Guide / The eight biomes

The eight biomes

Each biome adds one hazard and keeps all the ones before it. Here is where each begins, what it does and how to climb through it.

The colour beside each name is the colour of that biome's platforms. When the platforms change colour and a banner crosses the screen, the rules have just changed.

1. Atmosphere (from 0m)

What it does. No hazard of its own. Drones start arriving early, and springs, crumbling platforms and sliding platforms are all introduced here.

How to climb it. Use it to bank hearts and learn the wrap-around. Every later biome assumes you can cross the screen edge without thinking about it. If you die here, it is almost always a drone you jumped into rather than under.

Gems here are worth 5 each. It runs for 600m.

2. Ionosphere (from 600m)

What it does. Wind. It pushes your Pixel left, then right, swinging back and forth about every two seconds.

How to climb it. Don't fight it on every jump. Wait for the push that goes your way and jump with it; a jump into the wind falls short. Small platforms are the danger, so when the wind is against you, pick the wider one.

Gems here are worth 10 each. It runs for 1,200m.

3. Low Orbit (from 1,800m)

What it does. Many more platforms slide from side to side, on top of the wind.

How to climb it. Aim for where the platform will be. A sliding platform that is moving toward you is a short jump; one moving away is a long one. Landing on the middle gives you room when the wind shoves you after touchdown.

Gems here are worth 15 each. It runs for 1,400m.

4. Deep Space (from 3,200m)

What it does. Meteors. One falls from above about every second and a half, on a slant.

How to climb it. They come from the top of the screen, so keep your eyes up, not on your Pixel. A meteor crosses the screen quickly and never turns, so one step sideways is enough. A Hard Shield or a Jetpack takes the hit for you.

Gems here are worth 25 each. It runs for 1,800m.

5. The Rift (from 5,000m)

What it does. Gravity pulses. Every couple of seconds the pull gets heavier, then lighter.

How to climb it. The same jump goes higher on the light half and lower on the heavy half. When you feel heavy, take the nearest platform, not the ambitious one. The light half is your chance to skip a platform or reach a gem trail.

Gems here are worth 35 each. It runs for 3,000m.

6. Neon Grid (from 8,000m)

What it does. Laser drones. Up to two hover in place, show a thin warning line, then fire a beam across the whole width of the screen.

How to climb it. The warning line is the whole fight. When you see it, be above or below that height before the beam comes on. They don't chase you, so climbing past one quickly is safer than waiting beside it.

Gems here are worth 50 each. It runs for 4,000m.

7. Static Field (from 12,000m)

What it does. Control glitches. Every eight seconds, left and right swap for a moment.

How to climb it. The swap is short, under half a second. Don't try to steer through it. If you are in the air when the screen glitches, let go of the keys for a beat and steer again once it clears.

Gems here are worth 75 each. It runs for 5,000m.

8. The Void (from 17,000m)

What it does. Nothing new, and everything at once: wind, sliding platforms, meteors, gravity pulses, lasers and glitches.

How to climb it. This is where a perk that ignores wind, pulses and glitches earns its price, because it leaves you with only the things you can see coming. Gems here are worth the most in the game, so a Magnet is doing real work.

Gems here are worth 100 each. It never ends.

Drones are in every biome

Drones begin at 40m and never go away. At first at most 2 are on screen; one more is allowed every 1,500m, up to 6. From 300m some of them shoot, and by 1,500m about half do. A shooter glows just before it fires.

Drones stop arriving while a boss is on screen.

Biomes and unlocks

Reaching a height for the first time can unlock a Pixel on the spot, and the last four biomes each hide a secret one: there are 4 secret Pixels, and they don't show in the menu until you have earned them. The Pixels page lists the heights for the rest.