FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Jidan Havoc]

Very cool game with an impressive amount of polish to it in regards to the graphics! The animation is a pleasure to look at both in terms of the gameplay and the menus. I'm kinda at odds with the game however, despite enjoying it. It just felt like it was a bit too slow and punishing for the combo gameplay it's going for. For example, I love how snappy the downwards-drill move is: it starts immediately and you can chain it into other moves after you hit something. The side-dash however? Very slow to start, ends way too early, and if you miss, you're stuck in a super long recovery animation. The cancel move seems super cool: love the way you flash and the sound effect that goes with it! But all it does is screw you over as you can't do anything after it: why can't I use it to give me a little leeway in chaining attacks? Also, while I love chaining moves in the air, trying to chain side-dashes on grounded opponents can be frustrating as you're trying to time it right before hitting the ground so you don't lose the combo. Basically, I think the game is really, really cool, but the combo system is really inflexible at the moment and demands too much perfection: if it was a bit more loose, forgiving, cancellable, and so on, I think the game would feel less laggy and such. However, I understand if you want to keep it designed as-is to keep it a 'hard-core' experience. And while I was frustrated, I had to admit I did want to keep playing, so you're doing something right!

[Ritz]

Pretty rad game! I like the presentation: feels like all of the elements such as music, sound, graphics and so on are there to make a nice core game. The only thing missing for me was a big hook. It's a nice game and I had fun finding all the cheese in the level (although the jumping mechanics are very fast and it takes a bit to get used to, but i "got gud" at it), but aside from the quirky quips and such, there wasn't much else, like a unique mechanic, to make it stand out from being just a basic platformer. I enjoyed it though, so I feel like it's a really decent core: would just love to see it polished up a bit and blossom into something big and unique like that weird Pizza Tower game or something, I dunno. But I understand if it was just a small prototype game for Pixel Day, and it's impressive in that regard.

ninjamuffin99 responds:

thankya futurecop for all ur work i appreciate ya

[Magickal]

Pretty cool game! I like the progression of moving from level to level and the variation of enemies is very impressive. Graphics, music and sounds give off a really cool gameboy aesthetic. While I think the core gameplay is good, it is a bit frustrating at the moment. For example, sometimes food seems to recover mana and sometimes it doesn't (and if you need to eat multiple food before you get a mana point there's no way to track it)? Only being able to have one bullet on screen leads to inconsistent shooting mechanics where a miss is too devastating since you need to wait too long, while a hit allows you to shoot once again immediately. Some of the enemies can be a bit frustrating to deal with since they can be slightly above or below your line of fire, but I do like the variation and you can dodge them, so it still works in the end. Basically, the game is still good as it is, but I think it could use a small bit of tuning to reduce frustration: you could allow a more consistent shot pattern, or allow checkpoints, or increase the speed of the game/reduce the time spent per level so the player can learn and retry quicker, etc.

Harlemblack responds:

Hey thanks for the elaborate review. Yes I actually had faced the issues you mentioned during the development phase. On Mana mechanics, there is actually an invisible mana bar being full of 100%. Each spell uses 30% mana while each food taken replenishes 10% mana (except the moon sphere as it restores 100% mana). This explains the randomness of filling mana by picking up foods. On shot pattern/management, I actually tried to provide three bullets on screen at a time instead of one. This made killing enemies ridiculously easy. If you notice, most enemies depend on ramming themselves to hit the player, not projectiles. You could just stand in a corner and eliminate any enemy marching towards you. To compensate the one bullet system, spell mechanism was created. With proper positioning, timing and spell type, player could wipe most if not all enemies on screen with single spell. Lastly, on game speed, yeah I was lazy in this part. I once tried to vary the speed but it was a mess. The first three levels require 3 mins to complete while the last two about 5 mins each. the gameplay duration will be about 15 mins and I think it's too short to have any checkpoint. My current games still use the elements of classic arcade games such as no checkpoints, lifeup mechanism, etc. But I really appreciated your inputs and shall make them considerations in my future games. Thanks.

