Pixels Defense

Pixels Defense is a tower defense game based on the 2015 movie Pixels. It describes how Earth is attacked by an alien force that sends out creatures with classic video game designs. The aliens intercepted a time capsule from the 80's and interpreted it as a declaration of war. Earth is then given a challenge to win three rounds to prevent the invasion. The main characters, called Arcaders, have a history in arcade games and cooperate to beat the waves. Enemies borrow from many classic games such as Pac-Man, Galaga, Q*Bert, Centipede, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, Frogger etc.

The game consists of four environments with three levels each. Only New York is available right away. London, Paris and Sydney are unlocked by fully completing the previous city. Up to three stars can be earned per level and at least one is required to progress. The game contains six Arcaders from the movie: Sam Brenner (former 1980s Pac-Man video game champion), Eddie Plant (Brenner's nemesis and modeled after Billy Mitchell), Ludlow Lamonsoff (genius and conspiracy-obsessed), Will Cooper (President of the United States), Toru Iwatani (the creator of Pac-Man) and Lady Lisa (a warrior from the fictional 80's game Dojo Quest). Only the first four are available at the start. The characters are assisted by Lieutenant Colonel Violet Van Patten who provides hints. Characters have different statistics based on the weapon they use, health, damage and speed.

Each level consists of a single environment, shown from an almost top-down, isometric viewpoint. Sometimes it is possible to scroll. Each level consists of ten waves of enemies, finished with a boss character from a classic game. Levels consists of a limited number of holes on specific locations where various towers can be erected. A Foxhole contains two soldiers dug in, a High Tower has a beam and a wide radius, a Weapons Specialist is a single soldier with an accurate shot, a Slow Tower slows down enemies, and a Light Cannon Car acts as a single-use explosive that does area damage. Not all towers are available at every spot. Each tower has a cost and currency is earned by defeating enemies. Towers have statistics based on health, damage and speed and can be upgraded or sold. For each level two Arcaders can be enlisted. They also attack, can be upgraded and can be moved around freely. They cannot collide with enemies as this drains health and eventually kills them, but sometimes it is a useful technique to slow down enemies. All towers attack by themselves. Each level has a sensitive area the aliens attempt to breach. If too many get through, the level is lost.

The game is free-to-play and contains advertisements for the movie, but no in-app purchases.