Pixel P.I.
If you’ve ever felt like you’d be a good detective, testing your skills in Pixel P.I. is a great place to start. Can you get to the bottom of a number of cold cases, or will the crimes remain unsolved?
Find out how good your deduction skills are to figure out six cases in Pixel P.I.
The next indie title I’m recommending is one I’m personally very excited about. After years of watching crime shows and reading mystery novels, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Pixel P.I., a game that has piqued my interest and given me a chance to see if I can solve a number of cases as the titular character, Pixel, a hacker detective.
Diving into a futuristic world of crime, I got a brief intro to Pixel and her mysterious past. Like any good mystery novel, part of the core gameplay will be to take on six of Pixel’s old cases and unravel each mystery in turn in the hopes of learning what happened to Pixel.
Each individual answer was deciphered as my interviews progressed, granting me with case specific clues and more generalized clues. To ensure I wasn’t hitting a dead end, I was able to consult with Ethan at any time, who would prompt me to take a different approach or advise what I should ask next.
If I uncovered certain information that was different from what I was originally told, I could use the new clue to catch the suspect in a lie. Doing so reminded me of how often I would see a detective in a TV show do the same thing, and it felt satisfying to catch someone out and force them to change their angles or reveal a little more information I could use.
Certain clues would also lead to more interviews in the case. I didn’t need to unlock every answer in one interview to move onto the next, so I started to bounce between interviews, testing each suspect and seeing what clues I could come up with. That level of freedom helped keep my mind fresh so I wouldn’t hit a mental block. When I had exhausted all the obvious questions to ask, I had to really rack my brains and wonder if I simply needed to rephrase them or if I should go through my accumulated clues to see if I missed something.
Asking the right questions is a challenging, but rewarding experience
The game opens with a mysterious figure warning Pixel not to pursue a redacted case or individual, as chasing up on this could result in getting herself killed. One morning, Pixel wakes up to find she’s missing the last two years worth of memories. Here, we’re introduced to Ethan, a robot companion who will help Pixel with her cases. Playing against her distrust of robot’s, Pixel nonetheless teams up with Ethan to try and restore her lost memories using a physical notebook she has found with old cases.
It’s here where I got to sample the cases first-hand, starting with an interview with the first suspect, Alex. And this is where my favourite feature of Pixel P.I. is introduced. You see, unlike every other mystery thriller game I’ve ever played, I got to ask the actual questions. And I mean that quite literally.
In order to gather clues and progress through the cases, players need to type in the questions they want to ask to get the answers they seek. Now, you don’t need to be incredibly specific with your questioning to get answers. As long as you’re in the rough ballpark with your questions, you’ll trigger the response from your advesary. If your question didn’t meet the requirements, you get prompted to try again.
Finding Pixel P.I. was an interesting feat for me. Unlike other games I’ve found through word of mouth or searching the Steam store, I actually stumbled across Pixel P.I. on a subreddit for writing. A notification popped up on my phone, I checked it out, and I found an indie developer who was looking for advice on their work, part of which was the aforementioned Pixel P.I. they were building. I reached out to the developer, Crischu, and we got to discussing the game.
I watched the preview trailer for Pixel P.I. on Steam and then booted up the available demo, immediately losing track of time trying to crack my first case. I was able to provide feedback on my experience so far with the game which Crischu was only too happy to receive. I enjoyed my time with Pixel P.I. so much, and I requested to feature it here on my website, hoping to draw as many more eyes onto it as possibile. Crischu was only too happy to oblige.
Being able to reach out to an indie developer and be able to feature their work on my website is a huge honour for me, and I am grateful for Crischu to give me this opportunity and to be the first indie developer I feature directly here.
There’s no definitive date for Pixel P.I. just yet, but I have already added it to my Steam wishlist. Once I get an update, I will be happy to share it here. Until then, Have You Heard Of This?
