Bite-sized Review:
Utopia Must Fall

By Chris Picone, 21 May, 2025

I love Pixeljam.  I grew up with all the "original" games - all the old Atari and coin-op arcade games like Asteroids, Space Invaders, you name it.  And while the majority of those games are weirdly timeless and still very playable and fun today, they were also the product of an era where digital gaming was still in its infancy. There are plenty of clones and "remasters" and "modern versions" of those games already but Pixeljam games really nail it. Utopia Must Fall came out a while ago now but it caught my attention recently with the advent of a huge new update. 

Aesthetics

Vector graphics! I've always loved vector graphics. I thought they were just the coolest thing growing up and somehow they still look great today. Pixeljam's vector graphics are much more modern than what I grew up with in the 90s, of course, and Utopia Must Fall is full of delightfully splashy special effects and explosions. The UI's all very neat and simple - functional but fitting the theme. The recent update did change a very roguelike-style upgrade window into a skill tree which I normally love but I'm actually not a huge fan of this time round. I loved the unplanned feel of the upgrades, thought it fit the feel of the game better. But no matter, it all still works great.

Gameplay

Utopia Must Fall is kind of like Asteroids meets Space Invaders where you must asteroids and aliens zip around the screen, moving to attack your Megacity. You start with just your main railgun to defend but as you level up you get to select from a random assortment of upgrades that will see you gaining laser turrets, fighter drones, arc shields, and an arsenal of nuclear weapons.  The awesome range of weapons and upgrades means you can experiment with different playstyles and every game can feel very different. There's a huge range of enemies to face and they all have different movement and attack patterns, including armoured enemies, fast enemies, some that use stealth to sneak up on you, some that shoot you from afar, and some that can summon impenetrable shields. Well - mostly impenetrable; your nukes still blast them out of existence. But they're hard to come by so you need to save them for the right moments.

Verdict

Utopia Must Fall is a bloody fantastic arcade game. It mixes fast-paced action with thoughtful management of nuclear weapons, an assortment of weapons, and randomised upgrading for tons of replayability.  It also has a surprisingly great sense of humour. I absolutely loved my time with Utopia Must Fall.  

Links: 

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2849680/Utopia_Must_Fall/