Pik's Revenge

No matter how much you hate your line of employment you should thank your lucky stars that you’re not in the metallic boots of Pik, the titular star of this futuristic iPhone cartoon adventure.

Pik is a miner from the desolate and depressing planet Dustbucket-5, and like thousands of fellow miners he toils day-in, day-out to collect valuable ore from beneath the arid surface.

As if the monotony of this uninspiring career wasn’t bad enough, the suddenly bombardment of the planet by a series of epic explosions jolts Pik out of his routine.

A bad day at work

His trusty bio suit manages to keep Pik alive, but when he recovers he finds that his home planet has undergone radical change. It's your job to guide Pik in an effort to figure out what happened, which in turn uncovers a mystery that spans the entire galaxy.

Pik’s Revenge is an action-adventure similar in scope to Beneath a Steel Sky and The Secret of Monkey Island: you traverse a series of 2D locations collecting items, talking to other characters and generally following a linear path to the plot’s conclusion.

For example, one of your earliest challenges is to find out what happened to three of Pik's closest friends. Such a seemingly simple task involves multiple tasks.

Someone says they found a clue discarded near a dumpster, so you investigate and discover a broken robot which must be repaired to gain further information. Naturally, the person who fixes robots won’t do it for nothing, so you have to collect silver ore to cover the expense of the work, and so on.

Axe to grind

While Pik’s Revenge contains traditional point-and-click gameplay, there are unique elements on offer as well. You can collect pick-axes to ward off unfriendly monsters, for example. It’s also possible to gather sneakers to make Pik walk faster, and thereby elude the aforementioned enemies.

The game also features a day-night cycle. As the day progresses certain establishments - shops, ticket stations, and hotels where Pik can recuperate - are closed and the number of monsters patrolling the streets increases.

While the story assuredly will evolve with new episodes, as it stands there’s little to get excited about in these initial two segments. Character development is practically non-existent and it’s hard to empathise with Pik since he never speaks.

The weird and wonderful aliens you meet are similarly forgettable - a far cry from the colourful casts seen in classic examples of the genre.

Stifle a giggle

Developer Fluik is keen to stress that the game has its own unique brand of humour, but we can only surmise that it’s astonishingly subtle. There aren't any laugh out loud moments to speak of - unless you happen to find the spectacle of a dumpy alien being eaten by a walking plant amusing.

Graphically Pik’s Revenge showcases a hand-drawn 2D style that earns recognition for its uniqueness, even if it often appears half-finished or even amateurish. Granted, it was produced by a small team, but there are moments where the game looks embarrassingly sub-par.

Pik’s Revenge isn't offensive, but it falls short of the lofty gameplay to which it aspires. There’s the slim chance that further episodes will allow the anaemic storyline to bloom (this premier episode has recently been bulked-up to feature two adventures for the price of one, but the staid gameplay remains the same throughout), but based on this initial evidence it doesn’t seem all that likely.