FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Winter Falling: Price of Life]

Very cool game! Once you get into it, the battles can be great strategic fun, and I love the professional design to the UI not only in the way it looks and feels, but the way it imparts information which really helps in coming to grasp all the various mechanics. I still feel like I was only able to make it far in this game because I had experience with playing the previous one: a game like this plays very differently than any other strategy game I've played (which, to be fair, I don't have much experience with, so I could be talking nonsense) and I feel like the tutorial is still a bit lacking and it just dumps you into the deep end. A bit refreshing not to be babied, but still, there are a lot of potentially unintuitive and frustrating elements that could throw players off: why do I need to rehire units, why does the terrain seem to make no difference except for trenches (rivers and such look to be ignored as if they were flat land), why does 'move' kill enemies (maybe it should be called something more intuitive like charge, but there is a move called charge already and sometimes you do just want to move units?) Still, despite all these issues, the game does have such a sense of confidence to it with the great music, art, and UI that you feel compelled to continue, and are glad when you do, since it can be such a blast to fight to the last, scrape together as much as you can with your little resources, and blast em with dragon fire! Would love if maybe there was a bit more of a story element to it: the game just screams for some little chit-chat with your royals/peasant/outlaw generals between missions to learn how you're doing and working towards.

Rarykos responds:

Oh thank you very much! These are very good points! It's hard not to agree. I'm glad you enjoyed the experience. I feel like the problems will be solved in the full version with some restructuring. Really nice to see you here, in reviews, again! I was wondering what you'd think.

[Coordinator]

Pretty neat game! It's a simple game, but it has a lot of nice juicy elements to it that give it a nice sense of excitement and professionalism, like how the music fades in and out between gameplay and the menu, and how everything has great movement to it with slides and bounces and so on. There were some frustrating aspects to it though: I didn't like how enemies can spawn right on top or directly under me, and I didn't like how I couldn't interact with things when I've been hit (I get the idea, but the invincibility is so short anyway, just let me collect this one point and not have to sit on my thumbs waiting). Was also difficult to tell when I was damaged: could do with a bigger signal to register being hit like a screen shake, a red flash, a time freeze, etc. I also felt like the multiplier bar was a bit lacking: I feel like something that important, since it's a scoring game, should be bigger and flashier and more spelled out to the player so you feel compelled to keep it up. Anyway, it was still some good simple arcade fun!

ToadieTechnika responds:

"could do with a bigger signal to register being hit like a screen shake, a red flash, a time freeze, etc". I like that! I feel like I have to improve more on the UX on the next game. Thank you very much for this comment. :D

[Josh Dumb]

Very quirky and funny game! I do like the concept of it, being a really goofy version of Lemmings/Gyromite and such, but I had a rough time of it despite being fun. I was really confused when I was trying to get into it: I kept thinking I could place elements on the map before Josh starts moving, but instead you can only place elements when he's moving. Maybe gray out the screen so it's obvious you can't interact with the map during that time? I get the idea that it makes it fast-paced and challenging, but it can also make it really difficult and frustrating, especially when the controls are a bit unintuitive and restarting doesn't allow you to freeze the world like it initially was. I think a lot can be done to help with the controls so you can keep the fast pace of the game: certain elements like placing down an arrow tile and rotating it are particularly annoying since you have to use a lot of button taps really fast, whereas instead, I'd prefer it if you were to do it like other games do where you click and hold on a spot, drag the mouse in the direction you want the arrow to rotate towards, and then release to finalize and place it down. A game that has a Josh button in the menu can't be bad: I think this just needs a little bit of love to make it control better and be more intuitive so everyone can understand and be fast enough to beat the fun challenges you've put forth!

[Huerage]

Not too shabby. It's a simple game, but simple doesn't necessarily mean bad, as simple can be addictive and fun, which this game could be. I did like dodging around the enemies, weaving through them and slowly seeing my player upgrade in tune with the music. However, right now, I felt like the game is a bit overly plain and lacking which hurts it's presentation and lasting appeal. First, the controls were a bit odd. I have no idea why the player sprite turns in the direction of the mouse: you'd think it would mean you can shoot in that direction, but I couldn't find a fire button, so why does this exist? Bit weird to use a triangle as well for the player since it would usually mean that W would move you forward, not up, like a rocket in an old Asteroids game. Anyway, the music is cool, but I feel like it's doing all the heavy lifting and without it, the game wouldn't have much. I think the game does have a solid theme going with music since you're already have the player upgrade at certain phases of the song. Because of this, I would change more elements as the song goes on: add new enemy types, make enemies more aggressive, and so on. I think you should make all the visual elements of the game pulse to the beat like other music-based games do. Also, I feel like there should be some more special effects not only to add pizazz, but help communicate elements like enemies spawning in or dying. I recommend looking up a video called 'Juice it or Lose it' which shows how simple games can use cool techniques and effects to make it more exciting.

Tykua responds:

Thanks for the constructive feedback.