[Smart Moves Alpha]

Fun puzzler! I think the level design is a bit awkward initially: especially with the weird 'guess the right flower route level'. After that, though, the level design really takes off as it starts introducing barrels, spiders, snake pots, spikes and more in very clever and satisfying arrangements! I like the graphics especially as they are well animated, cute, bouncy and very nice to look at.

grinrobot responds:

Thank you for your kind feedback!)) We have prepared 66 levels in the full version of the game. New monsters, new adventures, map and new smart moves are waiting for you! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1209520/Smart_Moves

[World War Wizards]

Not too shabby of a platformer! I always appreciate a good Nazi-killin' game, and this one has all of the necessary elements for a good core. I'd say that it just needs to polish itself up to deliver its core mechanics. The biggest thing for me is the feedback: right now it is very difficult to tell if you're being hit, or if you're hitting things, and even if you can tell from looking at the health bar, it's not as satisfying as it could be. If possible, there should be more indicators when something is hit: sounds, sparks/splatters, recoil, slowdown, anything. Also, there are some slight annoyances like the top of a ladder not being something a player can stand on, meaning you have to keep holding up awkwardly. Lack of feedback also extends to other things, like not being able to see the effects of potions and spells. If those things are added, this game could really be something great as it already has some cool elements like boss fights and such. Would love to see this game improved or more from you in general!

GoodL responds:

Thank you so much, these are some great criticisms. I completely agree with you. We'll be working on it!

[VOiD]

Very cool and well-put together game! Presentation is solid and I'm making my way through, bit-by-bit. I like the secrets that are hidden around levels, gives it a real sense of exploration (though I thought the "Hey You!" was just part of the music track at first, haha). Really enjoyable, though I do think there is a lot of confusion. For one example: I dunno why there needs to be two types of spikes: the block spikes, and the rotate-y spike balls. You'd think it's because the rotate-y spike balls are affected by gravity, and the block spikes aren't, but some spike balls aren't affected? Very inconsistent and frustrating to keep track of. Feels like the game also goes too fast into precision-platforming-based levels instead of puzzle-based levels, and those types of levels are a bit too frustrating to navigate with these controls. Still, the general feel of the game is very positive for me!

Also, there's a little bug for me where the music doesn't start after selecting a level until you die once in the level.

[BRDG]

Really solid puzzler! Probably my favorite of yours so far, which is surprising since I usually go for the more action-y puzzlers (because regular puzzlers hurt my brain, haha). Something about this is just so satisfying and intuitive and...so chill and addictive! Everything about it is just so well put-together in all aspects: level design, sound, music, graphics, etc. Top shelf!

[Air Nomad]

For something that looks so simple, it actually delivers a lot of great content with its cool levels and large number of interesting mechanics (and I actually like the goofy way our hero just rotates as he flies). My only complaint would be that I felt some of the levels might be better reorganized to flow better: felt like the block pushing levels might be best left for the middle portion instead of introducing them so early: have the first levels just be flying around and managing fuel and switches. Game has some really cool levels that stood out to me, such as the boss fight and the level with the two blocks synchronized rising like a race: reminded me a bit of I Wanna Be The Guy. Also loved the varied music which was a treat for each level!

[Weird Bunny Banana]

Very fancy game! The presentation is top-notch with a lot of pizazz to it, and it doesn't stop with just the game sprites, but the menus and UI as well. A very generous amount of content is in here as well, especially considering the gameboy world (little confusing to have it on the right side considering its the tutorial? not really a tutorial though, I'd say its just a bonus level). Some of the movement controls are a bit fiddly though: it feels like the flip changes the way you jump and to avoid confusion I'd prefer to just have a regular jump instead (or make all jumps flips). Could use some "coyote jumping" mechanics as well: lot of deaths due to the game not registering a last minute jump on an edge. Also there were jumps where the platform was a little too high right above you and you had to run in place to reach it? It's a really solid game and I'd love to play more of it; just needs a little polish on the movement to make it feel as smooth as the presentation is.

TristanMX responds:

Thanks for playing dude! I've been thinking about the coyote time seriously, I feel that it should be added. Now for the flips, I moderated them. In the original version, you flipped all the time, but the animation gave a sensation of miss control, so I decided to trigger the flip only after certain amount of time in the ground. The game is supposed to demand precision, as in mario maker, so for some jumps, you do have to keep pressing the run button, otherwise, you won't make it. I also moved the Gameboy as a bonus, lots of confusion with the original version of the game lol... nobody played when Woodlands was the first, then everybody complained when Gameboy was the first (is a mario copy, wah wah wah...), so screw them lol... now I took the decision of mixing it: gameboy for the tutorial, and Woodlands as the featured level where you can see the nice appealing of the game.

Thanks again for your comments, and enjoy the gameplay!

[Fat Fat Horse]

Was really impressed with this game! While the graphics are a little bit lacking (could use a less bland looking sky and maybe vary the tile sets from desert to forest or other environments as you go on to reduce sameness) and the music is a bit drab, the sound effects, animations, and more than anything, the level design absolutely kills it! I felt like the levels introduced the mechanics bit-by-bit in a very intuitive manner, and the later levels were some great, clever brain-teasers that really make you think!