Operating on the same basic mechanics, Pix the Cat features multiple modes that could probably be presented as separate little games instead. The arguable showcase is the Pac-Man reminiscent Arcade. There are multiple similarities to the relatively recent Pac-Man Championship Editions in particular, with the whole game being on a timer, a rising speed meter and presenting a series of little boards for you to clear. And let's not forget Championship Edition DX had those little ghosts following you in a snake-like fashion.

Don't get confused though, Pix is its own separate beast. The layouts of the map vary from labyrynthine to spacious, due to the queue of ducks following you after collecting their eggs providing enough problems on its own, and the "enemies" move in a very expectable fashion. With ducks disappearing when you deliver them to their destinations, this sounds like a rather easy spin on the formula. But then, the game very, very heavily encourages you, both by direct and major score bonuses and by reducing the speed/score multiplier meter when denied, to grab all the ducks on a single board before delivering them. This results in you controlling a pretty long "snake" for longer than you'd expect at first, and avoiding the destination points before actually acquiring the longest possible tail. This gets pretty crazy later on, with options opening such as reverting to previous board in to improve navigation and gain some space, or delaying dealing with ducks in order to chase down some enemies that are vulnerable while you're at your top speed.

It's a really nice score attack game.

There are also three other unlockable modes featuring similar but modified mechanics: turn-based puzzle pack Laboratory, real-time but slightly puzzling Nostalgia, and local mutliplayer versus romp Arena. All borrow at least the Snake-like part of the rules from Arcade and sometimes more, while also throwing in some changes and exclusive elements that wouldn't make much sense outside of them. These aren't as polished gameplay-wise as the primary mode, but they certainly aren't bad, and interestingly allow you to explore different genres of gameplay while still sticking to the same mindset present in Arcade mode. Interestingly every mode has a completely separate (maybe default?) look and feel which doesn't really appear to be needed for gameplay to work, but adds to the experience for sure.

I have not noticed any performance problems, the game looks alright (seizure-prone people, keep in mind it's relatively flashy, especially in the main Arcade mode); I also liked the soundtrack.

Unless you simply don't like action-based score attack games, I really recommend it.