avatars is a fascinating way to receive support and feel the presence of a community around. Too bad this game looks a bit roughly built and way too much punishing to reach a bigger audience, even among the already small number of Stadia's hardcore fans. It's love or hate. (LOVE)… Expand
  9. iOne
    Aug 8, 2021
    8
    Fun and challenging at the same time, and when paired with State Share where you play other players' instances it opens up the door to some pretty interesting and wacky scenarios. The game gets better once you progress through it, unlock different traps and tools. Highly recommend it.
  10. Ravenlock
    Aug 9, 2021
    8
    This is a unique and compelling game that simply doesn't do a great job of introducing itself to the player. On its surface and at first glance, it's just a fairly standard and sometimes brutally difficult 3rd person roguelite with wild difficulty swings and severe punishment for dying. Start getting into the seed sharing, though, and it becomes a really fun playground for collaboratingThis is a unique and compelling game that simply doesn't do a great job of introducing itself to the player. On its surface and at first glance, it's just a fairly standard and sometimes brutally difficult 3rd person roguelite with wild difficulty swings and severe punishment for dying. Start getting into the seed sharing, though, and it becomes a really fun playground for collaborating with other players to share good levels, helpful items, and paths to success. Unfortunately, the game itself doesn't surface that *at all*, relying entirely on players understanding Stadia State Share and having a place to get good level shares to use. I wish this was more intuitive to do (the Stadia subreddit is a good place to go to get into it, if you want to), because it completely changes the game and some of the later content is a lot of fun.… Expand
  11. Hallusko
    Aug 9, 2021
    10
    This is a hidden gem of a game. Extremely difficult, but rewarding payoff. Combine this challenging yet fun gameplay with beautiful colorful graphics, and you have quite a winner here.
  12. link43u
    Aug 13, 2021
    8
    I jump into this game since the first day and it's really beautiful game and great story, but man! this game is so difficult. I appreciated and tried using State Share which a Stadia exclusive feature to continue the game at some point shared by the initial user. Event which help of State Share by getting some weapons from the community it remains for me a hard core game. However it's a good game.

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Stadia Game of 2021
1
#1 Most Discussed Stadia Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
49

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 9
  3. Negative: 3 out of 9
  1. Edge Magazine
    Mar 25, 2021
    40
    In a world where games such as Hades, Slay The Spire and Into The Breach have found ways to elevate the Roguelike to new heights, PixelJunk Raiders sadly fails to make a mark. [Issue#357, p.118]
  2. IGN
    Mar 13, 2021
    40
    PixelJunk Raiders may look like an inventive and colorful world to wander around, but it stumbles hard when it comes to darn near everything else that makes a roguelike fun.
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  3. Wccftech
    Mar 8, 2021
    50
    PixelJunk Raiders has a unique vibe and some interesting ideas, including smart implementation of Stadia’s State Share feature, but it isn’t anywhere near as fleshed out or polished as it needs to be. Cheapo presentation, clunky combat, unbalanced roguelike mechanics, and a lack of variety combine to extinguish the game’s promise. PixelJunk Raiders may stand out like a minor oasis on the desolate Stadia release calendar, but there’s a much wider, more vibrant world of roguelike-flavored games out there to explore.
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