A flawed gem returns

While Q-Games is best known for the PixelJunk series, the studio's otherworldly resource-gathering, town-rebuilding, kaiju-stopping game The Tomorrow Children left a mark. Assuming, of course, that y??ou were around to catch lightning in a bottle back in 2016.

With an online shared-world foundation, this peculiar social action-adventure game let players roll into town to pitch in with exploration, hauling, building, and a lot of odd jobs �manual labor was ki??nd of the whole point in this Soviet-themed "alternate future."

Every task felt slow, methodical, and deliberate. But all the tedium ultimately paid off when folks worked together long enough to accomplish bigger goals. The Tomorrow Children was an entirely communal game, leading to memorable player experiences (and some chaotic trolling). It was a niche game, but a neat one, and it was sad yet somewhat understandable when Son?y shut down the servers. The game needed time to flourish.

Now it's back on PS4 this week thanks to passionate developers at Q-Games, who got the IP rights back from a surprisingly cooperative Sony Intera?ctive Entertainment.

The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition (PS4)
Developer: Q-Games
Publisher: Q-Games
Released: September 6, 2022
MSRP: $39.99

I've been wanting to revisit The Tomorrow Children since Death Stranding. I only dabbled in this once-lost game, but I love the idea of teamwork-oriented sh?ared-goal gaming.

Unlike the earlier online-only free-to-play version, The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition is a $40 game with no "grind lessening" real-money purchases to keep it afloat. And instead of a dedicated-server setup, every player starts with their own peer-to-peer town, including the ability to cooperate online with strangers or play offline with AI helpers.

This is an important distinction to make �some of the game's original bewildering nature has been smoothed out, and at least at launch, the co-op vibe isn't exactly the same. Folks will be initially focused on rais??ing their own town, before hopping around to help out others. While it was interesting (and sometimes frustrating) to have fully shared towns in 2016, in this 2022 incarnation, it's nice to have a bit more ownership; you can rest easy knowing that your personal town won't burn to the ground when you log off.

Your first impression of The Tomorrow Children will feel more tutorialized in Phoneix Edition, in a good way, and once you've got the basics, it'll be possible for other players to hitch a ride into your town. You can bounce around, too �it's a quick ?loading screen away.

Slow-burn satisfaction

You might be wondering what it is you really do in The Tomorrow Children. Humanity is gone (for reasons that are better felt than described), and to bring back some semblance of the former world, you'll traverse the white quicksand-like Void all around you. As a specialized Projection Clone??, you'll dig out giant sculpture-like "islands," find hidden matryoshka dolls, and r??????????????????????????estore them into proper citizens back at base. All the while, you'll stock up on metal, food, wood, coal, and crystals needed to craft structures and maintain your growing town.

While it's a simple concept, The Tomorrow Children can be a tricky game to sum up right.

In many ways, it isn't "fun" in a traditional sense. Progress is slow �especially alone �and many of the pickaxe-wielding mining mechanics are familiar by now. But at the same time, I can't stop coming back for m?ore. As of this review, I've clocked 22 hours.

For some people, even the most exciting "high points" will be too boring. And if that's the ca??se, no matter how much progress you make, or how many fancy new (limited-use) gadgets you acquire to speed up the mundane grind, you aren't likely to change your mind. The intentionally limited inventory space will always be a problem, and the drawn-out bus rides from town out to the islands will never be fast enough. Busywork *is the game.*

For me though, these quieter gameplay moments give meaning and weight to this admittedly low-key experience. The Tomorrow Children can be contemplative or a tota??l zone-out game, depending on how you look at it. I fall somewhere in the middle.

There are gameplay tweaks and refinements

The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition is essentially the same game as before, brought back to life with key changes to keep it around for posterity. The nitty-gritty tweaks will stand out to the hardc??ore community, but they aren't hugely different from afar.

One of the biggest is that now, island exploration ??is more methodical �there isn't solid ground, so you'll slowly sink into the Void by default. That means you need to make good use of the platform-constructing jackhammer and be extra careful not to tumble off, or use crystals to harden the surface. I liked the stakes. One wrong move is enough, so I couldn't sleepwalk. On the flip side, death isn't too punishing �it's mostly a time-waster.

In my experience, the new? peer-to-peer multiplayer works great. You can share your town code with friends, or easily pull up a public list of towns and hop around.

As before, you'll communicate with emotes at most, but much of the time, players kind of just intuitively do their own thing and then come together to help each other out. (See: Journey.) If the primary player was out fetching resources and dolls on? an island, I'd stay back to defend against invading Izverg, repair bombed-out buildings as needed, and deposit busloads of goods into their specified storage area. Some people seem to hate the sliding-block puzzle ??mini-game for crafting, but I don't mind it, so I'll do that, too.

Even with the smallest of contributions, every step of the way, you'll earn "Toil" that funnels into 1) gear purchases and 2) skill upgrades. There's also a chance to pick up Freeman Dollars for cooler, longer-lasting items on the Black Market. Again, The Tomorrow Children is extremely slow-going, and Phoenix Edition doesn't change that. I was hoping the pricier stuff would be toned down even more than it is compared to the free-to-play days.

As a solo player, it's tough to be as well-rounded as I'd like. Necessities like a pickaxe, shovel, jackhammer, and shotgun add up, to say nothing of high-im?pact extras like a missile launcher or the limited-time VoidKa ability boosts. In a grou??p, you can specialize and make the most of your coupons �you can synergize. But alone, I had to play it safe.

AI bots lighten the load

With AI in the mix (whether you're playing The Tomorrow Children offline or in an empty-enough online session), some of the basic tasks will be easier. AI ??and real players phase in and out as they go about their business. Sometimes, I couldn't easily tell them apart.

But when it comes down to it, the AI will never do anything too bold �more than anything, the bots like to scoop up scraps (in town and on islands) and they'll hop in a turret ?to take potshots at fly??ing rays or stomping Godzilla-esque Bankrotz. They'll also repair buildings if you're away, but they aren't exactly in a hurry to do so.

