Pixel Galore

I was introduced to Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP some time ago via one of Steam's many weekly sales. Well, I was given the inclination to buy the game at such a cheap price AFTER coming across in-game screenshots and video footage of this pixel-based adventure title.

I intended to base the following play-through - of which I played 1 of 4 sections - on a review-style basis, so bare with it; it's mainly my interpretation of what I've played so far.

So far, the game seems to play as a modern/up-to-date interpretation of a classic adventure game.
The game's style of humour, dialogue, fighting mechanics, the point-n-click use for exploration, pacing and unraveling of narrative based on unique and landmark-filled environments to explore through.

This is a unique landmark that's introduced to the player as an eyesore/way-point, of which must have the draw bride (tongue) accessed through a small, easily accessible puzzle.

The game's narrative is present, yet rests on the player to 'make the move' in terms of furthering progression - with mouse clicks, left and right-buttons - the player is presented with simple text-based commands such as 'look', 'listen' and 'tip tap' - the latter of which becoming the game's unique term for 'double-clicking' to move the player's character and interact with objects/other characters. The use of 'tip tap' in the game's opening, to me, suggests how humourous and characteristic the further text-based - and sometimes vocal - dialogue
will become. The developers seemed content in homing in on their own personal use of slang, with dialogue such as,

'Logfella knew all about our woeful errand & he agreed to lead us

up the old road', 

followed by;

'Still we definitely got the feeling that he wasn't super

jazzed about this'.

This use of traditional, adventure-style dialogue - of which you'd expect to see in a game that fits the genre - then follows with comedic slang such as '...he wasn't super jazzed...' which to me is a unique feature, as you wouldn't often see potentially serious, straight talking dialogue spoken in the form of a teenager's slang output.

This is a traditionally tried and true method of adventure game dialogue/speech output. With the perils of the quest ahead overshadowing any forms of humour, or slang use.

So far the game suggests a wonderful marriage of old and new; old being the tried and true elements of pixel-based design and story, and new being the game's sub-focus on the humour, it's approach to combat - of which is based around drawing the sword to initiate a battle and having the option of 'tip tapping' either
the shield or sword to defend and fight your way through an enemy's fighting patterns and strategies.

I'm partial to a good adventure game, and though I've heard this is a very light one - can be completed in less than an hour - the design and how they've crafted an almost obscene amount of detail using pixels as their paintbrush baffles and ignites my senses. With the added character and charm in the dialogue and plot-development, sounds and sights; it's impossible not to base my love for video games on examples such as this.