PixelJunk SideScroller Live on PSN, Your Questions Answered

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PixelJunk SideScroller Live on PSN, Your Questions Answered

PixelJunk SideScroller Live on PSN

PixelJunk SideScroller is finally out in the world! This retro-styled side-scrolling shooter plays like a love note to the arcade games I grew up with in my youth, and serves as a quasi-epilogue to the PixelJunk Shooter series. Before you pick it up on the PlayStation Store, get a closer look with this handy new Q&A. Q-Games President and Executive Producer Dylan Cuthbert took to Twitter to answer your most burning questions. Read closely and you might learn a few helpful secrets!

PixelJunk SideScroller Live on PSNPixelJunk SideScroller Live on PSN

Q: How many levels come with PixelJunk SideScroller? (via @wildbillhickock)
A: There are 13 levels (called “Sectors”) in total. This includes four absolutely amazing boss battles (Note: Expect an “old friend” from the Shooter-verse to make an appearance, but you’ll be seeing loads of new faces as well). One thing that’s so great about SideScroller is that it has four difficulty modes, and the experience will change depending on what difficulty mode you select. New enemies crop up in Hard difficulty mode, and expect certain encounters to get a whole lot more harrowing because of them. Bullets fly at you faster, the overall look of the game changes, and for those of you brave enough to venture onto Brutal difficulty mode, expect to get “revenge” bullets flung at your ship every time you kill an enemy. Needless to say, SideScroller is a game you can enjoy on many different levels by giving it a replay or two (or three, or four)! Also, the only way to unlock the “true” ending is to complete the game on Brutal. Good luck!

Q: Is there still an emphasis on exploring, or is it more “on-rails” than the PixelJunk Shooter series? (via @VofEscaflowne)
A: SideScroller is a complete departure from the Shooter series. Instead of exploring and puzzle solving – staples of the Shooter-verse – you’ll be using upgradeable weapons to spray bullets in every direction possible! Yes, SideScroller is more of an “on rails” experience, because we’ll push the player onward into really tense situations at a brisk pace. It definitely ups the tension. There are also scenes in the game where the scrolling stops and you have to defeat mini-bosses and any other enemies we throw at you. Mark my words: just because the scrolling stops doesn’t mean the game becomes any less intense!

Q: Any unlockables and cool things to work for? (via @AuburnRDM)
A: There are hidden items scattered through the entire game. For any collectors out there, searching for these items and finding them will certainly be a rewarding experience. They also net you a hefty amount of bonus points, which will be a big help to you competitive players out there who absolutely NEED the #1 high score on the Online Leaderboards! Also, don’t forget to keep an eye on your combo count. The skilled players out there will be able to string together combos from the start of every Sector until the end, so play strategically. If you’re good enough, you might even get a Platinum Medal Trophy for your efforts!

Q: Will my eyes begin to bleed because of so much awesome? (via @bergasche)
A: A resounding YES! Okay, okay, your eyes may not actually bleed, explode, or otherwise become unusable, but SideScroller has a whole lot of awesome contained within its digital casing. It’s on the PlayStation Store now, so what are you waiting for? Go and buy it!

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47 Comments

5 Author Replies

  • looks like the last two games which I don’t plan on buying just not my cup of tea. I look forward to pixel junk monsters 2 and Eden 2!

  • Bought just a few minutes ago downloading with everything else I bought came down this or crazy worms golf and let’s just say yours looked a lil more to my taste of play

  • Any chance of a Demo on PSN soon? ;-P Pretty please :-D

  • @3 – On their last PS Blog post a couple days ago, they said there would not be a demo on release date but that they have something special in the works. Who knows what that means, but I will definitely be waiting for a demo or at least some reviews before buying. PJS2 was too difficult for me so I want to make sure that the new difficulty levels will allow me to at least finish the game. I think every game should have a super easy difficulty level for people who just want the story or to let your kids have fun with it.

  • I bought it yesterday and it is EPIC hard!
    This is a love or hate game.
    Basically if you enjoy old-school games (and don’t mind facing a good challenge) you’ll love it. (my case)
    If not, stay away from it
    PJ sidescroller is only for hardcore gamers.

    • Thanks for the report!

    • We fine-tuned it to be challenging but not hard – ie. I think people will be surprised at how much they enjoy it even though they would normally be frustrated with a typically difficult game. We put in a really cool checkpoint system that really helps you keep going through the stage, and there are some really cool enemies and events to see throughout the play.