Still, this is a big improvement that helps with pacing. You don't have to babysi??t every facet of the town upkeep, which is great when you're in the groove on an island excursion that's a long bus ride away. You can let certain tasks pile up for a while, worry-free.

For me, the game's tunneling and platform-building exploration is the main draw, whether I'm playing alone or collaborating with others. Q-Games says there are more than 40 islands �I saw too many to recall, including a massive imposing red face, outstretched arm?s, a cake, colorful floating bubbles, a retro TV set, and a toy robot. These mountainous art installations can also be expanded if you trigger a transparent "monolith"; that said, some require multiple players to activate it. If you find every hidden doll, or wait long enough, an island will sink back into the Void. I liked this rising background tension.

There are new tools like a grappling hook, but I ended up wasting too many shots by not quite nailing down the firing distance, and my currency was better spent elsewhere. Similarly, I wish the jetpack was within easier reach �some islands are so oppressively vertic?al that I just had to wait for them to vanish and try my luck with a different area.

To what end?

The first major goal is to restore 50 residents, at which point your town is complete �but you aren't "kicked out" for good as it initially seems. You'll be able to return and keep reaching new heights. I'm now trying to hit a population of 100 as well as upgrade my new??ly-built Town Hall with loads and loads of metal. What comes next, I'm not sure.

It feels like this Phoenix Edition re-release was less about sweeping improvements and "trying again," and far more about just getting The Tomorrow Children back in players' hands in a future-proof way. So while?? I wish that Q-Games could've moder??nized or expanded certain elements (especially combat, which is often very one-note), I get the scope.

I'm glad to get another genuine crack at this subversive social crafting adventure game as someone who was there in 2016 but has hazy memories at best. It's not as impactful in 2022, if I'm being honest, but there's also nothing quite like this vibe. I knew I was in for something special as soon as the amped-up music started blaring on my home screen. The visuals still hold up surprisingly well for the most part, and playing on PS5, I didn't run into any notable performance issues �just a c??ouple of pre-launch-day crashes at worst.

Offline support and AI bots are enough to make certain fans happy, and while t?he price is too steep and the patient gameplay loop is too niche to recommend to a wide audience, I still?? want to nudge as many people as possible. I didn't expect to spend more than 20 hours toiling away with this strange game, yet here I am, with no signs of stopping.

Time flies when you're silently helping strangers perform tedious tasks. It'??s wei??rdly zen.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Tomorrow comes for those who wait

The surreal community survival experience The Tomorrow Children returns to PlayStation later this year. Q-Games will launch The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition for PS4 and PS5 in 2022.

The Tomorrow Children first launched in 2016, in partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment. Yet one year later, the online social action game closed its doors.

In the time since, Q-Games has reacquired the IP of The Tomorrow Children, and now looks to relaunch its game for both a new and returning audience as The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqIOo1E-UfY

The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition is set to arrive on PS4 and PS5, with some PlaySta??t?ion 5-specific enhancements.

Building a new tomorrow

The day-to-day of The Tomorrow Children revolves around these small, almost doll-like life forms that players control. By going on expeditions and mining resources,?? they can try to save humanity. In the process, though, some big monsters decide to?? intervene and cause problems.

For the Phoenix Edition, an in-depth tutorial has been added, as well as new islands, items, and ways to play. Q-Games also says in its press release that it's responding to community feedback. The Tomorrow Children ?wo?n't rely on a central server, and all microtransactions have been removed.

This new, revamped version of The Tomorrow Children will have peer-to-peer multiplayer support instead. It seems like a way to not just ??ensure it kicks off again, but can stay afloat in the future rather than closed down once again.

Hopefully the second time is the charm for The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition. It's an interesting game with a fascinating premise that I never got deep into, due to its original model. But this intriguing blend of Animal Crossing and kaiju battles might get a chance at a second impression, for me a??nd for others who moved on.

The Tomorrow Children: Phoenix Edition hits PlayStation consoles later this year.

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'We plan to make quite a few changes for the better,' says director Dylan Cuthbert

Five years later, The Tomorrow Children �a funky online crafting adventure from PixelJunk creator Q-Games that left a lasting impression but didn't stick around very long �now has a way forward. Sony shut down the free-to-play game's servers in 2017, and today, the developers announced that they've reached? an agreem??ent to take back the IP.

"Despite having a large number of fans worldwide clocking up hundreds of hours each, the game was taken offline just one year [after its launch on PS4] and has not been playable by the public ever since," the studio said in a press release today. "Q-Games will now be working hard to rebuild The Tomorrow Children and bring it back to its loving fans."

This is a pretty big surprise, even knowing that Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert had been actively exploring ways to revitalize The Tomorrow Children. "It just feels wrong to not be able to play it," he said during an anniversary BitSummit stream in September 2021.

Today, Cuthbert thanked fans for keeping the dream alive, as well as Sony Interactive Entertainment for "working with me to have the IP returned to Q??-Games."

"It has taken a concerted effort by all of us to get to this ultim??ate step, and I'm full of gratitude to everyone involv?ed in the process," he added.

Fans of this otherworldly Soviet-esque resource-gathering multiplayer game have rallied behind the idea that it was way ahead of its time, which I agree with �and while I'm not sure how well it'll fare nowadays, I'm hopeful. It di??dn't get the runway it deserved.

The original launch trailer captures the "what even is this game?" vibe we felt at the time.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LLbxx0zgMY

If you're down to relive this surreal and almost purgatory-like world, or you regret never getting to experience it on PS4, you can keep tabs on The Tomorrow Children's revival with the Postcards From the Void newsletter. Death Stranding fans need to look into it.

"I am now tweaking and re-working parts of the game every week, and I hope everyone follows along and gets involved in this process," said Cuthbert. "We plan to make quite a few changes for the better, and give The Tomorrow Children the re-launch it deserves!"

This could be a situation where time and reflection �and plenty of fan feedback �can help fine-tune this flawed yet interesting game so it's a little more palatable to a wider audience. It was sometimes neater as an idea than it was a video game, but either way, I can envision a path forward for The Tomorrow Children. I know I want to try it again.