[Untamia's Fantasy]

Pretty cool game that does an excellent job with it's presentation on the graphics and sound department. Really felt like I was playing Link's Awakening or something of that nature. I had fun, but unfortunately there were a lot of bugs and frustrations I encountered that kinda ruined the experience for me. I didn't like the fact that the character only has a 90 degree slash instead of a full 180 slash: when aiming up for down the sword favors a side which makes it annoying to miss an enemy that is directly above of below you, but a little off to the side. To compound that issue, there was a weird delay in aiming the sword: plenty of times I would hit something like down, then right, then slash, all in quick succession, and the character would slash downwards instead of right. Basically if you hit the inputs too fast, it wouldn't register fast enough that you turned. Also there's a weird issue where you can't turn towards a wall if you're standing right next to it? The first boss was really odd too: if you hit the movement keys during the boss intro, you can actually move the boss around, and even potentially move it off-screen to softlock the game! Also, I felt like the first boss was pretty tough since it moves so fast and erractic: maybe tone it down a bit. I think the game is pretty cool and I do plan to play more, but I think I might give it a bit to wait for some patches since it seems like you're hard at work on it.

[Mayor Outbreak]

I think this is a pretty cool idea, but I felt so confused playing it. There was no tutorial for the controls (I didn't realize there was a throw button for a long time) or easing in to grasp the situation, and it never felt like I was able to have any effect on anything and I was just doomed to die without accomplishing anything. If that was the intention, kudos, but I assume there must be a way to win. It might've been my own fault as when I read the concept, I assumed it was going to be a Sim-City/Starcraft type game where you view the town from above and click on things to manage, but instead you control a little guy in a gigantic city. Because of that, it was chaos and I could never tell if I was having any effect on anything since it took forever to get around and I couldn't see far or wide enough if any of my actions were having a large-scale effect. A lot of times the game would just end with me catching the virus for no reason from what I could tell and I'd die (there was a little bug where you can live with 0HP: you only die if you go into the negatives for some reason). Again, I think this is a neat idea that could definitely work if maybe it was structured a bit more and didn't just chuck you into the deep end.

Fat-Leech responds:

Thanks for the feedback, all valid points with which I agree

[DARK SOIL]

Pretty interesting and funny concept with nice presentation, but I'm unsure about the execution. I had an alright time with it, but I felt a bit confused at how I was supposed to play. First, the controls took a bit getting used to as I wasn't able to plant seeds or water at where the crosshair was, only at my feet. Seems obvious but a crosshair usually indicates a direct point: if you made the cursor an arrow, then it would make more sense in how it's used (to indicate a general direction of actions). Planting and such felt a bit futile and I wasn't sure how I was progressing or what my objective was since I was, in a way, creating my own problem. If my garden was already infested and I powering up to whack all the weeds from it, that would make sense, but instead I'm infesting it by my own volition??? In a funny way, I guess you could say it's reminiscent of the futile nature of Dark Souls and the grindy nature of RPGs, but I dunno. Level ups didn't seem to do anything great either: I kept getting new weapons but they didn't seem to upgrade my damage or anything, and in fact sometimes downgraded me. I think this could be great but right now it's a bit confusing in what it's going for.

[Bounce Back]

Not too shabby! It was a pretty nice experience battling it out with the boomerang through the enemies. I did feel like the difficulty spiked a bit too early with the shield guys as they are very frustrating to fight. Even when I had the great idea to throw the boomerang past the shield guy so that they would get hit when the boomerang returned to me (which I'm assuming was the intended way to combat them), there were just too many shield guys crowding around that just made my boomerang stop dead. Maybe ease the introduction of those guys with just one or two at first, instead of dumping a group of five of em at you when you first see them. I was hoping to be able to maybe buy some items to combat them, but money comes at you so slowly that it became a real grind. With some elements like music and other effects to add some pizazz and a better difficulty curve I think this could be really fun as the boomerang has a lot of potential for interesting combat scenarios!

KilledByAPixel responds:

Thanks! Good feedback, I plan to work on a sequel someday that will add a lot more stuff like you suggest. This was originally for a 13k game jam.

A few gameplay tips about the shield enemies. You can hit them from the side. Try to lure them near sand to slow them down. Use the dash button to escape if you are surrounded.

[Remember To Forget]

Interesting game! I haven't made it fully through yet: I suddenly died(?) for no reason when watching a sunset. I'm assuming it's a metaphor or something, but that was a really weird experience and kinda killed my mood (though it did make it intriguing and make me want to figure out what the heck happened). While the game is cool, it does have a lot of little annoyances to it. There were a lot of elements that wouldn't highlight when I hovered over them despite being interactable. Elements like the back arrow and the menu needed to be scrolled over to, which was odd, considering they should just be placed in a definite, HUD-like position on the screen, like other menu elements were. There were times when the text was someone else like Skye speaking, but the game did not put the name and color to indicate it was the case, leading to confusion. Nevertheless, I do want to get back into this game since the great art builds a nice atmosphere to it.

josieking responds:

Thank you for playing! I agree! I'll be the first to admit that it does have a lot of minor grievances – some in part to my lack of experience and other factors such as time constraints played a big part (not making excuses though, I take full credit for that.) I was learning how to do things as I went and looking back, I'd definitely do things differently if I were to try again. The art was my biggest focus so I'm glad it adds to the atmosphere but regardless, thanks for bearing with me!

[Life Of Alex]

A nice text-adventure! Seems to have an impressive amount of variation/routes to it, along with wonderfully funny dialogue and all sorts of crazy situations to read though. It was a pleasure to curl up, chill out with the jaunty music, and experience the life of an Alex. I gotta come back for more routes!

TheFerridge responds:

Thanks so much for the kind words, I'm happy you enjoyed it! :D Trust me, if you haven't found the time travel scenarios yet, you ain't seen crazy