PixelJunk Eden is a tough game to describe. I am not really sure what the developers' intent was with this game... on the surface, it looks like a sort of casual interactive art piece showcasing a synergy of music and colors. But once you get deeper into it, there are increasing levels of challenge (and frustration), which go against the laid-back casual vibe. But what is it, exactly? I'm not really sure... I guess my best simple summary would be to say it's sort of like an unholy union of the artistic games "Flow" and "Flower" on the PS3 (if you've played/heard of those). Anyways, you play as some sort of little bug thing that can jump around and stick to plants. By jumping into floating spores, you release pollen that fills in seeds, which when filled, sprout new plants that allow you to reach new areas. You just keep exploring in this way until you find a special glowy thing called a "spectra", which ends the level. There are 15 levels (or "gardens", as they are called), each of which contains 5 spectra. So there is plenty of content to play through. While no major mechanics are introduced after the first few levels, the game mostly stays interesting throughout, due mostly to the diversity in the look and music. Each garden has a unique vibe, due to the music and color palette/design. As each spectra is collected, the levels evolve slightly to introduce more visual elements. It's a pretty neat effect. As I mentioned earlier, while the game is fairly simple at its core, some frustration creeps in during the latter portion of the game due to the introduction of really annoying enemies and some slightly more challenging platforming bits (the sometimes wonky controls don't help, either). It's nice for the challenge, but it also sort of goes against the enjoyable casual feel of the early parts of the game. It felt somewhat like the game had an identity crisis to me... but I dunno, maybe it's just me. That said, it is still a super enjoyable experience if you go into it not expecting some sort of blockbuster. It's a great experimental art piece that is perfect for those times when you just want to turn your mind off and get lost in a spaced out state of sights and sounds... and yes, that means it's definitely the perfect game for you if your favorite time of day is 4:20. But even if not, it's still an enjoyable experience and worth checking out.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=489916653
I am in love with the art direction in PixelJunk Eden. It has become my go-to game for when I've had enough of killing things, blowing things up, and other related virtual mayhem. Or, after rage-quitting the last five games in a row because they are deliberately obtuse or sadistically difficult, it serves as a good reminder of why I play games in the first place; to have fun and feel good about myself. PixelJunk Eden has those "Man, I'm good" moments when you clear an area, in the same way that very well done puzzle games do. It can have it's frustrating moments, like falling 50 stories after a long and complex climb, but they are always user error and not the fault of the game design. Difficulty progresses naturally and not without commensurate upgrades and new abilities. Time is made a valuable, albeit renewable, resource. It has the perfect balance of relaxing and challenging that makes it highly addictive to play. Adding to replay value are the achievements for clearing an area a second time or for activating all of a certain interactive object. The soundtrack is generally pleasant, in a techno-jazz kind of way, but I occasionally found it irritating and so played that area in silence. And as I've said, I do love the art direction, although some screens in the higher levels are downright hard on the eyes. It is still one of the most fun, refreshing, satisfying and addictive games I've played in a while, well worth the full price.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=489916563

Let me start by mentioning that I'm not very fond of platform games. Never have been. They usually feel way to linear and restricted to me, and hardly ever offer exciting game mechanics.

While PixelJunk Eden technically is a platform game, this label wouldn't do much justice to it, as it truly is so much more! The game mechanics are simple yet innovative and the gameplay is very fluent. The player can move around freely over the entire map, explore every corner and in the meanwhile develop the map as it grows with you (by seeding plants).

No need to use the keyboard; the mouse does it all for you. This however doesn't mean it's a simple point-and-click game. Different combinations of mouse buttons make you jump in different ways and it all feels very natural.

The artwork is amazing and the 15 maps all offer something new. The minimal house music compliments the game very well.

Is there nothing negative to mention about the game? Of course, there always is. While the gameplay has the potential to be very relaxing, the timer that decreases your health can be stressful. You have to pick up crystals to recharge it, but these are not always around in the later stages of the map and it can be a little frustrating to die just before reaching your goal. In my opinion your health shouldn't be affected by time that much, but rather more by the enemies you have to defeat. These do some occasional damage, but more often interfere with your jumps.

Overall a very nice game with high replay value. You can play for just 10 minutes or for several hours, which makes it a game you can easily come back to. Even the main menu is fun to play around with.

Ever feel like you just need to relax and tend to a garden or something? This game makes you feel lost in nature and time. My mom actually watched me play for a few minutes.

A pleasant palate cleanser of a game, well worth the price of admission if you’re after something a little different from the usual platforming tropes.