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For the game's fifth anniversary, creator Q-Games reflects on its past and possible future

We're coming up on the fifth anniversary of The Tomorrow Children, a one-of-a-kind communal crafting adventure game from PixelJunk maker Q-Games, and fans are once again feeling wistful about the fact that it hasn't been playable since Sony shut the servers down in 2017. If you have hazy memories ??of this odd gem, check this video out.

As part of BitSummit (via IGN), CEO Dylan Cuthbert revisited a developer?? build on-stream?.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9dvPjZaEj8

During this 25-minute revisit, Cuthbert explains the game �well, as much as it can be explained �to the audience and also his co-host, William Loubier, who's the PR and community manage?r at the studio. Slowly but surely, it's coming back to me. I remember waiting for the bus to come. I remember that sliding-puz??zle game at the workbench.

The slow-burn experience wasn't always "fun" to play �far from it! �but I have a lot of love for its approach to unconventional coope??rative multiplayer.

"[The Tomorrow Children] was before Death Stranding, so we were on ??the frontier of [this collaborative asynchronous] game design when we were doing this," said Cuthbert. "Yeah, we didn't get everything perfec?t, but we did manage to make a fairly consistent world."

It felt like a strange, otherworldly Iron Curtain-themed purgatory that you were stranded in with other people just trying to make sense of it all. The game felt like a fever dream back then at launch, and?? the feeling only grows stronger the further removed we? get.

_{Even in 2021, The Tomorrow Children is a looker.}

Is there hope for a new game in this same vein?

"It's all about finding the funding," said Cuthbert. "I'd love to do a sequel, right? This is the Soviet side, bu?t what's happening in [the West]? It would be quite interesting to find ou?t."

What about an offline version of The Tomorrow Children, for preservation's sake?

"Right now, the IP is Sony's, really. I'll keep trying to get the IP back. And if I do get the IP back, I'll definitely think about ways to relaunch it, but without a server. It was the running costs of the server that kind of brought it down. If we didn't have that, we probably just could've left it running. [...] Hopefully at some point in the?? future, maybe, we can get the IP back and then try and work out what to do from there. We don't know anything yet."

"I don't like having a game I made, like, missing. Especially one as pretty and interesting and rich as The Tomorrow Children. It just feels wrong to not be able to play it."

Also, it deserves to be said: the lighti??ng effects absolutely hold up. Still impressive!

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I dipped my toes in again, chased every rainbow, and had a much better time

PixelJunk Monsters 2 is a divisive s?equel to?? a modern-day tower-defense classic.

That's arguably too reductive a stance �I'm sure there are players who genuinely dig the new zoomed-in 3D style, with minor caveats �but it's always been tough for me to think about PixelJunk Monsters 2 without ??unfavorably stacking it up against the first game.

When I reviewed the sequel in 2018, I struggled with a lot of nagging thoughts that other PixelJunk fans?? are quick to mention. A few of them always seem to bubble up:

• The camera is too tight and we want to be able to see the entire map while we run around rather than have partial camera control.
• The up-close presentation also has repercussions for co-op â€?a series staple â€?in terms of how far players can physically get away from one another.
• Sluggish player movement, rough jumping and visibility, and sometimes-whacked-out physics for coins and gems can all be a bit much to deal with.

Three years later,? I've come around �to a point. I'm so ?glad I went back.

For starters, Q-Games addressed a number of common complaints after launch, including a fix for local co-op "warping" when you're too far apart from?? your bestie and the ability to stand still and toggle a full-map view to see every oncoming threat at a glance.

I still think PixelJunk Monsters 2 has design issues, but their sting has softened over time, and I've learned to appreciate this game for what it is. Even if you aren't a PixelJunk player, I??'m sure you can relate with another game you've revisited and ended up rediscovering.

After more or less randomly getting the urge to try again, I'm not sure what clicked, exactly, but somethi?ng did �I've been hooked for the past few weeks, night after night.

It's partially a "time and place" thing. I enjoy this game a whole lot more in a chilled-out nightly winddown state of ??mind where it's okay if it takes me an entire session �six, seven, maybe even eight attempts �to master a single 20-minute-long level.

I haven't been in a rush lately. Giving myself the breathing room to learn (but not necessarily memorize) which enemies appear on which path, and discover which risky strategies can general??ly pay off big, has been a blast. I love experimenting and refining.

For me, PixelJunk Monsters 2 is at its best when I'm trying to earn a rainbow token on the third and hardest difficulty (Mayhem) for not letting a single creep break through my defenses. I've had one slip through in the last five seconds! There's little room for error, and sometimes, even if you've done your homework, it feels like the towers' scatterbrained? AI or the coins' explosive physics can undo everything. That randomness is a curse, but also a blessing. It's the secret sauce that has kept me so engaged.

There's just something about coming so close to perfection here that leaves me feeling motivated, not defeated. That, and the little rush you g??et whenever your Tikiman dances long enough to upgrade a tower to the next tier �my brain loves that shit.

The hardest level for me to perfect? Coco Valley Stage 2. It's the one with all the balloons over chasms and hard ??decisions to be made about where to focus your limited time.

My recent replay culminated in the platinum trophy and a Season Pass purchase, which I had always been on the fence about getting. The Encore and Danganronpa Pack levels were over before I knew it, but if you can get them on sale, they're worth it. Speaking of which, PixelJunk Monsters 2 is $3 on Steam and PS4 right now, and the DLC is also cheap.

Will Q-Games take another crack at PixelJunk Monsters? I hope so, now more than ever.

I'd be perfectly happy with a continuation of the PJM2 style, even. That said, if they could bridge the gap �if the designers carve out a bit more of a unique identity and include some gameplay concessions for die-hard PJM1 fans �that just might work wonders.

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Included with Stadia Pro starting March 1, 2021

In a rollercoaster ride of an announcement today, there's an otherworldly new PixelJunk game coming out on March 1, and it isn't a sequel, which excites me – but only Stadia players will be able to try i?t out.

This new roguelike action-adventure game, PixelJunk Raiders, will "launch exclusively" on Stadia. It'll be available on the streaming pl?atform for $20, or freely playable with a Stadia Pro subscription. Drat.

