dreamcastgh0st's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Valkyrie: Sacred Feathers S]

Not bad! I wasn't expecting this sort of game once I saw all the assets and other clues that tis is an RPG maker game, so you kept me on my toes. The first round, I didn't shoot back at all, since I thought it would be all-keyboard. When I eventually died and got a score of 0, I realized I must have done something wrong, and when I went back in, I ended up shooting, so it's not a big issue. That being said, I think that it's just a little bit too easy, playing on the recommended difficulty, especially when you get to the endless score part after beating the demon goat guy. The worst mistake an endless score game can make is when it becomes so easy that a player dies on purpose because they got bored of it, and that's what I experienced, already, on my first playthrough. I didn't even take any damage, when you get 3 hits and extra HP pickups spawn.

That's not to say that the game should be brutal or anything, just that maybe one of the higher difficulties should be the one you recommend for the first time player? Or perhaps, after you beat the goat demon boss, the difficulty quickly starts to increase, so that even unskilled beginners can BEAT the game, but getting a high score is compelling for everyone.

Oh, and the high score boards don't work. It's not a huge drag, but for an arcade-style game like this, it helps a lot to have other peoples scores to egg you on into doing better. Fixing it would definitely help make a better experience!

ByEthanFox responds:

Thanks! Apologies about the scoreboards, I didn't realise those were visible to the public yet; I want to try and support them in a future revision, but AFAIK no-one has made an RPG Maker MV game that uses the Newgrounds API before, so it's slow going, and I'm not a gifted scripter so I didn't want to give a timetable.

[Crush the Industry Demo]

Some conflicting feelings here... the gameplay is pretty fun, and I got a lot of mileage with different types of moves and strategies. There's a lot of room for player expression in these mechanics, which is nice.

On the other hand, though, it seems like... a really cynical take on the games industry? Which, as a game dev, I totally understand, but this is almost... needlessly scathing? I have experienced gamers being entitled and expecting developers to bend over backwards at their whim, but like... while this makes in fun of those people, it does so while casting just... an extremely wide net, and somehow belittling everyone who has ever made, played, or otherwise enjoyed a game. Like, just in this first floor, the game has enemies like Neckbeard (made in fun of for not being attractive), Risque Influencer (made in fun of for being too attractive), Noob (made in fun of for not being good at games), Pro Gamer (made in fun of for being too good at games), and even like... community managers? Which is a hard job, since they're the ones tasked with dealing with all the difficult people all the rest of us wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole.

And, like, to an extent, I get it, you know? Being able to laugh at yourself isn't a bad thing, and you could argue that you're just parodying and poking fun of the industry at whole. But... it's not even particularly funny when you divorce it from the real life people who are the butt of the jokes. They're just vague hintings at stereotypes I've seen a million times before, without a lot of meat to back them up. Nothing in here isn't something I haven't heard mindlessly repeated 1000 times on twitter. And so when you take jokes like that, and then other jokes which are poking fun at the actual problems and annoyances of this industry, it feels like you're lumping all these random people who never did anything wrong as issues. Especially considering the entire point of the game is that all these people are your 'enemies', who just are trying to defeat you. Like I said earlier, it just feels so... cynical, and a little insulting.

I'm not usually one to let something like this bother me. I make in fun of my friends all the time, they make in fun of me, we all even make fun of ourselves. But that's because we're all human, and we all do stupid and silly things that are worth getting teased a little. It's not us splaying each other out for something little like what groups we associate with or what we look like. When I see a game like Minecraft including pandas or axolotls, and they state that one of the reasons they added them is in order to raise general awareness of a species that needs conservation in the wild, I think it's an admirable goal, but it doesn't affect my perception of Minecraft, positively or negatively. I think it's only fair to try and judge a game on its own merits, instead of how it interfaces with the world at large. Usually, to that end, when a game has a weird take I don't agree with, I try to ignore it, you know? It's hard to place why this time, specifically, it bothers me so much. Maybe it's because I know that the people who made it are... obviously game developers, and therefore, realistically, surrounded by other gamers and game devs. And honestly, if this is how you feel about those people, it might be in your best interest to make new friends.

If I were judging this solely on the quality of the gameplay, music, art, etc, this would probably be 4.5 stars from me. I'm saying that in case someone reads this review and gets turned off, there is some legitimate care put into this game. But just this once, it's hard for me to look past its attitude.

CognogginGames responds:

Appreciate the feedback. The humor isn't going to be for everyone. It is a parody, as you mention, and not meant to be taken too literally.

The community manager isn't based on anything in reality (the one I actually worked with was the nicest dude ever). It's just something silly I made up: some jerk who went insane after handling one too many toxic players and support tickets. I think that was inspired more by how I'd feel if I was in that position. I have nothing but respect for the people who have the patience necessary for that job.

['Tower of the Missing Sock' - DEMO]

I really like the visual style here, you've managed to put a lot of personality into the game world! The animation style specifically, I really like seeing that recontextualized into a video game. That being said, there are two big things that you could improve on the gameplay side here-- number one is that it feels kinda sluggish. I can see you've got other comments talking about that too, but that feeling is a result of more than just the player's walking speed. My biggest piece of advice is to try also raising the character's acceleration-- right now, turning or starting to move from a full stop feels like you're trudging through molasses, and it doesn't feel like there's much purpose to it? In some games (Sonic being the classic example), it's part of the gameplay that it takes you a while to build up to full speed. Since that doesn't seem to be the case here, I'd definitely make those turns a little tighter. I'd bet that's a big part of why a lot of people are saying the character feels slow.

