Guide / The eight biomes
The eight biomes
Each biome has its own signature hazards at full strength, and carries a lighter dose of an earlier one. Only The Void has everything. Here is where each begins, what it does and how to climb through it.
| Biome | Starts at | Signature | Lighter dose | Gem value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atmosphere | 0m | none | – | 5 |
| Ionosphere | 500m | icy platforms | – | 10 |
| Low Orbit | 1,500m | more sliding platforms | – | 15 |
| Deep Space | 2,500m | meteors | more sliding platforms | 25 |
| The Rift | 4,000m | black holes, conveyor belts | meteors | 35 |
| Neon Grid | 5,500m | laser drones, blinking platforms | black holes | 50 |
| Static Field | 7,500m | shock platforms, shrinking platforms | laser drones | 75 |
| The Void | 10,000m | everything | ice returns | 100 |
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. Higher up, platforms get narrower and the gaps between them a little taller, all the way to The Void.
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 500m.
2. Ionosphere (from 500m)
What it does. Ice. Every platform here is frozen over. Your Pixel keeps sliding after it lands, and is slow to stop or turn around while it stands on one. In the air it steers as it always has.
How to climb it. Do your steering in the air, where you still have full control: let go of the key, or steer back the other way, before you touch down. Aim for the middle of a platform so a slide has room. If you are sliding toward an edge, jump: a jump ends the slide at once. Small platforms are the danger, so when you are coming in fast, pick the wider one.
Gems here are worth 10 each. It runs for 1,000m.
3. Low Orbit (from 1,500m)
What it does. The ice thaws, and many more platforms slide from side to side.
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 before it carries you on.
Gems here are worth 15 each. It runs for 1,000m.
4. Deep Space (from 2,500m)
What it does. Meteors. One falls about every 2 seconds, and a red marker at the top of the screen shows where, a second before it enters. Some platforms still slide.
How to climb it. Watch the top edge, not your Pixel: the marker is your warning. A meteor falls slowly and drifts only a little, 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 1,500m.
5. The Rift (from 4,000m)
What it does. Black holes and conveyor belts. A black hole drifts across the screen, pulling you and nearby gems toward its centre, and touching the centre costs a life. Conveyor belts carry you sideways while you stand on them. Meteors still fall, less often.
How to climb it. Climb past a black hole on the far side of the screen, and jump away from it rather than toward it: the pull is strongest close in. On a conveyor, jump early, before it carries you off the end; the chevrons show which way it runs.
Gems here are worth 35 each. It runs for 1,500m.
6. Neon Grid (from 5,500m)
What it does. Laser drones and blinking platforms. Up to two laser drones hover, show a warning line for a second, then fire a beam across the whole screen. Blinking platforms fade out for a moment every 2 seconds. Black holes still come, less often.
How to climb it. The warning line is the whole fight: be above or below that height before the beam comes on. Land on a blinking platform while it is solid and leave before it fades; you can see it start to go.
Gems here are worth 50 each. It runs for 2,000m.
7. Static Field (from 7,500m)
What it does. Shock and shrinking platforms. A shock platform idles, crackles for a second, then shocks for half a second: standing on it then costs a life. A shrinking platform gets a quarter narrower every time someone lands on it. Laser drones still come, less often.
How to climb it. When a shock platform crackles, jump. Don't wait on one. Shrinking platforms are fine to use once; the second landing is the risky one.
Gems here are worth 75 each. It runs for 2,500m.
8. The Void (from 10,000m)
What it does. Everything at once, and the ice is back: meteors, black holes, lasers, and every kind of platform.
How to climb it. A Pixel with SHIELDED earns its price here: no ice and no black-hole pull, so only the things you can see coming are left. 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.
▶ PLAY PIXEL JUMP