It's honestly a bummer to see one of my favorite studios tied down to a single platform like this, doubly so in the aftermath of Google unceremoniously ditchin??g its internal Stadia development studios.

As for the game itself, I'm intrigued but not necessarily sold. The footage shown today depicts alien-slashing action gameplay in a vividly stylized procedural landscape. A little context: you're a "human replicant searching for habitable worlds and optimizing your DNA for survival." You know, the usual.

It's not a one-to-one comparison by any means, but I hope PixelJunk Raiders doesn't suffer a tragic fate like The Tomorrow Children, an unforgettable communal PS4 game that live??s on in our memories??.

I'm happy as long as Q-Games can keep making games, I just hope this deal doesn't last forever.

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Zen gaming with Baiyon

It delights me to see Q-Games add more entries to the PixelJunk series, especially a sequel to Eden.

It's arguably not the best of the bunch, but Eden – a minimalistic platforme??r about catching plumes of pollen to reinvigorate garden landscapes – has long been a favorite of mine. It's a hypnotic ?experience.

Whether you missed PixelJunk Eden on PS3 and ??Steam or you simply miss it, period, this is such a great way to close out the chaotic year. Turn on your Switch, pump up the volume, and melt into your chair.

PixelJunk Eden 2 (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Q-Games
Publisher: Q-Games
Released: December 10, 2020
MSRP: $14.99

PixelJunk Eden 2 is a simple but effective game, one I see myself coming back to again and again. Playing alone or with a local co-op partner, you'll hop and swing around a?bstract levels infused with the audio-visual ess??ence of Baiyon. The techno music and visualizer-like backgrounds put a spell on me.

While some of the finer details are different for the sequel, in general, this is largely the same soothing experience as the original game. In each garden level – all of w??hich have their own aesthe??tic and song – your goal is to collide with floating Pollen Prowlers to pop them open, catch the sinking remnants to grow nearby seeds, and use towering plants as platforms to ultimately reach a Spectra collectible.

Missile-firing and gravity-shifting foes appear in some situations, but largely speaking, PixelJunk Eden 2 doesn't push back all that much. You don't "die." There is a time limit in the main story mode (which you'll refill by flinging yourself into physical checkpoints), but it's rarely an issue if you aren'?t going for 100% seed completion, and there's a timer-less mode that's intended for more meticulous play.

I primarily played Eden 2 in co-op, and I think that's the way to go if you can manage it (although playing solo does have its meditative merits). With two players, you'll collect pollen quicker, and it's a little easier to pull off risky maneuvers and leaps of faith. If someone fall??s too far off-screen, they'll reset at the other player's safe location. If both players plummet, there's just a short respawn to sit through.

PixelJunk Eden 2 feels subtlety snappier, faster, and more alive than Eden 1, b??ut the sequel's biggest change is the way levels are doled out and how the Grimp protagonists vary from one ?to the next.

Each Grimp comes with its ow??n set of levels and its own particular gameplay-affecting ability or trait, which you can further alter with one-time-use Spice items. The basic flow goes a little something like this: hop into a garden, explore to find the far-off Spectra, and rinse and repeat until you've cleared them all. Some Grimps come with a couple of levels, while others have a set of several to comple??te.

Aside from grabbing pollen to grow plants and reach new heights, you'll also want to collect crystals to unlock Spices. They're just temporary optional items (you can bring up to three of them into an individual level attempt), but they're useful. They have benefits like extending the length or duration of your swing-inducing silk string, diminishing the effects of gravity?, or adding more time on the clock. My go-to Spices helped me find the Spectra more easily and expanded my pollen-collecting range.

When you finish a set of levels, you'll get another Grim??p to play as but not necessarily a "brand new" area – just a different batch of levels. (There are 10 total gardens.) As such, you can expect to see a lot of repeating stages, albeit with several alternate Spectra locations to mix things up a bit. I wasn't thrilled with this format – it started to feel repetitive toward?? the end – but it mostly works.

There are 20-plus characters to unlock in the main? mode, and they all have a gameplay-modifying twist (some good, some decidedly less good) to help them stand out. One of the Grimps has unlimited jumps, but makes it so Pollen Prowlers are less plentiful. Another Gr?imp is heavy enough to "bend tall plants by swinging or landing." One of my favorites can only equip one Spice perk but won't "consume" the item.

This isn't a short game, and for some – particularly players who try to power through it in the span of a few evenings – it might outstay its welcome, but I didn't quite reach that point. Part of that is on the Switch itself (handheld play is perfect for Eden 2), part of that is on the relaxing gameplay style, and part of that is on Baiyon's talent as a game director, composer, and visual artist. He's a triple ?threat.

I spent close to a dozen hours with the main progression path in PixelJunk Eden 2, and I've hardly dug into the unlimited-time "choose ??your garden and Grimp" free-play mode. Whenever I feel the gotta-catch-'em-all collectathon itch, I'll be sure to head there first since that mode has its own achievements. You can't tell me the total number of seeds i??n each level and not expect me to hunt them down.

PixelJunk Eden 2 is o?ne of 2020'??s few pleasant surprises, and I'm so thankful it exists.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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It's coming to Switch on December 10 with a launch discount

I've quietly been stoked to play PixelJunk Eden 2, the sequel to Q-Games' underappreciated atmospheric platformer about zipping through abstract gardenscapes while chill Baiyon tunes work their magic.

After missing its initial summer 2020 window, it seems that PixelJunk Eden 2 is on track for a December 10 launch on the Nintendo Switch eShop. The new release date showed up on a Nintendo UK store page, and while the equivalent listing for North America still says fall 2020, I'm choosing to believe.

[Update: Q-Games confirmed the December 10 launch date for PixelJunk Eden 2. If you buy the game by December 16, you'll get a decent discount – $9.89 instead of the normal $14.99 price tag.]

Gameplay-wise, I'd expect a similar experience – you'll explore "gardens of psychedelic sights and sounds" to collect polle??n, expand the flora to reach new heights, and generally melt into your chair.

