1px review

There's no official word on whether or not the tiny dot you control in 1px is actually a flea, but it seems like a fitting description. The little dude leaps like a champion, he has to dodge a giant frog-boss, and he can get squashed really easily.

1px is an action / platforming game engineered to appeal especially to speedrunners. It's very simple-looking, with the graphics utilising the Game Boy's famous green-and-black color scheme.

That being said, even Game Boy games feature sprites that are much more complex than 1px's. In fact, the game gets its name from the player sprite, which is literally a pixel high.

But 1px doesn't strive to look good (though it does supply us with a head-bobbing chiptune soundtrack). It's more concerned about giving you one heck of a twitchy challenge, which it does admirably.

The titular 1px jumps constantly, and you need to guide him safely home by pressing left or right on your device's touch screen. Sounds easy enough, but to survive, you need to time 1px's jumps so that he can scale walls and avoid hazards.

1px is free, has a very small file download (10 megs!), and simply feels good to play - most of the time. Surmounting challenges is awesome, but wall-jumping, which is necessary in many levels, is a tricky thing to pull off when your player character leaps constantly.

1px is also short, though its difficulty level certainly pads out the amount of time you spend on it. It's a fun diversion but you may give up once wall jumping becomes vital to your survival.