McPixel 3 is a pixelated puzzle solver game where the answers are never straightforward and most of the time ridiculous. Similar to its prequel, it’s equipped with a hundred timed stages, with microgames and a plethora of quirky gags and silly solutions.

Developed by Mikołaj ‘Sos Sosowski’ Kamiński and produced by Devolver Digital, the sequel of the 2012 McPixel is loosely a parody of MacGyver; using what you have to solve each unique problem, or fail in the weirdest and most wonderful ways.

The premise of the game is to move around the city and complete levels with a variety of stages, and you need to survive using items around you that can either help or hinder your success. If you get every possible outcome or 100% of each stage, you will gain more coins to unlock new areas and stages. This is a think-outside-the-box game, so if you think it is a crazy way to solve the problem, it’s probably correct. Though if you need a break from solving these weird and wacky situations, you could always run around kicking people in the groin.

The controls for this are very basic; use the mouse to find interactable items and click. To move around you just click on the area you want to move to and you will move there. If controllers are more your thing, they can be used as well, by using the left joystick and X/A to interact and move.

The only other useful mechanic is highlighting interactable objects, which you can do using the mouse wheel. Other than that, there is nothing more to it, its simplicity leads to a pretty chilled gameplay experience. You just have to always remember the correct answer can be the simplest or the most convoluted.

By its name, you should know the style of the game. The old-school 8-Bit pixel art suits the game but also for me makes it less fun, for me at least. Being pixelated, things are blurred and I found it harder to locate interactable items and just the surroundings in general. I also found it harder on the eyes. It is not a game I could play for long periods but it definitely gives some laughs and is a quick game to pass time between other games, or if you need to fill in time with some fun.

The music fits the game very well being very electronic and robotic, using those real 8-Bit tunes, though, after a while, it is just the same music over and over, or at least it starts to sound that way. There is the use of other sound effects like footsteps, kicking and even a Steve thrown in there, all with the pixelated spin on them to complete the aesthetic.

For what it is, it is a fun game, especially for people with a sillier style of humor. It’s not a game I could play constantly but could jump on every now and then. Some frustrating solutions are included for the sake of comedy, which did not outweigh the answer to the puzzle.

A fun game but not one I would go out of my way for, but fans of obscure puzzles and 8-Bit stylings will love this and have many hours of content to get through.

Written by: Adam Brasher