As the studio puts it, you'll be able to "swing and spin from silk threads, in both single and cooperative play as you and a partner pirou??ette around one another in brush-strokes of light and color in the world on your journey to collect the all-important 'Spectra,' the source of all life in ??the world." It's a trip.

"More PixelJunk Eden" would'v????e been fine by me, but co-op? That's the secret word.

[Via Gematsu]

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Undercooked

It feels like it's been ages since Q-Games dabbled in tower defense with the original PixelJunk Monsters. The studio has taken quite a few detours since then, all of which have have been interesting in their own right, but ??the tim?e has finally come for a sequel. Tikiman's back! And he's gone 3D!

I was surprised and delighted when I first laid eyes on PixelJunk Monsters 2. It seemed to have the same familiar components, albeit presented with a new, almost clay-like aesthetic. It's a significant departure from the old hand-drawn art, but it feels like the next logical step after the developer's last major release, The Tomorrow Children, which?? similarly used fancy real-time lighting to great effect.

Despite the eye-catching new visuals, Monsters fans are s??till going to feel right at home. On that note, things might actually be a tad too famili?ar for my tastes.

PixelJunk Monsters 2 (Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Q-Games
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft
Released: May 25, 2018
MSRP: $14.99

The goal of PixelJunk Monsters 2 is to protect the adorable, innocent, too-pure-for-this-world chibis at your base from spiders, golems, and other assorted critters. To keep the lil guys?? safe, you'll need to think ahead and balance your time well. From the moment the first enemy wave begins advancing to the plodding ascent of the level boss, there's always something that needs supervision.

You'll start by placing a few structures in key locations -- maybe a jack-of-all-trades arrow tower (or two!), then a cannon for much-needed splash damage, and anti-air by your base when you can spare the cash. Next, you'll shake it. Dancing near a tower will slowly upgrade it (up to five tiers), or you can spend gems dropped by slain enemies. But gems can also go toward building more advanced structures, like a hive that fires off bees or a tower that summons a lightning storm, so dancing is vital. There are coins to manually collect, too. When most monsters die, they'll scatter coins across the map, and that gold isn't going to stick around forever. In PixelJunk Monsters 2, you're constantly hav?ing to switch gears between building, upgrading, collecting, scouting, and occasionally using explosive fruit.

After you've tested the waters a few times in any given level, you should have a general understanding of which towers to prioritize and where to place them. You'll figure out your bottlenecks, and hopefully remember to account for that one particular enemy in that one particular wave that always seems to squeeze through your defenses. If not, it's back to the drawing ?board. There aren't checkpoints to fall back on, and even if you know most of a level by heart, there isn't a fast-foward button to speed through the early portions. T??his can be a slog for high-score chasers hoping to top the leaderboards.

PixelJunk Monsters 2 is fairly challenging on even its middle difficulty, but that's for the best -- there ar??e only 15 levels total spread across five different biomes, with some extra paid DLC stages also on offer. You're not meant to fly through the game, especially if you're trying to get flawless wins in order to earn rainbow pieces (one per difficulty per level). There are also unlockable masks and shells to incentivize you to continue playing past your first successful attempt. Gotta dress to impress.

Looking at the broad strokes, the sequel h??its many of the marks I'd expect it to, but the more I play, the more its small annoyances seem to creep up on me a?nd bog down the whole experience.

When coins and gems drop, they go careening across the ground, often landing in hard if not impossible to reach spots like rivers. Unlike the prior games which gave you a full view of the action, here, only part of the map is visible, so you'll need to pan the camera and jog around to see what's what. Platforming and movement, in general, can feel sluggish and squirrely; it's all too easy to hit snags. There's so little music in the game that it?? ends up feeling like an afterthought. Finally, in co-op, partner players can't move too far from the host player or they'll be teleported to their side. With how big the maps are and how zoomed in the screen is, this limitation severely impacts your ability to divide and conquer.

On their own, these individual issues don't break the game. Heck, even together, they don't ruin it either. But you do come to feel their unpleasantness over time. The more pressing problem with PixelJunk Monsters 2 is that it doesn't do anything terribly new or different or bold to help make up for these shortcomings. Switching to an up-close third-person perspective to take in the cool new visuals is novel at first, but it's just not practical considering how much map awareness you're giving up in the proce??ss. What we're left with is a game that feels like more of the same, only worse. It lacks an identity.

I still think there's fun to be had in PixelJunk Monsters 2, and I won't be surprised if Q-Games cleans up some of the minor frustrations. But unless the studio goes out of its way to expand and experimen??t with new content, I don't see this having much of a legacy. As it stands, it's an okay-at-best tower defense title that treads familiar ground. Coming off the original, that's a huge downgrade.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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It's so pretty

I was delighted to hear that Q-Games was making a sequel to PixelJunk Monsters. I like the whole PixelJunk line, but Monsters is a particular highlight -- it's one?? of my favorite tower defense g?ames ever.

The studio has released a demo for PixelJunk Monsters 2 on PlayStation Network (North America here, Europe here, Steam here) and while it's super short -- just a single leve?l without co-op functionality, as far as I can tell -- it's worth checking out for fans. You've got to see the cute little Chibis ??up close.

The game looks incredible and ??plays like you'd expect. I mean that in a good wa??y.

As Tikiman, you'll run around converting trees into towers (arrow, ??cannon, and anti-air). Slain enemies drop coins and sometimes gems, the latter of which can be used to buy limited-use fruit bombs or tower upgrades. Alternatively, you can dance! Standing near a tower will slowly upgrade it (up to five tiers), but since dropped coins only stay on the field for so long before disappearing, your attention is always divided. Figuring out where to be and for how long is the name of the game.

The demo lets you run around in a hub world, albeit with some gates to ?keep you from exploring too much, and you can spend currency earned from clearing levels and reaching milestones on new masks and shells. I feel like this game will shine the most in co-op (local and online in the full version), but the demo makes a strong impression. The sequel's move to 3D feels like the right decision.

PixelJunk Monsters 2 is coming to PS4, Nintendo Switch??, and PC on ??May 25 for $15.