The other thing I'd love to see is a little ore variety in the dungeons-- there's already some good enemy variety, and all of them that I've seen throughout my playtime have fun designs and understandable, fair attack patterns. That being said, overwhelmingly, I approach all of them in the same way. While there might be variety in the designs of the floors and enemies, if I end up taking the same basic approach to all of them, the game ends up feeling a little repetitive.

Overall, definitely looking forward to seeing the completed project! Definitely some kinks you need to work out, but with a little bit of effort, this could be something really fun!

Butzbo responds:

Some pretty good points about the gameplay and play patterns. I should give a shot to the acceleration bit. From the beginning I stuck with that slower start, but that desicion may have been more related to the visuals than the actual gameplay, so that's a solid point on something to keep in mind, Thank you for the feedback! ;)

[Ringwaves]

Made it to level 20, but then stopped. I always like a game with a little bit of challenge, but the death animation in this feels slow-- I wish that it were quicker. Also, some levels felt like the limited number of waves was intentional and designed around, while in other levels, it felt tacked on. Overall, not bad, though!

Jordio94 responds:

Well 20 is the last level so good job! Yeah, the restart animation could do with being speeded up a bit. And some of the higher levels originally didn't have wave limits, so they were kind of just added on. Might refine them in the future. Thanks for the feedback!

[Falling Fox]

The controls in this remind me of something I made a long time ago in a one-button jam, but this is a lot better! I always feel a lot more 'in control' when i'm using my keyboard instead of mouse, though, so maybe you could make it so that pressing a button is an alternate option to clicking?

Miroff responds:

okay

[Drifting Among Worlds]

I like the concept here a lot! The feeling of upgrading your island over time, and all the upgrades feel unique and exciting to get. My only complaint is that a lot of the game ends up feeling repetitive-- eventually you start to recognize the same few islands over and over. Even among those islands, none of them feel super distinct, since they share the same couple resources and enemy types, and usually have very similar layouts.

It's a really great progression system, and it's insanely rewarding when it starts to branch out into a more standard 2d platformer, but it just needs a little something extra for grinding out those islands.

[BOX]

it's not working for me...

[Trash Smash Dash]

Honestly, pretty simple, but it's got some cool stuff going on. I like how the meter slowly 'deflates' when you're not collecting trash, encouraging the player to always collect-- And then, when you're at high speed, collecting trash refills it, extending the time you have to go fast. This means that when the player hits fast mode, they're encouraged to try and go sicko mode and just gobble up so much trash. That's a pretty fun idea

DuckFarts420 responds:

Actually the funny part is, trash doesn't refill your meter (It only increases score) when you're in high speed.
I tried to make it so people will be encouraged either smash mines for safety, or risk it for score, as for every 3 trash you collect, a new mine spawns making it harder until its eventually impossible.

[Ocean Drift]

I like how the boat feels! I wish I could bounce on the edges without getting punished-- I thought it was pretty fun to try and use the edges to bounce around and collect the trash while keeping my high speed, but then I realized it was punishing me by deducting from the timer every time I did. I think it's a fun mechanic that you could encourage the player to use instead of discourage!

[Pacby Demo]

Okay! Definitely not a bad start, but you said you were looking for feedback, so, here it is.

The physics, for the most part, feel pretty okay! The game wasn't buggy at all, and the controls were responsive. My only complaint is that the player's jump arc doesn't feel super balanced-- imagine tracing a path behind the player as they jump, and you'll see it goes SUPER high super fast, and then they land before making much horizontal distance at all. I think the game would feel better with a slower jump (and weaker gravity to compensate), along with a faster walking speed, so you could cover more horizontal distance. Right now, up is easy, but side to side feels a little slow.

In terms of the level design, there was nothing wrong with it, but it all felt a little bit same-y. One thing I like to do when I make games is make sure each level has something 'special' about it! A reason to remember that one out from the crowd. For example, maybe one level has special enemies which slide around at you really fast, and in order to defeat them you have to get them to slam into a wall. It doesn't have to be new enemies or mechanics though, it can be the same mechanics 'structured' in a different way. For example, with what you already have right now, you could make a level that is a series of rooms filled with enemies, and in each room you have to get a key to move on to the next one. That's just using the things you have in the game right now, and already, that level would feel super different to the ones you have in right now! I like that the theming changes around (i.e. grassy area vs desert), but it can help keep players interested when the gameplay is varied as well.

There are also a few other things you could change around-- For example, jumping on enemies is missing a little bit extra *oomph*. Maybe you could make a sound effect for it, and make it so you bounce up when you land on them, instead of just falling to the ground. Maybe even a particle effect for killing enemies (or collecting coins!) Speaking of sound effects, the sound for collecting the apple is just a little bit too loud.

Don't get me wrong, by the way-- I've been focusing on things to fix since the description said you want feedback for the final version, these are just some things to consider. There are plenty of parts of this which are solid-- the controls feel responsive, collisions (with platforms and with enemies) feel fair, and Pacby is pretty cute. Oh, and the gameboy filter is a really nice touch. You just gotta give it that little extra spice that sets it apart from the crowd. (and music would be nice too)

rafagars96 responds:

Thank you for playing my game. And I truly apprecciate your feedback, I'll take your advices in account to the next version. At the momment I'm thinking on a slippery ice level and a level with platforms that activates after hitting a switch.