''PixelJunk Monsters'' is a

tower defense Tower defense (TD) is a Video game genre, subgenre of Strategy video game, strategy games where the goal is to defend a player's territories or possessions by obstructing the enemy attackers or by stopping enemies from reaching the exits, usual ...

video game developed by

Q-Games Q-Games, Limited is a video game developer based in Nakagyō-ku, Kyoto, Japan. It was founded by Argonaut Games alumnus Dylan Cuthbert and was closely affiliated with Nintendo and Sony Interactive Entertainment. Foundation Q-Games was founded b ...

for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...

. The second game in the ''

PixelJunk ''PixelJunk'' is a series of downloadable games developed by Q-Games. The series made its debut on PlayStation 3 with '' PixelJunk Racers'', released July 11, 2007. The series was a collaboration with Sony Computer Entertainment, who released t ...

'' series, it was originally released in Japan on December 6, 2007 and worldwide by

Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...

on the

PlayStation Store PlayStation Store (PS Store) is a digital distribution service for users of Sony's PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 game consoles via PlayStation Network. The store offers a range of downloadable content both ...

on January 24, 2008. The game was released for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PA ...

under the title ''PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe''. ''PixelJunk Monsters Encore'', an expansion pack for the game, was released on April 24, 2008 in Japan; May 8, 2008 in North America; and May 15, 2008 in Europe. In 2013, an enhanced version developed by Double Eleven titled ''PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD'' was released in 2013 for the

PlayStation Vita The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

and

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

. In May 2016, a port of the original game also developed by Double Eleven was released for the

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

. In 2018, ''PixelJunk Monsters 2'' was released, incorporating 3D graphics and new features.

Gameplay

Gameplay in ''PixelJunk Monsters'' has similarities to various

titles. The objective is to build defense towers along the enemies' path to keep them from reaching a hut, or base. Several small creatures dwell at the base. For each enemy that survives the defense towers and reaches the hut, one offspring is killed. If all offspring are wiped out, the level is failed. Towers have distinct attributes, such as rapid fire, long range, air-focused, etc. Destroyed enemies usually drop coins and occasionally give gems, which then can be used to upgrade and research new towers. There are a total of 21 different levels (36 with the expansion pack) at 3 stages of difficulty. There are also 3 special stages that unlock unique abilities for the player character. Several "Trophy Challenges" were also added to the game after a patch. Unlike more traditional tower defense games, the player controls a character around the screen, collecting coins and building towers. This replaces the standard cursor controls. A second player can also join in and assist in building towers.

''Encore''

The ''PixelJunk Monsters Encore'' expansion pack includes an additional 15 levels, including layouts inspired by classic

arcade games An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade ...

such as ''

Pac-Man ''Pac-Man,'' originally called in Japan, is a 1980 maze video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. The pla ...

'' and ''

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...

''. There are also small tweaks to gameplay; for instance, the ice tower is unlocked at the beginning of every level and the Tesla tower is less expensive to purchase.

''Deluxe''

A new version of ''PixelJunk Monsters'' was available for the

. Titled ''PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe'', it has been described by Dylan Cuthbert as the "ultimate version" of the game. It contains all of the level content from the original game and its ''Encore'' expansion pack, as well as new levels, enemies, and towers. Additional music, videos, concept art, and other special features are also included.

Soundtrack

The music for the game was developed by Otograph. On May 22, 2008, a soundtrack album for the game titled ''Dive into PixelJunk Monsters'' was released via the

. It is the first audio album to be released through PSN.

Reception

The PlayStation 3 version of ''PixelJunk Monsters'', ''Encore'', ''Deluxe'', and the Vita version of ''Ultimate'' received "favorable" reviews, while the PC version of ''Ultimate'' and the Wii U version of ''PixelJunk Monsters'' received "average" reviews, according to the review aggregation website

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

Notes

References

External links

''PixelJunk Monsters'' official website

''PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe'' official website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pixeljunk Monsters 2007 video games MacOS games Linux games PlayStation 3 games PlayStation Network games PlayStation Portable games PlayStation Vita games Sony Interactive Entertainment games Strategy video games Tower defense video games Video games developed in Japan Wii U eShop games Windows games Double Eleven (company) games Multiplayer and single-player video games Q-Games games Santa Monica Studio games