Pid is one of those odd-duck indie games that thrives in the quirky landscape of the XBLA Marketplace. A weirdly polite 2D platformer from Swedish developer Might and Delight, it puts you in the short pants of Kurt, a schoolboy stranded on a strange planet after falling asleep on an intergalactic schoolbus. To find his way home (or at least to the next bus stop), he has to do all the stuff you’d expect in a platformer — running, jumping on platforms, solving puzzles, and defeating robotic enemies. The Big Idea™ is that he’s also been given a mysterious gem that can create up to two gravity-defying light beams wherever he tosses it.
The gem’s light beams are similar to the Excursion Funnel beams in Portal 2 — beams that can push Kurt (or any item he tosses into one) away from wherever he plants a gem. The catch is that each beam lasts only eight seconds and has a limited distance. This innovative mechanic means you’re limited only by your creativity and hair-trigger responses in using the beams to get to places you couldn’t normally reach by hopping. You can also use the beams to briefly shift the perspective of a security camera, or to lift enemies into overhead spikes. More linear (and easier) paths may exist to reach the end of a level, but experimentation with these beams will earn you access to hidden areas and let you gather star pieces that you can trade in for weapons (like assorted bombs) and extra armor.
Light beams in the right spot will lift Kurt and reposition security cameras.Playing in co-op mode makes the game easier and more complicated at the same time. It’s easier in that frequent checkpoints let players who’ve fallen behind or died automatically “catch up” to the surviving player, but it’s more complicated because each player gets a light gem…and one player’s light beams affect the other player. Teamwork and coordination become a must to traverse the more death-defying and spike-laden levels.
Brimming with subdued pastel colors, hand-drawn characters, and a trippy, jazzy soundtrack, Pid’s aesthetic is peculiar but challenging enough to be fun. Its understated vibe may put off players who need lots of onscreen encouragement, especially during the game’s more unforgiving sequences. But what other game lets you square off against a giant gun-toting, bomb-dropping, mask-wearing balloon in a robbery-turned–boss battle?
This may be one of the weirdest bosses we’ve ever faced.PUBLISHER: D3Publisher • DEVELOPER: Might and Delight • ESRB: Everyone 10+ • MULTIPLAYER: 2 on same screen • ACHIEVEMENTS: Treacherous • COST: 800 Microsoft Points ($10) • RELEASE DATE: October 31, 2012
+ Innovative light-beam mechanic allows for more freedom in puzzle-solving.
+ Gently eccentric style and atmosphere.
– May be a little too eccentric for its own good; player two can’t drop in or out of co-op games.
? Why was there a boss battle with a flying robot headwaiter again?