  • @5 – What difficulty level were you playing on? I don’t care if I can’t beat it on the hardest difficulty level. I’ll play it on casual if I need to (and it is still fun).

  • Bought it, but haven’t played it yet. Just too many games to play at the moment!

    Will check it out after Dark Souls. I’m a sucker for side scrolling/ top down shooters so I’m sure it will be my kinda game.

    Pixel Junk, you guys make some great games. Please, PLEASE make a Monsters 2. If I have to come dance around your building to make it happen, I will.

  • Just so you know… I am buying this with the hopes that you will make a PixelJunk Monsters 2. Do it!!! :)

  • Also hoping for a Monsters 2! =D

    @ Hogwild333 – I played it, and beat it, on Casual (Easy) with my girlfriend last night (and she’s TERRIBLE at this game). There are a couple tough spots for those who aren’t a master at these type of games, even with it being on the easiest difficulty setting, but nothing that you can’t power your way through in a few takes. And yes, I could’ve easily beaten it solo also.

    Very cool game guys. Plan on working my way up in difficulty later on.

  • I’m with 7. I and many others I know would snap up a new Pixel Junk Monsters day one. Even if you just put the levels from PSP as DLC for some couch co op.

  • Don’t worry folks. Monsters 2 is in development, and I can assure you that Eden 2 will also be produced.

    So to show your support to Pixel Junk, why not buy SideScroller?

    Thank you PJ, and continue to make excellent PSN exclusives :)

    • Huh? No PixelJunk news has been announced as far as I know, aside from PixelJunk 4am.

    • The only PixelJunk Monsters that’s in the works is PixelJunk Monsters on Facebook. It doesn’t have a “2” next to its name, but it’s definitely the latest and greatest Monsters!

    • we are always toying with ideas for Monsters 2, but it has to be something incredible special before we move forward with it.

  • bought it day one; for those interested in seeing direct gameplay from the game itself check out my video playthrough first on youtube!

    youtube(dot)com/playlist?list=PL5464C3A362F163B5

  • This Game Is amazing!!! i cannot wait for monsters 2 and eden 2 everything so far with the exception and (i hate to say this pixel junk shooter 2) has been a complete joy to experience. and i look forward to 4am.

  • 13 levels and 4 boss… that’s really low for 9.99 i would have expected like 50 levels and at least 20 boss.
    Seriously i’m won’t say anything about thoses who have bought or will buy this game but will say go check some flash sites for games of this kind and you will find quite a few that are much better then this for free…

    • Come on, I really doubt it – this game is *packed* with goodness. I check out all the latest flash or iphone games the same as everyone else and they are in a different market/world altogether really.

  • I’d kill for some sweet neon glowing retro sidescrolling psn avatars!

  • AWESOME Game. Keep up the good work Q-Games :)

    And the Back-story is crazy fun hehe :P

  • @14 No you won’t…

  • Love it guys. I am working on a game like this for the app store, except with some minor RPG elements. So needless to say, your games inspire a young independent programmer/gamer like myself. Q Games is my favorite game studio ever, please stay with Sony and keep pumping out the awesome exclusives.

    I am also eagerly awaiting any details on Monsters 2. I know there’s a browser version in the works, which actually looks pretty cool. Just give me more PixelJunk!

  • This is the shooter I’ve been longing for! Soldner X is great but it’s so difficult for me. Gameplay, visuals, audio, everything is awesome. I spent about an hour on 1-1 getting the #1 spot. Great game as usual Q! I love it.

  • I picked this up last night. Even at normal, this game does provide a bit of a challenge. I can’t wait to unlock brutal to get the “true” ending (thanks for that clarification).

    It’s also interesting to see how much has changed since the true final level of Shooter 2 in this game.

    I’m really enjoying it.

  • look nice game here

  • Incredible game. So well done and polished.

    PS+ 7.99 price was an instant buy.

  • Waiting for a DEMO, because I still haven’t beaten PixelJunk Shooter 1 & 2 yet…
    Need to make sure this is better and worth my money when I’m low on Cash at the moment.

  • How fun is PixelJunk SideScroller, i can’t find a trail(Demo) for it and would like to try it before i buy it and it looks really interesting and it would be my first PixielJunk game i have played.