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There's two-player local co-op and four-player online

At long last, we're getting a full-fledged, honest-to-goodness PixelJunk Monsters 2. I'm thrilled! The tower defense sequel sports a new look and it's heading to PC, Pla?yStation 4, and Nintendo? Switch.

Q-Games and publisher Spike Chunsoft are hosting a live stream today at 5:00pm Pacific with footage of PixelJunk Monsters 2 as well as Zanki Zero: Last Beginning and 428: Shibuya Scramble.

This game seems like a best-case scenario following the demise of The Tomorrow Children and the unsuccessful Kickstarter for the mobile-bound PixelJunk Monsters Duo. I'm so down for it.

The wait isn't long, either -- PJM2 launches May 25, 2018.

Q-Games [Twitter]

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It's such a shame this game didn't resonate more

Today marks the end of the road for The Tomorrow Children, Q-Games and Japan Studio's strange, somber, gorgeous, and oftentimes mundane so??cial sandbox game about rebuilding a destroyed world.

The free-to-play PlayStation 4 title shut down its servers today as previously scheduled, and while it lacked the mechanical depth and hooks needed to keep me invested for too long after lau?nch in October 2016, I am bummed knowing that it's now gone for good. It had a one-of-a-k?ind feel.

Q-Games took to Twitter to thank fans, friends, and family for their s?up??port.

Toda?y ?we say our final goodbye to The Tomorrow Children.

It was years in the making but today the servers have officially shutdown. pic.twitter.com/4J777fxYOS

— Q-Games (@PixelJunkNews) November 1, 2017

"It was years in the making but today the servers have officially shutdown. Thousands of hours were spent on this passion project and we loved ever?y second of it. Thank you to everyone that st??ood with us to the very end. Thank you to our wonderful and talented staff that made this dream a reality. Thank you to our families that stayed up late waiting for us to come home. But mostly thank you to the dedicated players around the world. This journey may be over but there is always the next one."

I'd love to see Q-Games revisit this world if the opportunity ever arises. So many people missed out on that aspect of The Tomorrow Children by either passing on the game or never even?? hearing about it in the first place (which is understandable on both counts). The setting has untapped potential.

"We ??hope you'll join us next time," the studio said in closing.

Q-Games [Twitter]

The post Rest in peace, The Tomorrow Children appeared first on Destructoid.

It looks like simple, silly fun

I'll follow Q-Games wherever it goes, even if that m?eans manning a food truck overrun by zombies.

Dead Hungry, a game about cooking burgers and feeding the undead, launched late last year on Steam. Now, the virtual reality title is headed to PlayStation VR with support for ?DualShock 4 and PlayStation Move controllers. It's not the prettiest, but I love frying up and serving food ?in VR.

The PSVR version will be out ?October 24. I gotta remembe??r to charge my Move controllers.

The post Q-Games is bringing Dead Hungry to PlayStation VR appeared first on Destructoid.

Dasvidaniya my friends

The Tomorrow Children, the free-to-play online game that features Minecraft-style city building combined with Soviet-era dystopian action will be shutting down its servers in Japan on November 1. A post the on title's Japanese website confirmed as much.

The Tomorrow Children launched on PlayStation 4 in October 2016, after a public beta test earlier that same year. The title was developed by Japan Studio in conjunction with Q-Games. It launched with a paid founders pack but eventually, and unsurprisingly, went free-to-play.

Y?ou'll have until September 28 to buy in-game currency and the games paid content bundle. Just remember, you only have about a month after that to play until the game shuts down for good.

I remember being intrigued by The Tomorrow Children, but its unique art style didn't seem like enough to keep players in?vested.

It's unclear whether only Japanese servers will be affected by this or not. I'd wager it's lights out for The Tomorrow Children as a whole, but we'll keep you posted.

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I hope they bring back PixelJunk Monsters next

It's hard to name a favorite in Q-Games' excellent PixelJunk series, but the zen platformer PixelJunk Eden is certainly up there for me. You know, it might just be my number one. The studio is returning to that game concept with Eden Obscura, an ?"??all new experience" designed for iOS and Android.

From the way Q-Games describes Obscura ("flick and spin and jump around ?with ease"), this will be a similar experience, albeit with touch controls and a double-jump ability. That said, it will allow you to use your mobile device's camera to "change the atmosphere and feeling of the game."

Multimedia artist Baiyon, who returns as creative producer for this project, says "Eden Obscura is a title that realizes my own desires by making use of modern smartphone technology to create somethin?g glittery and oddly see-through and as a result even as the director of the game I can't begin to predict what visual delights?? people will discover."

It'll be demoed this weekend at BitSu??mmit i?n Kyoto, which hopefully means its release isn't far off.

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No genre is safe from zombies

Q-Games, developer of The Tomorrow Children and the PixelJunk series, has decided to move to VR for its next title, Dead Hungry. More specifically it will be coming to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive via Steam. If you were baffled by The Tomorrow Children, try to break this one down. Dead Hungry could be classified as a zombie, tow??er defense, job simulation, ?puzzle, and/or cooking game. 

Almost as if to try and one-up Counter Fight, Dead Hungry tries to be even more silly with rampaging zombie school girls, sumo wrestlers, and selling hamburgers and pizza on the streets of Japan. Seems like a lot of these types of games are going to try to ride the coat tails of Job Simulator.

A hectic and hilarious grill action VR game! [PixelJunk]

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Log in before November 2 for a Halloween costume

Q-Games' hard-to-pin-down The Tomorrow Children has been out on PlayStation 4 since early September, but that was only if you ponied up $20 for a Founders Pack. Starting this week, as promised, the labor-centric cooperative town-builder?? will be offered as a?? free-to-play title.

There's als??o a new Frontier Pack ($20) with: "the Bourgeoisie papers, Lv1. Arms License, Lv1. Tools License, EagleCorp Jetpack, 3 avatars, and 500 Freeman dollars ($25 value)." These items are a part of the normal progression in the game, and you can work toward them by lending a hand around town or out on the harvestable "islands," but it's going to take a significant time investment th??at way.

