“Pid” is a new action/adventure platformer from developer Might and Delight. In the game, you take the role of Kurt, a young boy who, on his way home from space school, falls asleep on a space bus, is left on an unknown planet and must find his way to the only large city on the planet, where the only running bus stop is, to get home. The game makes use of short dialogues and highly stylized slides to tell the opening story.

As with most Indie games, “Pid” does not have mind-numbingly large numbers of polygons making up what you see on screen. However, the graphics fit the game very well, and the characters and platforms stand out from the background just enough to look good. The music, while nothing unique or groundbreaking, still fits the pace and visual style of “Pid” extremely well and sets the mood nicely.
The core game mechanic in “Pid” is the player’s ability to toss small balls of light that, upon contact with certain walls and floors, create a beam-of-light that lifts the player up when they step into it. It is in using these lifts in combination with different platforms that players navigate levels, avoid traps and solve puzzles. The game also makes use of items which the player can pick up and use to get through certain areas. These items can be either found, dropped by enemies or purchased with stars, a sort of currency littered around the levels. The puzzle and level design is incredibly well done, and while it isn’t exactly hard to make a platformer, it can be challenging to make it difficult while still making the areas fun to play so that the player doesn’t become frustrated.

Let me just say right now, I am not good at platformers, so I struggled quite a bit playing “Pid,” and, though I hate to admit it, I became too frustrated with the levels to finish it. However, don’t let that discourage you. While some of the areas in “Pid” can be very challenging, it only makes it more rewarding when you finally figure it out.

While “Pid” borrows or plays off game mechanics similar to those in many other games, it still manages to stand out as a unique platformer with its own style. If you’re interested, this game can be picked up for about $10 on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, PlayStation Market and Steam.