Pixels debuted its first trailer on Tuesday, and for a movie where the entire idea is that aliens show up as pixel art and discover fear takes the form of Peter Dinklage in a mullet, it seems surprisingly heavy. That said, it’s also a tribute to the video games of the ’80s packed into two minutes.
Leaving aside the games they explicitly call out, like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man, they work a surprising number of games into the trailer. For example, one action sequence is a live-action version of Centipede:
Similarly, the first “alien spaceship” we see…
… is actually the flagship enemy from Galaga. As it spews out attack ships, it’s not only enemies from that game, but also the little ostrich riders from Joust and, of course, enemies from Space Invaders:
And still another sequence sees the Arkanoid paddles taking down the Taj Mahal:
And this is less than a minute from the movie! If you want a sense of just how many references it might cram in, here’s a look at the original short film the movie’s based on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou8vRWTSsJo