  • There was a post on the blog months ago that if you purchased shooter 1 and shooter 2, then sidescroller would be a bonus (free?) for those that bought both games? is this still the case?

    • Sorry, but there was no post like that. We did have a special offer when Shooter 2 came out that you may be thinking of. If you have purchased both Shooter 1 and 2, you’ll get a free Loyalty Avatar Pack! Was that it?

  • Sid,please do your best to have these Devs put Home items in their games. (Not tee shirts).The Success of PJ one and the awesome thrill of unlocking that yellow biohazard suit in the PJ Home space. I am pretty sure that had a lot to do with that games success. TY Sid…Your awesome as always sir!

  • There may not have been any “official announcements” but plenty of hints have been left by Pixel Junk which will prove my earlier statement true.

  • … great game
    … enjoying the difficulty
    … not liking the crashing … seems to crash frequently on my ps3 … i’m hoping it’s not my ps3 (it’s brand new … only a month old) … – sigh-

  • The boss battles are fun. I wish every level was a boss.

    Will there be an expansion or sequel, like for previous games??

  • Just wanted to thank the team for yet another amazing release. Normally I hit pj games up on day one, however this time I didn’t get it til thursday -_-‘ sorry was preoccupied with battlefield3 :D

    Regardless can’t wait for more news on your upcoming new titles when their announced, hope you guys keep up the awesome work and keep on rocking out fantastic quality psn titles for everybody.

  • Great job yet again Q-Games, love you guys. <3 I still hope for the PixelJunk touch on RPGs.

  • I picked this up day one because I love the PJ games. Finally got the chance to sit down and play it. Was able to beat it on normal in little over a hour. A little short, but still pretty fantastic. I’d definitely be interested in some DLC for it if come time. In the mean time, I’ll be sure to run through it on the next difficulties.

  • will there be Monsters 2 pixel junk? i loved that game. played it alot with my wife she loves the first one

  • When is the XMB going to get a 3D mode? At least show the icons on a different Z level than the background

  • Look, I love Pixeljunk and all, but I don’t feel like the content here is really worth ten whole dollars, or well, 8 dollars. Reason why I say this is well, its only 13 levels! That’s almost a dollar per level!

    The main reason that I dislike the price is because Alien Zombie Megadeath is going for 3 bucks this week, and it contains 70 levels!!!

    Also, I want Pixeljunk Platformer…

  • @35 really ? $10 is too much for a fun game you can easily spend 20 hours playing or more ? that is 50 cents an hour , games like this have a ton of replay value to get all the hidden items and try for a high score to get on the leaderboards higher up , 13 levels is plenty
    many games have 6 or 8 levels only , and cost $29.99 and up on a disc

    it’s a really fun game , if you like old school shooters at all you should buy pixeljunk sidescroller , if this were 15 years ago you’d have spent $10 every weekend in quarters playing this game at an arcade and it would have had the best graphics and gamplay you had ever seen

    alien zombie death has 70 levels that are the same level over and over and can be finished in 3 hours , that is $1 an hour of play and no replay value

    anyway , sorry about the rant but seeing people complain about paying @10 for a game gets me going , you pay $10 to rent a movie and buy a bag of chips and in 2 hours are finished both

    I bought sidescoller on wednesday and am loving it , it is a challenge but not frustratingly so , that is perfect since those 13 levels will take a long time to finish once and i will go back to find everything , definitely worth $10

  • @36 20 hours play 13 levels? For like, hidden items? Cmon dude. And well, yeah, but it aint “15 years ago” anymore, im sorry but i could spend 10 bucks on something that lasts a little longer.

    And 70 levels doing the same thing done in 3 hours? Does that count the medals you collect? Took me 30 minutes to get all of the medals on the second level >_>

  • @Ariel Angelotti

    Thanks for your response. The game seems to work fine when I stay “offline”. I’m wondering if it has to do with being online (guessing that’s for leaderboard updates). For my last 7 plays … the game crashed a few times on first couple levels if I died and respawning … for me it crashed twice while I was respawning, twice on another occassion at the end of stage 2-2 and stage 2-4.

    What I decided to do night before last was play online (i selected the option to not be online) and I was able to get my schmup fix that way un interupted! :)

    I’ll play online again and see if the pattern resurfaces and comment here again … thanks.

  • I just cant stop laughing because the last question…very very clever.

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