FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Avast!]

Cute game! Reminds me a lot of other ship management games where you split your crew up to handle all the various emergencies, like Guns of Icarus or Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime.

While I didn't get to play the game in multiplayer since the servers weren't populated, I still felt like this game was heading in the right direction, what with having to fend off all manner of enemies while trying to get the boat patched up. The potential for chaotic, frantic plate-juggling is there, and I will say that I was impressed with the game's presentation, which was very charming and cartoony: of special note was the tutorial, which I was glad to see had pictures instead of just being a wall of text!

However, while I do think it has a lot of potential and is a good game jam attempt, it did fall short for me as the game was overall too simplistic, lacking the complexities of the other mentioned titles to create true frantic chaos. Many aspects of the game were unclear and not explained properly, and the game was also very buggy, with me having instances where my character would start weirdly sliding around, or dying when colliding with an enemy on stairs yet still being able to move around instead of flopping over dead.

Still, as a proof of concept and rough draft, I think it's a decent result as it just makes me want more and gets my imagination going!

[Robo-Wrench]

As a fan of diagnostic procedure games such as Hardspace Shipbreaker, Uncle Chop's Rocket Shop, Papers Please, and so on, I like what this game was going for!

Unfortunately I didn't get to play it with other people since the servers are unpopulated, so I'm not seeing it in its ideal form, as I'm missing out on co-workers screwing each other over and other competitive aspects. Nonetheless, it was possible to play it solo, so I gave it a go.

As said, I like the general gameplay for the most part. Picking up jobs, diagnosing problems, finding the parts and then installing them: it's all my jam! However, while I do like it in concept, I have to admit that the execution didn't quite work for me, and I quickly found myself growing tired of it and quitting.

*I wish the tutorial was presented a bit better: ideally I'd love more pictures and diagrams instead of just text, but even if it was just text, I'd prefer that the sentences are spaced out, bolded, italicized, and colored differently to organize them in such a way to make more palatable. Something as simple as bolding the key verbs or objectives would go a long way to making the information more easy to retain and figure out at a glance: right now the critical instructions get lost in all the flavor text.

*I didn't like the match-3 repair minigame you had, and while one could argue that's a matter of taste, I think it had a lot of issues in its implementation. It's the exact same thing for different parts so there's no sense of progression or difference, it just feels tedious to have to rely on cards instead of being able to move freely, and why are cards even used when you can just keep drawing if you run out (shouldn't it be a challenging puzzle to complete with one hand)? I also just didn't understand the rules: I felt like I should be making matches with the associated part icons, with other matches giving no progress, but then some other matches did give progress, but I didn't know which?

*Finally, the game just felt very repetitive at its core with no real sense of meaningful progression, and with a short music loop that gets really annoying really quick.

For a game jam game, I do think this was heading in the right direction and doing some interesting stuff: I'm sure with more time this could've been fantastic and right up my alley!

[Fist of the Neverwake]

Hmm, this certainly shows some promise! Feels like it's going for a Klonoa-type platformer, what with it's 2.5D track-based platformer vibes. It's a bit slow and unexciting at the start, but eventually it gets somewhat interesting and challenging with its level design: felt good to utilize the bells to refresh your jumps, hold the punch to hover, and race through the timed sections. Not too shabby!

However, if I have to be honest, the game feels very rough at the moment, feeling more like an early alpha or prototype, and I encountered a lot of issues.

*I had some serious control issues at the start where my character would randomly freeze up and stop moving forward despite me holding down a direction. It looks like it might've been because I was trying to use the D-Pad, as it seemed to work better when I switched to analog sticks, so I dunno what's going on there.

*There were a lot of times where the game was just very frustrating, ignoring my inputs when I tried to jump off a platform right when it fell or right at the edge, among other things. Would help if certain subtle designs like jump buffering, coyote time, and the like were added to this to make it feel more smooth and forgiving to control.

*Overall the game just had a somewhat rough look and feel, what with its very bland title screen, pretty generic gameplay design with no special mechanic of its own, weird glitches, a lack of juicy special effects, and so on. It's just got that vibe that makes it very much feel like a game jam game, or an unfinished project.

Despite my issues, I do still think the game has potential. It looks like you've got the skeleton of a game here, an engine that you can use to make all of these track-based platformer levels, and that's quite the starting point to work from. From there, with a bit more fleshing out and polish, I'd love to see what this becomes!

SilviaFox responds:

The input issue you experienced is a Godot 3 bug, you can remedy it by flicking the stick once and then switching back to the d-pad!

[North Pole Noir]

Not bad! It's a pretty charming point-n-click adventure with an amusing concept that mixes noir with Christmas, and for the most part I found myself getting into it.

While I have a decently positive impression of the game, I will admit there were some rough spots to it:

*Sometimes it feels like I'm not playing the game but just being dragged along. Nothing against visual novels and a nice story, but when I play a detective game, I'd like to engage my brain a bit more. I almost would've liked it more if it just gave me the illusion of choice, like letting me choose where to go on a map instead of just taking me there, letting me ask questions instead of just telling me everything in linear sequence, and so on, even if that may seem superficial. An unnecessary necessity, if you will.

