No 2D and pixels have not said their last words. And still many treasures have appeared this year. Here are the best video games of the genre to fill up with thrills, just like in the good old days of the 1990s.
eastward
No need for special effects and luxurious 3D production to move players and leave lasting memories. This is further proved by Eastward, a small, pixelated 2D masterpiece edited by Chucklefish and masterfully produced by the very young Chinese studio Pixpil. Available on Switch and PC, this title takes us into a post-apocalyptic world. We meet the duo John and Sam there. The first is a laconic miner of impressive strength who plays Sam’s surrogate father, a gray-haired girl endowed with surprising powers. Rejected by their city, they will above all have to face the dangers that reign in a devastated world.
If the first steps in the world of Eastward are quite classic, the artistic direction is enough to catch the eye of the informed gamer who will remember the detailed and sublime pixel art of Mother 3 on Game Boy Advance. It’s an understatement to say that Eastward is one of the most beautiful pixelated 2D games around. Above all, the Pixpil studio hides its game well to offer a much richer story than one could have imagined, with its share of twists and turns that constantly renew the gameplay experience. Over more than twenty-five hours of adventure, Eastward offers a story that is both poignant and wonderful, carried by special care added by inspired artistic direction and pixel art of rare quality.
Eastward, Chucklefish, on Switch and PC.
Backbone
A dark and smart thriller. It is by these words that we can best summarize Blackbone, a point’n click with a tortuous story, mixing humor and depression in a city populated by anthropomorphic animals. Like Juanjo Guarnido’s Blacksad comic book, this storytelling adventure from the studio EggNut invites us to play as a private detective with the physique of a raccoon in a beige raincoat: Howard Lotor. Party to accept a matter of morals for a husband considered fickle by his wife, this private will quickly discover a darker investigation in a city plagued by crime. Superbly written and directed, Backbone is a relatively short title but one whose tasty history leaves you admiring, just like its detail-oriented 2D graphics. A title already crowned with a nice success which prompted its editor Raw Fury to announce that a sequel is already in the works.
Blackbone, Raw Fury, on PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, also scheduled for Switch and Mac.
Okinawa Rush
“The best soups are made in old pots.” An adage that perfectly suits Okinawa Rush, a game skilfully mixing platforms, fighting and beat them all all in 2D. Between Shinobi, Street of Rage and Street Fighter, Okinawa Rush arises there. And it is drunk with revenge after the death of his wife and the kidnapping of his children that his main character Hiro will tighten the belt of his kimono to go and strip several hundred fighters adept in martial arts. Perfectly mastering the arcana of Karate, Hiro will be accompanied on his bloody journey by Shin, a kung fu follower, and the deadly Meilin, trained in Tai Chi. Each of these champions in their art is playable and brings a different gameplay to send ad patres plethora of adversaries. Focusing on nervous and bloody battles, Okinawa Rush is a real concentrate of adrenaline that leaves little time for contemplation and makes people understand that revenge is a dish that is ultimately eaten very hot. Little more, the meal is also savored in two-player mode.
Okinawa Rush, PixelHeart / Just for Games, on Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and PC.
Narita boy
Expected since 2017, Narita Boy had the effect of a small bomb when it was officially launched at the end of March 2021 on consoles and PC. In this action game, tinged with platforms, dazzling pixel art leads one to venture into the bowels of a computer program threatened by a virus.
Like the film Tron (1982), the developers dematerialize a young gamer to send him to a virtual world where a small digital people are waiting to be delivered from HIM, the name given to the big bad virus that threatens them. You then play as the chosen one, in the person of Narita Boy, who – like Neo in The Matrix – will have to save the universe. If this falsely philosophical fable will be able to amuse some, it is especially in its progression that this game will leave a good memory to the players who will try it. A game which, without being revolutionary, enjoys an interesting and neat atmosphere.
Narita Boy, Team17, on Switch, Xbox One and Series X / S, PS4 and PS5, PC and Mac.
Tanuki Justice
In the great lineage of games dedicated to ninjas such as Shinobi, Ninja Gaiden or Ninja Spirit, the French François Pérez, alias Wonderboy Bobi, has just published a new pearl of the genre: Tanuki Justice. A game in the purest arcade tradition that offers a remarkable challenge on Switch and PS4, as our full test already explained.
Tanuki Justice is a sensitive game driven by the passion of its developer who has no other pretension than to entertain during short games, which will remain so intense that you will come back to it regularly, if only to blow the high. -score or prove to you that you haven’t lost your hand. We also welcome its welcome two-player mode to share frenzied games.
Tanuki Justice, PixelHeart, on PS4 and Switch.
cotton reboot
Fans of Arcade, Super Famicom, PC Engine, Mega Drive and Saturn will surely remember the little witch named Cotton. A heroine queen of shoot ’em up who was due to a series of flagship games on almost all media of the time. Riding on the nostalgia it evokes to old players and fans of the genre, the Tokyo store Beep specializing in retrogaming has decided to offer it a reboot in 2021.
A title that turns out to be a little happiness. If the framework of the levels of the original game is respected, the developers have offered it a more current 2D, like its gameplay revised and corrected to stick with the shoots of the moment. The emphasis here is on scoring with several factors that can be triggered at the right time to harvest the jackpot. We also welcome the musical scores, also brought up to date. Among the bonuses, fans will discover the X68000 version of the game, taken from the famous Sharp X68000 computer considered the Amiga 1200 of Japanese gamers.
Cotton Reboot, Beep, on PS4 and Switch.