b-random9's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Project Boost]

Having to go back to the main menu every time you die is really annoying, especially since the game is keyboard controlled but the menu is mouse controlled.

Then on level 2 I died by seemingly touching nothing

[STOP]

Very polished but not the most interesting, I feel like every puzzle can be solved in a couple of seconds. ​All done well but not anything I haven't seen before.

[minim]

Very slow. After dying to the red platform I really don't feel like going through all that again with such a slow pace to it.

[stasis: an interactive haiku of isolation]

I haven't a clue what I'm meant to be doing. Perhaps that's the point, as in neither does the character know what they should be doing, but it feels like quite a stretch to compare cluelessness on how to play here to being isolated and purposeless. I can always stop playing the game and play a different game, I can't really do that with real life, that's what makes quarantine so difficult and something that doing a one for one mirror ultimately fails to capture.
An engaging experience can do so much more to explore an idea, whilst this just seems to make the quite obvious point that it's hard to find purpose in isolation without really conveying the emotional impact.

That or I'm missing something obvious. Still, nice style to it.

[HEAL ME PLZ]

I would have liked to have known what was going on a bit more. As is it was hard to get a feel for my impact and there wasn't much sense of progression. But it is a cool idea and I still had fun with it.
That said, the dialogue was not great.

[Quarantine]

"We live in a society"

The dialogue feels quite disconnected from the choices. After reading several paragraphs of something contemplative, I'm asked to make mundane choices for a character who I don't even know. The text is thrown at the player so bluntly without regard for the game.
And half the text just feels like resentful whining. Not to say such a character couldn't be put under a spotlight, but it's the only perspective we're given, as if this characters opinions hold some kind of authority as they whine about their teacher or businessmen.

GabeMalk responds:

I don't see the problem with making mundane choices after contemplation, in the real world you still have to wash the dishes after finding the meaning of life.
About authority, I don't know if you've played the game till the end, but we try to explore this author x spectator contradiction that arises in a game where the player makes choices, we try to delude the author's authority with the choices + the end dialogue, but it's a matter of interpretation after all.
I can understand your criticism, and we'll surely take it in consideration, even if we disagree in some aspects.
The only part I don't quite understand is "the text is thrown at the player so bluntly without regard for the game". Not sure what you expected from a narrative game such as this where the text IS the game in many ways.
Anyway, thanks for your opinion!

[My First Game]

The tutorial felt overly long, TBH I'm not even sure it's necessary (perhaps I'm wrong). Like, the endless runner, it doesn't take that long to figure out how to move left/right.

That small issue aside, this is great, loved how each game has such a strong vibe of it's own.

Few nitpicks:
-The "wElCoMe To ThE nEw DiMeNsIoN" screen might last a slight bit too long given the otherwise fast paced nature of the game.
-Hexscape forces you to act really quickly as it starts whilst box runner gives you a fair bit more time to prepare. This feels especially odd given how box runner is so much more standard and thereby easier to adjust to.
-Flappy...whatever it was, I die before I even know what's going on. I think having it only start to fall once the player clicks like in real flappy bird might be better, you could still have the incoming obstacles.

Overall though, its really only some timing balancing I see as a problem, super charming game.

[Ninjuzi]

Found a gamebreaking bug where after dying almost instantly when I started, my second and third (probably so on) playthoughs no enemies were spawning, just hazards that I assume come with the end of each round. Had to refresh the game. Then the bug still popped up a few tries later. Just nothing is spawning.

That hickup aside, real nice mood/vibe to this game.

I'm not a fan of the hazard warnings, they're very unclear. The spikes from below made it seem like I can stand between the arrows to be safe. I was not safe. Similarly, I believe a bus came and crushed my on the second layer, but the arrows made it look like it'd go over me.

BTW is there meant to be music? I can hear sound effects but no music and I'm not sure if the bug is part of the problem.

I want to like this game but it's way too buggy RN.

[Heartship]

Difficulty feels a bit all over the place, after having it very easy I believe I got introduced to the eyes with about 5 at once. I appreciate a wavering difficulty, but I don't the randomized nature excuses such a big difficult wall. Still, I'm being picky, and once it did get difficult I did start to have fun.

Art and sound I felt were really quite charming.

I did get stuck once I reached the skelly heads with the orbiting shield. I appreciate being able to skip the tutorial though, so a simple prompt or something at the start of every run that tells you about the splitting mechanic might be nice. If you look at Binding Of Isaac, I believe each of Isaacs abilites are drawn onto the background of the first room, completely non intrusive but helpful regardless.

Personally, not a fan of how the character feels to control, it's very floaty. Regarding the splitting mechanic, it's really quite cool, but it feels more suited to a puzzle game. It aside, you've got a nice fast paced shooter, but when you split the pacing comes to a halt. Right now, my strat is to take out everything normally, then switch the split mode to deal with skulls; this approach seemed the most efficient but doesn't at all jell with the fast pace gameplay. Perhaps there exists some mythical strat where I could utilize the splitting and keep up the pace, but doing so would probably involve forcing myself to get worse for a while whilst I try to do both at once and completely fail, and of-course it's not the players responsibility to control the pacing.

Apologies if this review sounds overly harsh, it really is a cool game, I just don't see those two parts uniting. I've done something similar with my game Skyward Descent, where everyone wanted mouse control but I preferred twin-key (WASD move, arrows aim). In the end, even if I as the dev could see something fun with the control scheme as someone who was good at it, but I really should have ditched it and worked with mouse aiming or just found a way to make it more approachable, and I see this game in a similar position.

Whatever potential the splitting has, its easier to just not split until I'm forced to. Perhaps it just needs to feel more like an advantageous thing than a hindrance. Letting the player get used to shooting w/o needing the splitting early on against the bats and stuff seems logical (introduce the basics before adding the twist) but I almost wounder if in this case it's instilling bad habits into the player. Letting them get used to normal gameplay before slapping them on the wrist.

I'm gona shut up now.

HealliesGames responds:

Don't apologies, don't worry! Reviews exists on purpose.
Indeed I thank you for taking the time to play and exposing your thoughts. :)

The whole game, since the introduction, assumes that the tower must be faced by at least two people. The mechanic of splitting is deliberately made an obstacle, as also (little spoiler) is openly said in the end.

And it is natural to put enemies or situations that force you to separate yourself, remaining relevant to the theme of the tower itself. If they weren't there, the sense of splitting would be lost. As if it was a puzzle game, you would use mechanics when it would be right to use.

I agree that it may not be very accessible as a game, because even easy difficulty requires skill and quick reflexes.

So yes, the technique is first to eliminate the enemies normally (skulls permitting, because they could block the bullets) and then think about those for which you have to divide yourself.

[up in the sky]

Really cool concept, but not really much is done with it. Like, the main mechanic is well executed, but I never felt I was really challenged with it; all the levels kind of blend together and the strange plants were quite confusing to get used to. I just stumbled my way through everything.