GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

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A splendid slice of silliness
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Like a childhood book in game form
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QTEs and minigames mix things up

Cons

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Some unfairly obscure puzzles
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Quite short
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Will be too weird for some

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It’s been said that nobody makes wacky games quite like the Japanese. By the same standard, nobody comes close to Eastern Europe either. In weirdness stakes Eastern Europe runs a close second: Eerie, Indiana to Japan’s Twin Peaks. The latest slice of down-the-rabbit-hole bonkersness comes courtesy of Axel & Pixel: a point and clicker following French artist Axel and his friendly dog Pixel as they pursue an evil key-thieving rat through four seasons of nightmarish worlds clearly inspired by free PC favorite Samorost.

Like many point and clickers its solutions range from the forehead-slappingly obvious to the unfairly obscure (such as coaxing a young bird into the mouth of a giant tortoise to use its head as a ladder). What is impressive, however, is its use of QTEs and minigames to bolster the adventure and inject fresh ideas into the predictable template. The adventure’s a bit short, but a decent selection of collectibles will drag you back once you’re done.

Nov 11, 2009