At it's heart Eden is a simple platformer, each level or “garden” has five items to collect, with a cumulative total of these items unlocking additional levels. To traverse these levels you have a jump and grip/swing mechanic, the physics involved in which are slightly “floaty” therefore offering a good degree of mid-air readjustment. Reaching the higher areas of a level requires the player to pollinate plants, a process achieved by picking up nearby items, or destroying enemies in the vicinity, with larger pollen rewards generated for destroying multiple enemies in a single jump. Players are required to accomplish all of this against the clock, though that clock can be topped up by acquiring some items dotted around the gardens.

There are no great bold innovations to be seen here, the pleasure of the game is derived from the fact that the design of the game mechanics, the visuals and the sound all come together to make a very pleasant gaming experience. In an odd juxtaposition of perception and content, the easy going almost Zen-like meditative vibe of Eden in the early stages is tempered with some really rather infuriating moments in the later in the game, but that’s alright, because you can simply drop back a few levels and do a run through an earlier level for no other reason than the fact the world of Eden is a very pleasant one to visit.

Finally it should be noted this is the definitive version of the game, controls redesigned for mouse and keyboard, several annoyances ironed out from the original PSN version (Thankfully you no longer have to collect all 5 items in one run to clear a level), all of the Encore content included, and the addition of a nifty “warp” function which allows for the rapid repair of any mistimed jump.

After watching the PixelJunk Eden opening trailer on Steam, talking about how groundbreaking the design and soundtrack is for the game, I was very excited to play it. However, after only 30 minutes in the game, I was sorely, sorely disappointed.

First of all, you need to dissociate this game with the console versions. According to a good friend of mine, the game is far more fun on the console, because it has multiplayer. PC does not.

The game involves you controlling a little bug thing who has to leap about flowers to activate "Spectra" while gathering enough pollen to grow plants (never explained). The game has absolutely no story whatsoever. The game revolves around the process of shooting your silk, spinning around and guesstimating where you are meant to go next, which almost always leads to 90% of your time thinking "what the hell am I meant to do?"

Anyway. I played 9.4 hours of it, completing the "Eden" aspect of the game, and would not recommend it.

-Nilesy

Pixeljunk Eden made its way into my library on a whim and it turned out to be a solid decision.

This is a good game to play for relaxing and quiet time. Gameplay consists of leading a small creature from plant to plant or to rocks via jumping or spinning. In later gardens there are additional movement and puzzle mechanics which complicate the game in a positive way. The game introduces new mechanics slowly, which keeps frustration to a minimum. There's some need for planning and quick movements at times, but it's not a game that relies 100% on twitch reactions. The main goal is to find all 5 spectra in each garden and there are additional challenges such as collecting all 5 spectra in 10 minutes or unlocking all seeds in a garden. You can go as quickly or as slowly as you want through gardens, which is a very attractive freedom to me. It has an odd graphic style which is pretty fresh. Each garden has its own graphic style and color scheme, which change as you collect spectra. The music is made by an independent Kyoto artist and is a good selection of electronic trance with light beat (get the soundtrack bundle, it's worth it).

Overall, this is a solid puzzle game that has a lot of fresh and interesting attributes - a great thing to play and just relax with.

I would describe this game as a 'relaxing challenge'... lol. I Have never played another game like it. The music is awesome and thats enough of a reason to play it, but the gameplay is very enjoyable as well, it gives you a great sense of exploration, and satisfaction when you find a 'spectre', especially on the difficult later levels. It also can make you feel very desperate at times when your health starts going low and you need to find something to eat, because you need to constantly find food in order to stay alive. Possibly the most 'original' thing I've ever played, and in a good way. 9/10.

+ Art style is visually pleasing
+ Gameplay is very simple and casual, but can get decently challenging in the later gardens
+ Audio for the game was very fitting and helped maintain a relaxing atmosphere

- Becomes monotonous after a few hours; I recommend picking this up in small doses


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After an initial issue with the game screen not fitting on my monitor (seemingly fixed by disabling Windows high DPI scaling in the compatibility tab of the exe properties), I spent a long time trying to get any controller to work. When I eventually did solve that, I found that all controllers were bound to the same character because, despite featuring three player icons and the 1-3 player Pixeljunk logo in store screenshots and in-game, it turns out that multiplayer has been removed from the PC version entirely.

This was originally a great local co-op game but unfortunately I can't personally recommend the PC version as multiplayer was the main point of the game for me. Now the only way to play is to keep a PS3 console running, as the full game was never ported to other platforms and the Switch-exclusive sequel dropped 3-player support for 2-player only. :(