Walkthroughs

Pixel Drop! tips and tricks - how to deftly dodge deadly debris

No need to duck, dip, or dive

Pixel Drop! tips and tricks - how to deftly dodge deadly debris
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| Pixel Drop!

Pixel Drop! is an arcade dodge-'em-up whose gameplay consists of only a single action: tapping once to move left or right. Your quintet of pixelated danger-seekers stand steadfast upon a rocket-propelled platform hurtling constantly upward into the sky. At the same time, waves of falling objects are making their way downward, threatening to squish any or all of our heroes if they don't align themselves just right.

Luckily, those same objects are falling in fairly uniform patterns that just happen to match the spacing between your heroes' bodies. Each time a new row gets near, you merely have to tap to shift your platform over and adjust where those spaces are, or stay where you are as the debris falls past.

Of course, despite the simplicity of the rules, Pixel Drop! is far from easy. Your heroes will get smashed again and again as you try to adjust quickly and accurately. While practice and patience are the best skills for progressing through the levels, we've shared a few tips below that might help as well.

Look down(ish)

Although there's a stream of danger bearing down on you from above, try not to look up—at least, not too high. Focus just above your heroes and pay attention to only the next obstacle specifically. The debris farther up can be misleading: often, an object will end up falling much faster than those around it, which can be distracting.

This is especially important in later levels when new obstacles appear in the sky and adjust where the debris eventually ends up. Stick to watching the next row and the immediate danger at hand.

Save only one

You have five heroes that need to be protected from harm, but you really only need to worry about one at a time. Since all of your heroes move together—and there are only two directions they can choose—as long as one hero is safe, they will all make it out okay.

After you confirm the next row of debris, pick a hero that is in danger (there are usually only a few pieces per row) and focus on getting him to safety. As long as that one hero makes it to the right location, all of your other heroes will as well.

Time your taps

Don't tap too quickly after clearing an obstacle: if it hasn't fully passed yet, you might still hit it on its way through. While you need to be ready to tap in case the next row is going to hit someone, make sure the previous row has fallen all the way through to your platform before you actually touch the screen again. You can tap when the debris is on the platform itself, below your heroes, but not before.

So bossy

The meter at the top of the screen counts down until the boss appears. The red vertical line on the bar is the point when the boss battle begins. This line changes on each level: some bosses show up very early and the fight against them makes up the majority of the stage, while others show up very late and only throw one or two attacks at you before they vanish.

Play dress up

There are a variety of skins that can be won by playing the gacha machine that appears when you've earned 500 coins. Although these are entirely cosmetic, we found certain skins to be easier for tracking debris and where it is headed. We personally prefer obstacles with flat edges—like the square Creeper heads in the "Meatman" skin—that can be tracked straight down as opposed to round versions.

The very best

Three-starring a level requires collecting the coins that fall alongside the debris. The more coins you snag, the more stars you'll earn. Coins require you to adjust left or right just like the debris, except instead of dodging, you want your heroes to touch the coins.

This admittedly takes practice as you often get into a dodging groove. But you can finish a level and unlock the next one with no stars: picking up coins just proves you've mastered debris dodging.

Jillian Werner
Jillian Werner
When not hunting down food in buffet- or waffle-form, Jillian loves to play puzzle, adventure, and cat games. Yes, she insists "cat" is a legitimate genre.