PixelJunk Monsters 2 (2018)

Pixel Junk Monsters 2 will please those who enjoyed the first part. Despite its few novelties regarding enemies and towers, it has others that are to be thanked. With a very well measured learning curve and difficulty, it is a very recommended approach for those who want to get into the genre. Besides, it has something that makes it different from the other tower defense titles and that I have not been able to find in any other title of the genre.

Even if you can master that side of it, it's a relentless game that doesn't know when to halt. Some patterns can absolutely destroy you without proper notice, forcing you to play over and perfect certain levels. While that side can be little irritating now and again, it can't be denied the amount of effort Q-Games put in.

This is still a challenging tower defense game that has managed the transition to 3D rather well, but the developers have decided to stick with the original formula and the lack of gameplay innovations makes it a less exciting sequel.

After waiting all these years, it's absolutely wonderful to see PixelJunk Monsters back once more, but the more I played it, I couldn't help but feel a looming sense of disappointment at the lack of content and new ideas. It's a game I hoped to love but walked away only liking, and that's a shame for what is a follow up to my favorite tower defense game of all time.

Tower defence games may have lost their popularity somewhat in recent years but PixelJunk Monsters 2 shows why it exploded in the first place. It is insanely addictive and just the right level of challenging, although certain folk may find the frustrating elements a little too much to enjoy. Some will find achieving every perfect rating compulsive, while others will find it wholly off-putting. Regardless of the difficulty level, the one thing that really lets it down, though, is the pace during the stages. Occasionally, between waves, it really drags and nothing happens, and there's no way to fast-forward or speed up, leaving huge gaps where it's too tempting to put the game to one side and do something else. If you are making your audience want to do something else, what's keeping them playing?