Common Sense Media Review
By Christopher Healy
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Fun brainteaser art romp, with unexpected driving levels.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Axel & Pixel
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's It About?
AXEL & PIXEL is a story of an artist, who, along with his mutt, Pixel, get trapped in a painting and must traverse a surreal landscape to find his way out. The pair runs into all manner of bizarre obstacles—road-blocking dinosaur bones, a giant dragonfly, a cryptic ice piano, etc.—and must puzzle over the best ways to get past. Along the way, whenever he is inspired, Axel also stops to add touches to his own painting, which he hopes to complete when he manages to get back home.
Is It Any Good?
Axel & Pixel is a truly beautiful game. The photo-realistic scenery is simply stunning, and the game is a joy to look at. Searching the incrediby detailed environments for random odd items that might help you is a lot more fun than it sounds, and figuring out exactly how to use those strange things can be wildly gratifying. For example, you may grow a plant until it yields a giant strawberry, then find a rock to squish that berry into juice, then toss the juice onto a monster that blocks your path. The game's only realy flaw is unfortunately a large one: The three vehicular levels—which seem completely out of place in a point-and-click logic adventure—are just too difficult and frustrating.
Online interaction: Scores can be posted to leaderboards.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the meaning of art and the different places it can pop up in life. Can a video game be art?
Why do you think the creators of this game added in the vehicle-based levels? Why did they make them so hard?
Game Details
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