Howdy! After the reveal at Gamescom and the ARENA mode presentation, I’m back with a new Pix the Cat game mode for PS4 and PS Vita, coming October 7th!

Got some retro?

Everything in the Nostalgia mode — gameplay, art, music, etc. — is inspired by something from the past that we love. The gameplay gives nods to snake, the art draws on early animated cartoons, and the music sports the jangling melodies of ragtime!

We took these references, shook them up in a vintage cocktail shaker, and poured out a cloudy mixture, something we think looks like us. The result is a game that feels familiar but is always ready to surprise you!

This mode plays like Snake but with a few twists. Collect the target number of ducklings to win. Succeed before the Goat chomps the Flower to get the “bonus.” Don’t run into a wall, get stuck inside your tail, or collide with a baddie, or it’s game over.

The many levels offer a variety of thrills and pleasures that blend into a kind of adventure. Some levels last a couple of seconds and only require a few moves. Some are about being consistent in collecting a tonne of ducklings in your tail without crashing. Others are tiny ant-farms in which you need to collect only a few eggs but getting there is the tough part! And of course there are many more which I’ll leave for you to unravel…

I’ll let Hervé Barbaresi, Lead Artist @pastagames, tell you a little more about the nostalgia theme:

“Pix the Cat’s Nostalgia Mode gave me the opportunity to have fun adapting the charming old-fashioned touches from the classic black and white cartoons of the 1920s.

“The challenge with this skin was to make you forget that you are controlling a video game character on a tiled grid. We have worked and re-worked the image filters (grain, B&W pulse, glitches, dirt and scratches…) to create a look which really evokes the simple yet sophisticated feel of those old cartoons.

“It was a real treat designing the various gameplay elements throughout the levels in this mode! I went with simple, expressive shapes, then made them look as plump as possible. Keep that in mind when you meet Mr. Owl for the first time!

“I think you’ve caught a glimpse of how fond I am of Nostalgia… I really hope that the way the game plays, my personal contribution as well as the delightful tunes of @XavierThiry will transport you to the worlds of old!”

We can’t wait for you to enjoy this mode and other secrets you can unlock on October 7th in Pix the Cat for PS4 and PS Vita, when our game joins the PlayStation Plus lineup.