Pixelmon Arena is a hack and slash, and sometimes shoot, roguelike, featuring Pixelmon characters. Now, I have never heard of Pixelmon, but there is a lot of lore. Like, a lot.
While the Pixelmon website doesn’t mention Pixelmon Arena at all, it does mention a game called Warriors of Nova Thera. From what I could find, that game is in it’s pre-alpha stage with no planned release date. So I guess that makes Pixelmon Arena a test version of that featuring a few Pixelmon characters rather than the full cast? I’m not really sure, but they look almost identical based on footage I saw, so we’ll go with that. Speaking of looks, y’all, it’s pretty good for a $2 game.
Borg and Grailon
First things first, let’s talk characters. There are only two available when you first start out, with eight more available to unlock. The two starting characters each have different abilities, with one being more melee focused and the other meant for ranged combat. Each character has a standard attack and a finisher move that can stagger enemies. They also have a super and ultimate ability. Along with starting abilities, there is also a skill tree to unlock, as well as runes you can find to upgrade them as well.
My first run I played as Borg who is the more melee focused character, with a fiery explosion for their ultimate ability. Borg was great when it came to dispatching enemies quickly with their finisher, but not having an option to attack from long range made it a little dicey. I did manage to make it to the second boss, but could not deplete all 10,000 of it’s hp. Yes, 10,000 hp.
So I tried again with Grailon just to get the full experience. Grailon is built for long range combat, including a laser beam for their ultimate ability. He also has a shield that you can use as your special that recharges every ten seconds. I did run into a kind of game breaking feature in that one of my abilities after completing a room allowed me to gain 10 hp back every time my shield broke. Meaning that I could use my special to get back 10 hp every 10 seconds. Needless to say, I did manage to beat the second boss, which as it turns out is as far as this game goes in its current state.
The Grind is Real
Here’s the bad news about Pixelmon Arena. That run that where I beat the whole thing? It earned me 585 shardstones, which are what you use to purchase upgrades on the skill tree. And new Pixelmon to use. If you want to use a new Pixelmon, it’s going to cost you 10,000 shardstones. The cheapest skill tree upgrade is 100 shardstones and then it goes up from there. So if you’re hoping to see new characters, you’re going to need to play for a while.
The runes that you find to bolster your character, as far as I can tell, can only be found in the in game shop. The shop only appeared for me just before a boss, meaning you have two opportunities per a run to maybe find a rune. Not great odds there.
Another thing to consider is that the in game upgrades you earn after finishing a room don’t change no matter which character you use. So you more or less see everything to see with the first two characters. And it’s fairly easy to beat with either of them. Without an overarching story, similar to Hades, there isn’t really a reason to keep playing after you’ve beaten it. Other than using new characters. And that’s going to take some time. Time that I really don’t see myself or many others wasting.
Making a Case
Well, I can’t really make a case for Pixelmon Arena. On the one hand, its only $2 and its a relatively fun hack and slash game. On the other, it doesn’t take long to beat and afterwards you’re really only playing to see new characters that don’t really add anything to the mix.
Unless there are plans to add more bosses to the game, then I have a hard time recommending this to others. And since there is another game in the works that is nearly identical, I don’t see them adding more to Pixelmon Arena. The only saving grace I can see, is the ability to add characters unlocked in Pixelmon Arena to their new game Warriors of Nova Thera. But I’m guessing that’s a longshot.
If you have $2 to spare and an hour to kill, go for it. Or, if you reallllly like collecting things and just have to have all of the Pixelmon unlocked, then sink your teeth in and get ready to do a lot of the same thing over and over again. Or, if for some reason you have been following the game Warriors of Nova Thera and you are just looking for a taste to get you by, then this is for you. Otherwise, save your money for a different game.
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