Recent reviews by SDash

I honestly never expected to see another McPixel game, so when this title was released, I knew I had to purchase and play it. I played the original nearly a decade ago (but I do not recall completing it), so I wanted to try this new title to see if I would like it.

The core gameplay involves trying to guide McPixel through a series of different small levels to successfully save him and/or save the day. There is usually only one correct series of actions that results in completing any given level. However, failing level(s) is expected and encouraged. Failing to successfully complete any given level(s) results in the game looping back to those level(s) later, giving the player as many chances as needed to complete it.

While many of the levels are standalone, there are a few series of levels that tell a story. These story levels were quite interesting to play through and were more involved than what I expected. I also like how the gameplay gets mixed in with various diversions, such as minigames and Steve levels. I found both the standalone and story sequences were quite funny, as expected from a McPixel game.

Successfully completing or failing a level causes different gags to play out depending on the action(s) that occurred and to also reward coins for any previously unseen gags. The coins are used to unlock new series of scenarios to play through, so failure is rewarded! In addition, it is easy to determine which stages have unseen gags, as levels are color-coded based on if a level is not complete yet (bronze), if a level was completed but not all gags were discovered (silver), and if all of a level's gags were discovered (gold).

The only major downside I found to McPixel 3 is that it can get quite repetitive. As previously mentioned, the game loops around any uncompleted levels in a series. I was sometimes not sure what steps I needed to take to complete the levels, so I needed to look online on how to do so. Thankfully, this did not occur often, as I was able to use trial and error to finish most of the levels. In addition, finding all the gags in a level can result in more trial and error gameplay, potentially adding more annoyance when obtaining all achievements.

I started playing this title on my main Windows PC, then finished and fully completed it on my Steam Deck. I also obtained any achievements I missed previously when playing on the Steam Deck. I forced Steam to run the native build via Steam Linux runtime, which worked quite well for me. The game's text was very legible, even in the default cinematic aspect ratio. The gamepad controls, used by default, also work quite well. The only minor issue that occurred is that sometimes the audio crackled, but this did not occur often.

I would recommend this title for those looking for light-hearted and humorous gameplay, even if it might get quite repetitive at times. I also recommend playing through the game at a more leisurely pace, which can help reduce how annoying the trial and error can be at times.

I appreciate that Sosowski created another McPixel game for people to play through, even though the original was released a decade earlier. I also appreciate that Devolver Digital continually publishes smaller indie titles, even if the audience for such titles may not be that large.