"We have also released a major update to the game, not only to address some of the user feedback we have been receiving but also simply to add a selection of new content to the game," says Q-Games president Dylan Cuthbert. "We'll be addi??ng new islands, tools, costumes, void powers, facilities, missions and much more. The megaphone, for example, allows for improved communication and will help players cooperate better." You'll find a spooky limited-time costume, too. Just log in this month.

Frankly, I'm still not sure what to make of this strange, l??argely monotonous game. But I do hope that it can catch on well enough to find an audience and give the develope??rs room to let it grow and improve.

P?lay The Tomorrow Children For Free Starting Today [PlayStation Blog]

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Launching with an 'early access' Founders Pack next month

The multiple beta tests for The Tomorrow Children have totally messed with my sense of how far ??along the game actually is and when it's coming out. Much sooner than I would have thought, it turns out!

The PlayStation 4 game will first launch on September 6 with a paid early-access "Founders Pack," followed by a wholly free-to-play option arriving some?time "in the coming months."

Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert is better than me at summing up the subversive sandbox game. "As 'projection clones,' players will be tasked to work together -- And unite for the glory for all! -- in an alternate future Soviet Union in order to restore civilization to a world that has been annihilated by a failed science experiment. Gather resources, build and customize your town, build defenses, fend off gigantic 'Izverg' kaiju monsters, and much more." And those are the more comprehensible parts!

The full breakdown of what's in the Founders Pack ($19.99) can be found in the link below but, in short, it's some virtual "Freeman Dollar" currency to get you started, licenses to access higher-end weapons and tools, and the bourgeoisie papers needed to be a town-building citizen. Considering the game's multiplayer focus, I shouldn't be surprised that it's free-to-play. That'll ge??t more folks in.

The Tomorrow Children Arrives September 6 on PS4 [PlayStation Blog]

The post Perhaps unsurprisingly, The Tomorr?ow Child??????????????????????????ren will be free-to-play appeared first on Destructoid.

It's worldwide, so get in there!

The Tomorrow Children is a perplexing game. You and other players form towns, fight monsters, and gather resources -- all things we've done before in video games -- but the way it's presented is so utterly strange that it feels new. Q-Games is holding an open beta now through Monday, June 6 on PlayStation 4 (US download; EU download), and I highly recommend trying it for yourself.

This video does a good job o??f capturing the "basics":

An important note for prior players: "If you downloaded the TTC closed? beta client but erased it, please download it again from your library to join this weekend's open beta. You will not be able to download directly from the store if you've had the closed beta client on your PS4."

After the last beta, I promised myself I wouldn't venture too far out into the Void and drown in the q??uicksand-like ground. It's horrifying! I will be a Good Citizen this time, I swear. No trouble.

The Tomorrow Children [Twitter]

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Traditionally a Sony exclusive

While Q-Games isn't a first-party Sony developer, they've had a longstanding relationship, putting out tons of games on the PS3, PSP, and Vita -- so it makes sense that some people see it that way. But Q also has a good relationship with Nintendo, putting out a decent number of titles on DSiWare, and co-developing Star Fox 64 3D, so it also makes sense that PixelJunk Monsters was recently rated for Wii U.

If it's just the Deluxe version I'll probably pass (I already own it three times over), but if they manage to add anything new, I'm all over it. This is a fantastic series, and head and shoulders above most tower defense games??.

PixelJunk Monsters [PEGI]

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The only 'big game' I care about

I attempted to play the recent beta for The Tomorrow Children onl??y to realize that, darn it, I was a few hours too late. After goi?ng through the brief tutorial section, I rode on a subway that was supposed to run to a town with other players where I could start my new life as a good citizen, harvesting enough resources from fallen beasts to one day buy a house and settle down. But the game's servers were only running during certain times, and this wasn't one of them.

Thankfully, Q-Games is about to hold another play session (and I didn't delete the app; if you did, head into your PS4 library to re-download it). A chance for redemption. We'll have a 24-hour window in which to try The Tomorrow Children starting on Sunday, February 7 at 1:00am ??Pacific.

Even in just the tutorial, this is a deeply strange video game. If you stay shrouded in darkness while digging out caves, your character, a doll-like girl called a "projection clone," will begin to Matrix out of existence. It's dangerous outside, too. Walk far enough into the vast nothingness, and you'll sink into the ground like it's quicksand. I must unravel your secrets, Tomorrow Children.

The post The Tomorrow Children beta returns this weekend appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't mind if I do!

Q-Games has opened sign-ups for The Tomorrow Children's closed beta, which will run from January 21 - 23. North American players can register here, and European players can sign up here. You'll?? just need to provide your name, email address, and PSN I?D, so it won't take long.

Folks?? who take? part in the beta will earn an exclusive costume.

I'm still not entirely sure what to make of this "social action game," but I've been captivated by it -- due in large ?part to the altern??ate-history Cold War setting -- since the day it was announced.

Over the weekend, Q-Games' Dylan Cuthbert spoke about and demonstrated The Tomorrow Children at PlayStation Experi??en?ce in San Francisco. Here's how he describes the story:

"In the '60s, the Russians did an experiment. It went badly wrong. The human race has melted into this white void that you see in the stage -- that whole white ground is molten humanity -- and then fast forward that a hundred years. Scientists have been trying to rebuild the human race, and they've created what we call a projection clone, and that's who you are. The cl??ones are all the p??layers, basically, and you can go out into the world and you're trying to restore the human race to its former glory."

The Tomorrow Children Clos??ed Beta Starts January 21st [PlayStation Blog]

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Discounts available for PixelJunk owners

Mmm, fluid dynamics. Double Eleven has brought PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate to Steam at long last.

This package repurposes Q-Games' darling twin-stick shooters into a cohesive, singular experience with an optional new visual style and improvements to scoring and treasure tracking. At $8.99, it's a good buy. These games are great! But Ultimate is even cheaper with loyalty coupons.

Folks who own PixelJunk Shooter on Steam will get a 20% off coupon (and that save data is compatible with Ultimate). There are also 5% off coupons associated with the other PixelJunk titles on Steam. So, if you own Monsters, Eden, and Nom Nom Galaxy, you're looking at an additional 15% off. These discounts st?ack, but they only last until November 3.