*The pacing of events were a bit odd at times. For example, I found it a bit odd with how the interrogations went where the witnesses talk to you in turn immediately after each other without pause, when it would've felt more natural if there is a small break inbetween where you go out to the hall or just fade out and back in.

*I got the right culprit for the first case, but it really felt like the evidence was flimsy: I only picked it because it seemed the game was nudging me towards it as important instead of me actually thinking it was. If this was Ace Attorney, Edgeworth would've called my accusation baseless conjecture, and he would've been right. Just a bit unsatisfying and not the serotonin jackpot it should be.

[Away]

Hmm, not too shabby! The game certainly gives off some chill, stylish vibes with its artistic graphics and sound design, and the gameplay was pretty neat in how you need to trace the shape but more obstacles get in your way as it goes on. The way the poem is slowly revealed as you go through each level served as a neat motivating factor that made me want to get all the way to the end, and I did!

If I have to be honest, though, it did feel somewhat unsatisfying. Yeah, I think it has potential, but once I got to the end, I just had that feeling of "wait, it's already over?" There's just a lack of a satisfying conclusion, and overall a lack of a strong sense of progression, narrative or story being told through the levels. I was also disappointed that the gameplay mechanics weren't more intertwined with the story being told, like using mechanics of weight and wind, changing them as you go to echo the themes.

For a game jam game it's decent, and as said it's got some cool vibes, but there's just something missing for me to make it feel like the elegant poetry I want it to be. I dunno, maybe I'm being unfair holding it up to other artistic games like Journey or Gris and so on.

Heytibo responds:

Yes, I totally understand.
This is the kind of project I'd like to explore further and flesh out.

[Micro Metroid]

Welp, I got exactly what it said on the tin: a cute little mini metroid game! For the most part, it was a nice short and sweet adventure with some amusing moments like when you learn you already had the ability to double-jump, as well as some exciting moments such as the challenging precision platforming.

It was ok, but I'll admit it was a tad bit unsatisfying, and while understandably it's likely due to time constraints from the game jam, I'll expound on them nevertheless:

*I didn't like how when you acquired keys and other items/knowledge, the associated door would just disappear off-screen, leaving no trace behind. Not only was it very unsatisfying to not be able to physically open the door yourself by walking up to it and using the key, it was also confusing for navigation sake as sometimes I wasn't sure whether I remembered exactly where the door was previously.

*I was confused about the hint regarding finding the flute, as I spent a long time trying to press down around the first snail's location, thinking it was buried underneath and pressing down would dig it up or something. Dunno why it expected me to go into the hidden cave and see that the rock that previously blocked the way was now magically gone.

*The boss fight was super confusing as I had no idea that the brief moment where he stops moving was supposed to be some sort of weakened state where he can be jumped on. It would be much more obvious if the boss would emote in some way, like looking tired, dizzy or breathing heavily.

*There are some weird graphical issues, like how the text was very blurry when you stand still, but it would get sharper when you move? Dunno what the heck's going on there.

Again, a lot of this feedback might be stuff you already know and wanted to address but couldn't due to time limits, but I just want to be sure. Anyway, well done for what it is!

[Graveyard Shift Online Demo Edition]

Hmm, pretty interesting arcade game! Certainly makes a great first impression with its very authentic retro-arcade presentation: I do love me a classic attract/demo mode to learn about the game, and this delivered!

I do think this has a lot of potential from some fun times, what with its deeper potential strategies involving squashing enemies with tiles or combining them to form the numbers you need...but I will admit that I had a rough time getting into this! My feedback would be thus:

*I found it odd that you need to hold a button to push a tile instead of just naturally walking into it: just felt really awkward and unnecessary, what with the game not making the character sprite look any different when its in pushing mode, and while not holding push mode lets you go over flat tiles, wall tiles still block you, so it can be weirdly inconsistent despite seemingly allowing more freedom.

*Maybe I'm missing something or just being unlucky, but I felt like I was getting screwed over by tiles constantly spawning on the edges of the screen where I can't do anything with them except push them over the edge since, to my knowledge, we don't have a way to pull them in.

*I can't figure out how the math works when you combine tiles: I thought I had it at first, but then I started to get unexpected results that just seemed to make no sense. Maybe the order in which you combine them makes a difference as well? Without being able to rely on that mechanic, I gave up and it again felt like randomness screwed me over since there were times I just couldn't find the number I needed to complete anything.

*I don't understand the time limit as it feels very short and doesn't seem to refresh when I complete matches? Feels like you can barely get anything started, especially due to the aforementioned annoyance regarding so many tiles being spawned in areas where you can't use them, never mind waiting for tiles with good numbers to finally show up.

