McPixel 3

McPixel 3 is a fast-paced absurdist save-the-day adventure where the titular hero stumbles into one impossible situation after another and has to find the dumbest possible way to avert disaster. The setup of each level is short and the time pressure is real — a speeding train heading for a cliff, a falling plane, an unwinnable soccer match, a dinosaur trying to hide from a meteorite. Every scenario has multiple solutions, and finding the right (or most ridiculous) interaction with the right object is the entire game.

A hundred levels are packed with nearly a thousand gags and over 1,500 interactive items, and the rewards for finding all of them in a level are gold prizes and coins to spend unlocking new content. The game also breaks into more than twenty minigames scattered across the experience, spanning racing, shooting, fighting, sports, platforming and even FPS sections. None of the minigames overstay their welcome — they exist for the surprise of being there.

The overworld is the city of McBurg, where you explore, find new adventures and gradually populate the world with characters and items from the levels you've completed. Some paths are blocked behind coin paywalls. Costumes you find in levels can be worn around the city. The Devolver vault on the edge of town, full of gold and looming over McBurg, is an open invitation for anyone with the right collection of coins.

Steve is a separate character who appears in unexpected places during your adventures and takes you to Steve levels — short detours where Steve does his own things, like fishing, cooking, driving a car, or summoning demons. The McPixel Engine is 100% software-rendered and runs on essentially any computer, which the developer correctly notes makes the game environment-friendly and grandma-PC compatible.