It just hit me that I never finished Ultimate on PS4. We'll have to do that after Yoshi's Woolly World.

The post PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate?? is great (and now on Steam!) appeared first on Destructoid.

16 Total chances to win! International!

To celebrate the Steam release of Nom Nom Galaxy and the numerous awards it's received, the awesome folks at Q-Games have given you lovely folks a few chances at some cool stuffings. They also made this contest international as well! What's up for grabs? ??Well, let's take a?? look.

• Grand Prize (1): The custom Pulse Elite Edition Wireless Headset above (link is so you can check out specs), along with a code for the game.
• Second Place (5): A sky blue, skateboarding astroworker shirt, along with a copy of the game.
• Third Place (10): A Steam code for the game.

There you have it. Sixteen total chances to win! Woooooo! Oh wait, what do you have to do to win?

To have a chance at winning, simply leave a comment below. Make us laugh, make us cry, name your favorite PixelJunk game, doesn't matter. Throw something down there. Contest ends 9/30/15 @ 11:59. Good luck and remember Huge members (heh heh) have two chances to win!

Want to keep up to date on Q-Games? Check out their Twitter (@PixelJunkNews) and their Facebook page!

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Tokyo Game Show overview

The Tomorrow Children was among the first games to make me want to buy a PlayStation 4 sooner than later. While Bloodborne ultimately pushed me in that direction, I'm still capt?ivated by Q-Games' uncanny game about exploring, mining, building, battling monsters, and restoring the human race.

This trailer out?? of Tokyo Game Show is presented in Japanese, but ?it conveys the scenario and atmosphere well despite that language barrier. If nothing else, marvel at the stunning visuals.

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PS4 exclusive

The Tomorrow Children didn't make it into Sony's press c?onference, but the PS4 exclusive still looks rad. It's set in a divergent future that looks like 1960's Soviet Russia ??and its kitsch as all get out.

It's playable on the E3 showfloor, so I'm hoping to get some hands on it soon, preferably mine. Until then, you can read Dale's preview from last year.

The post The Tomorrow Children missed Sony’s presser but it still looks rad appeared first on Destructoid.

As for PS Vita, 'never say never'

Q-Games' Nom Nom Galaxy (previously PixelJunk Inc.) is coming to PlayStation 4 on May 12.

The game is a meld of platforming, exploration, building, and base defense. Broadly speaking, players? are on a mission to expand their galactic soup company by setting ??up factories on alien worlds. They can go it alone, or with a friend in split-screen, or with up to three in online co-op.

Having spent way too much of my life digging with pickaxes in games, I'm glad to see a new tool: the astro-buzzsaw. Nom Nom Galaxy has been on Steam Early Access since last year. While it was also planned for release on PlayStation Vita, Double 11 "had to stop work on it so that we could focus on providi??ng the best possible console experience on PS4," according to design manager Gareth Wright. "We love Vita as much as you all. Ne?ver say never."

I've bee?n holding off on the Early Access version, so PS4 it is!

Nom Nom Galaxy Lands on PS4 Next Week [PlayStation Blog]

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Gimme gimme gimme

Cinematography, lighting, and geometry. Those are three visual aspects that Q-Games really focused on in The Tomorrow Children by tak??ing advantage of the power of the PS4. That's how it's creating that?? unique and gorgeous look.

Q-Games goes into detail about the technical side of it all on the PlayStation Blog,?? which is a lot of talk about volumetric data, voxel cones, and indirect lighting. For the layman such as myself, it also released these three videos to?? showcase how the game's coming along.

This is ?neat and all, but it doesn't matter how Q-Games gets there; I just want to shoot rockets a?t mechanized spiders.

Creating the beautiful, ground-breaking visuals ?of The Tomorrow Children on PS4 [PlayStation Blog]

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This is Q-Games, after all

The Tomorrow Children was one of the more intriguing, albeit overlooked announcements out of this year's gamescom and the more I hear about it, the better i?t sounds. And there's plenty left to hear -- the team at Q-Games had orders from PlayStation 4 system architect Mark Cerny to create "something that was a bit different," according to founde??r Dylan Cuthbert. It shows.

"If you were to distil it down to the most action-based elements -- you explore the surrounding islands; you mine resources; you work out a way to get them back to town, then you use them to expand your town," he explained in an interview on the PlayStation Blog.

"You can even craft tree saplings a?nd do some farming if you want to -- you can farm apples to feed the population you're restoring. The accumulation of all that is that you fight these marauding monsters who'll try to destroy your buildings. That's the base loop."

Beyond those mechanics and the gorgeous graphics made possible through cascaded voxel cone ray tracing, there's also a social side to The Tomorrow Children in that you'll be able to visit other players' towns. ?"It'll be more of a cooperative relationship at present, rather than antagonistic," said Cuthbert, "but we'll see where that goes after launch."

To that end, Q-Games is planning to issue updates "very regularly" post-release. "Being able to build gian?t robots, for example -- they can then go out and d??efend your town for you. There'll be big content like that, but lots of bits of small content too, such as being able to buy your own house on the black market, and then just going in there and hanging out, should you want to."

Between this and Bloodborne, I'll wind up with a PS4 before long??. Both g??ames hit next year.

The Tomorrow Children: Dylan Cuthbert ??On His Weird, Wonderful PS4 Exclusive [PlayStation Blog]

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Playable now on Steam Early Access

Following its work for Q-Games on PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate and PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate, Double Eleven is now co-developing Nom Nom Galaxy for PlayStation 4 and PS Vita.

Nom Nom Galaxy is as adorable as it is difficult to nail down. It's essentially an exploration-based sandbox game about an interstellar soup empire you must build from the ground up and defend. The title is currently playable on PC through Steam Early Access with an expe??cted final release early next year. That's presumably when the PlayStation versions will drop too.

Double Eleven says it's planning on having seamless drop-in/drop-out co-op, both online and local, "that lets PS4 and Vita players all play within the same game." So great to hear. Asynchronous and community challenges are also planned for Nom Nom Galaxy.

Nom Nom Galaxy Sets a Course for PS4, PS Vita [PlayStation Blog]

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