Descent and other space shooters popularized six-degrees-of-freedom action, an interesting subgenre that has seen a small resurgence with games like Sublevel Zero and the upcoming Overload. Pixelpunk XL is an interesting take on the concept, presenting alien pixelated environments to fly and blast through.
The randomly-generated environments are constructed from odd pixelated rooms and tunnels, filled with tight corridors and sprawling open areas, shifting between inhuman architecture and twisting pipes. Enemy drones attack, as well as larger and odder bosses ships, forcing you to dodge and fire back with energy bolts and missiles and other weapons.
As you progress through stages, you encounter new bosses and different weapon types, all revolving around a lean variant on the subgenre focused on zero-gravity navigation through claustrophobic pipes and areas growing weirder and more dangerous.
Pixelpunk XL is available on Steam for $ 3.99; you can follow the developer on Twitter for more details on the game.
