FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[MELT]

Really cool game! Had a lot of fun with this and thought the mechanics were really fun to play with. I enjoyed the puzzle element of optimizing your movement and making the most of everything, such as moving while the generated flame is chasing you to not waste any. The start was a bit confusing: the game didn't teach the controls at all so I wasn't sure how the heck to proceed when my guy just flopped down dead. I figured it out eventually and it was a neat event, but having the key pop-up when you've been dead for a bit might be nice, though I can understand if you don't want to beat the player over the head with the mechanics. My only real complaint is that I want even more: this one felt way too short, probably because of how fun it is!

[Vigtafl]

It's an interesting game, and the presentation is nice, but it's kinda lacking. There are no instructions built in the game, so I was really lost. To further compound that, the game doesn't do a good job at teaching the rules in any other way. For example, you might've been able to make it so that when a unit does kill another unit by flanking it on both sides, a little animation plays out that shows the flankers ram the unit on both sides to squish it: that would be a way for the player to see how the game works, but instead the game just insta-poofs the unit away on death, leaving me not knowing how the heck just happened. While the game looks nice, the game doesn't do enough with neat animations and interactivity to justify its existence over just playing the board game, I think. I might be a bit unfair in my judgment because these type of games just aren't my bag, so feel free to disregard.

[My First Game]

Very cool game! I like the idea of jumbling together a bunch of simple mini-games based off of common 'first game' themes you see in tutorial videos on youtube and such and creating a rapid-fire Warioware-esque reaction game where you cycle through all of them. I had a lot of fun playing them, with some of them being better than others. I felt like the tutorial section wasn't even needed: the thought is nice, but it took way too long, and all of the games did an already good job at leaving a second or two for the player to react and realize what game you were playing and the controls to it (except for flappy disk, that can kill you instantly, screw that game haha). I'm unsure if I'm missing some sort of ending or something: I played the games and got a high score but I was kinda waiting for some sort of twist ending or event to happen. I tried hitting publish but nothing: maybe I need a higher score?

HealliesGames responds:

Actually the main game is a score attack, but yes there's a little bonus secret!
The publish button is just for Newgrounds, to let players share their high-score.

For the secret you need to enter the BIOS of the virtual machine, as the readme suggests.
Thanks for the feedback!

[Convergence]

Pretty nice game! Everything seemed to be pretty solidly put together: neat dialogue boxes, good movement, shooting and animations, and nice level design that introduces the mechanics bit-by-bit in a natural way. Kinda wish the dialogue boxes could be controlled manually so you can read at your own pace, but the pace you set at it wasn't too bad for me, so no biggie. Only real problem I had was that I feel like it...lacked something. There was a lot of built-up intrigue and mystery at the start, it escalated bit-by-bit, and then we suddenly had this huge battle at the end. It felt strange because, while the end battle was cool, it kinda came out of nowhere and didn't answer any questions and just threw together some sort of jumbled-up moral. Take it as a compliment, I suppose, that I felt like it was so well put-together and intriguing that I wanted more out of it in the end in terms of plot and story and scale!

VascoF responds:

Many have said that the ending seemed forced, and with your description I think I finally understand why. Thank you for the great review!

[Decryption: A Free Online MMO]

Pretty cool experience! Initially, I was turned off from this, as the game seemed very confusing and not well put-together. I understand that part of it might be intentionally glitchy, but it was weird how the character's colliders were just off when it came to trying to avoid hitting walls and pick up objects. Also the objects just made no sense at times: usually an object is interactable if it's grey instead of black, but then some objects were when they were still black? However, credit where credit is due, I was intrigued enough by the story that I kept going and going, wanting to see more. It wasn't exactly the most gripping or unique story or anything, but it was cool to piece things together. Loved how bits and pieces appear while you're moving about backtracking as well: very stylish. I never did beat it though because it just gets a bit too maze-like near the end and you move so slowly through it. Still, was a neat experience.

[Dungeon Puzzle Demo]

Pretty nice game! Presentation is very solid all-around: love how buttons react when hovered over (although this is missing on the title screen buttons), love the art and animations, like how when you get a crown it pops in and shines in a satisfying manner, or the way the level transitions. Level design was very nice as well at introducing mechanics to the player and building difficulty bit-by-bit. I feel like the left-side of the screen is a bit crowded with a bunch of text: maybe move the equipment to the bottom-center or bottom-left of the screen and remove the text around it, communicating just with visuals. Would also love to see a cool animation for the character falling down the hole (though perhaps the hole should be replaced by stairs? Usually a hero avoids falling down holes haha).

[Keep Hope Alive]

Pretty decent game with a neat concept! I enjoyed trying to collect all the people into one line and lead them together through all the obstacles that threaten to disconnect them to the finish all at once. It's pretty bare-bones at the moment, though, and I feel like the concept could be communicated a bit better. I couldn't even tell that a line was forming or why the tether was breaking on the first level: perhaps the first level should be more linear to start with instead of having verticality. Also, perhaps people in line should be closer to each other so it's more obvious they are forming a queue, and perhaps the tether should thin itself or turn redder and redder when you begin to stray far enough to break it so it's visually apparent how it works. Would love to see this get improved upon and have levels with medals where you try to get optional perfect chain finishes!

keybol responds:

Thank you! There are definitely a lot to improve here and thank you for the feedback. I'll keep them in mind. We also want to explore this chain concept!

[[BTNverse] Holy Plague]

Very charming game! Loved the art and presentation, loved the way you crash down to Earth, and I especially liked the Katamari-esque discussions with God after each level where he either cheers you on or keeps telling you how you misinterpreted his will and blew it (like I did constantly haha). I think the game really shone when it came to determining how to interpret God's will, and it's for that reason that I felt like stuff getting in the way, like trees shooting projectiles at you and making you respawn, and how people could run off screen to escape, just got in the way. Loved the replayability that the game has with the different endings and way the world changes based on decisions: great job!

adriendittrick responds:

Thanks for the very nice and thoughtful review :)

[Lockdown opportunities]

I couldn't make it past day 10 and threw myself to the outside world in despair, haha. I had a good time with this, though! I'm not usually one for warehouse/block-pushing puzzlers: I usually just suffer through them to play the rest of the game, like Lufia 2. However, I feel like the concept/theme for this was wonderful and really sold the game by showing it in a fun and goofy light. Some of the mechanics were a little confusing at times, like how to watch TV you need to approach it from a bottom space away and go up to it, whereas if you come at it from the left and go up, you'll push it away without watching.

adriendittrick responds:

thanks for trying anyway :)
Yah the mechanics were mostly cobbled together in one day!

[Antourage]

Pretty cool from a presentation perspective: game has a good look to it and is fun to admire your building and army of ants moving about and fighting. Currently however, it is a bit directionless, with no real goal, and ambigious to tell what is happening sometimes. Doesn't help that currently it is a bit too easy: I had my queen right by a hole by accident so it was constantly being attacked. I was frustrated I couldn't correct this mistake by demolishing the hole or moving the queen, but the queen was never hurt too bad to be killed despite it. If the game is expanded on with some more content and goals, I think it would synergize with the already good visual setup for a neat game.