Get ready to make soup with PixelJunk Inc.

PixelJunk: the name is more than just a series, it’s a seal of quality. Almost every title Q-Games has put out has landed somewhere between “great” and “stellar” so it’s no wonder I’m super optimistic about their next installment. For the first time the studio has started to branch away from their PlayStation roots with the upcoming PC release of PixelJunk Inc. This is a new type of action/strategy game with all the bright colors and quirky flair you’ve come to expect from this series.

Q-Games has recently released a series of screenshots, and from the looks of it we can expect a bit more of a tactical game this time around. These zoomed out views show a dense factory setting which has me pretty stoked; playing with rich, interactive worlds is one of Q-Games biggest strengths! In previous titles – especially Shooter 2 – there were several environmental systems in place that were controlled by 2D fluid dynamics. Things like running lava, water, fire, ice, and gas. All of these elements would work together to create a unique type of “Zen gaming”. We can expect even more environmental systems, and with PixelJunk Inc.’s new setting, it looks like the canvas for experimentation has been stretched 10-fold.

In this new game, you play as a robot tasked with running a massive soup factory. But if you wanna make that creamy mushroom slop pop, first you’ll need to build the factory. Then you’ll need a power source to cook your soup, a pipeline to collect things resources, and of course you’ll also have to find those mushrooms, either buried in the ground or elsewhere in the environment. Like any good action game there will be some trouble along the way, so your play style will matter. Its up to you to determine how to deal with your environment as you build your empire. Once the stew-is-a-brew, you’ll need to hold down the fort with tower defense elements, like turrets, as you try and launch payloads of soup into space. Rocket out the cans to rake in the coins!

The concept of the 2D sandbox has evolved greatly over the past few years. Terraria is probably one of the easiest comparisons we could make to PixelJunk Inc. and that’s by no means a bad thing. Just thinking about all the possibilities for this little robot guy plotting, building, smashing, swapping, digging, jumping, and swinging through this oddball factory is enough to keep my clamps at the ready.

PixelJunk Inc. is set to boil up in alpha later this year on Steam, with an eventual release on Mac + Linux. Also in light of their recent partnership with Double Eleven, I’ve got my fingers crossed and a birthday wish saved for a Vita release. Q-Games, please put this on the Vita. If you do, I promise to cosplay as your little yellow robot.

Keep up with all things Pixel Junk HERE and be sure to check out this trailer if you haven’t already.