*Dying is a bit of a bummer in the way it resets the whole board instead of letting you continue where you left off: sucks to be so close to finishing a match and then having to start from scratch while time ticks away.

So yeah, I tried to love this one, but confusion and frustration were unfortunately in high supply here! There's definitely something in here, but I'm just having a tough time understanding it: hopefully this can provide some insight for the final version!

captainfailmore responds:

Thanks for the in-depth feedback! I'll reply to a few things here, since I didn't leave much information on the page and it might have helped if I did.

Something that I did a poor job of communicating is that the time limit is something that only exists in the demo, and you aren't the first person to remark that it's a little too short. In the full game, the time limit doesn't exist at all. It's hard to make a good first impression if you can't even figure the game out before it sends you back to the title screen, so I'll probably amend that when I update it next.

Combining numbers works like this: If the number you squash is lower than the number you're pushing, it subtracts. If it's equal or greater, it adds, rolling over past four. The only exception to this is two fours, which gives you a one. It's weird, but you basically have the opportunity to make whatever numbers you need, even if all you have are a bunch of tiles with just one single number.

Tiles replenish once they're below a certain quantity on the field, so shoving tiles you can't use over the edge is the right move. You can use those to get rid of gargoyles, too - that's not hugely relevant early in the game, though. Markers appear on the map's edge frequently enough for edge tiles to not be completely useless, too, but that isn't going to be readily apparent within the demo's short time span.

I've actually considered having the board populate with random tiles after you lose a life, since waiting for them to replenish creates a bit of a lull. On the one hand, I like giving the player a breather, but on the other hand, dying later in the game can be really punishing, since it takes a while for the game to pick up steam again. I'll probably revisit this idea when I can get around to updating again.

Thanks again for your constructive feedback and for giving the game a fair shake, I really do appreciate that.

[Scrap Your Pants]

Pretty fun little hi-score arcade game! It's a little bit short, but the gauntlet you need to fight through is pretty intense with a lot of crazy enemy patterns to keep you on your toes! I'd almost argue the enemies are too much in that collecting scrap becomes something you'll be unable to focus on anymore, but still, I enjoyed the pressure, with the cherry on top being the charmingly goofy presentation and smooth gamefeel.

A few notes:

*I'm probably thinking about it too hard, but I feel like the game is a bit too random for the hi-scores to mean anything. As said before, the enemies just make everything a bit too hectic to collect scrap with any sort of intentionality, and while the inclusion of a card shop adds some spice to the gameplay, it only serves to add another random element that can determine whether you get a big score or not. Just feels like its down to luck, not skill, but maybe that's sour grapes, haha.

*I understand it's an edge case that doesn't happen commonly, but I was bummed out that during my dead-man-walking state (aka i'm a head that is exploding and will die soon) I tried to grab a medikit and it did absolutely nothing and I still died. I'm not saying it should bring my body back, but it would be great if it at least put the flames out and let me keep going as a head!

*The card shop is a bit weird in that when you purchase something, it doesn't deduct from your score immediately: your score only refreshes to represent your purchases once you collect your first scrap afterwards. Also, the text for the price of the repair is so tiny you'd be safe in mistakeningly thinking it's free.

QualityStuff499 responds:

This is a 10/10 review! I love everything about it and i really enjoyed reading it, about the bugs! I am struggling a TON with patching the medkit for a week now! The game just crashes every time he picks one up :( , for the cards i added a re-roll button for the upcoming update! And i nerfed the robots a bit by putting some weaker ones to have a chance to spawn instead so the player can focus on collection a (tiny) bit more, thanks again! My favourite types of reviews are genuine critics of the game cause they keep me busy patching stuff, I don't notice some of the problems

[Everything is Coots]

Hrmm, this one was pretty rough for me! I don't wanna be too harsh on it because I'm getting 'my first game' and 'game jam' vibes from it, but it just had a very janky and unpolished look and feel to it.

Perhaps I'm being unfair comparing it to games like Catlateral Damage, but I was disappointed at the level of sandbox interactivity, in how the objects you can actually play with are severely limited: how you gonna let me swat away wine bottles, but not wine glasses? There are also just a lot of weird glitches like how you can easily push the human or even balance them on top of your head, though I'll admit that the absurdity is quite amusing. What wasn't so funny was that I couldn't even complete the game because a batch of necessary power-ups glitched through the floor and made me unable to pick them up, softlocking me from progressing!

Having said all that, I do think what the game was going for was nice, especially some of the rather unique setpieces like being able to possess and manipulate the human into doing your bidding. It's definitely got a certain charm to it, but as said, the construction didn't let me get immersed. Definitely a case of a good concept but bad execution, which could easily be explained by inexperience or tough time limits, as mentioned before. I'd be interested to see future games from you though which can harness these interesting ideas to their full extent!

dragonslumber responds:

This wasn't my first game, but it was definitely a game jam game and yeah, 48h to make this on my own was pretty quick and often doesn't allow the level of polish I'd generally prefer to be able to provide. It was a while back but I remember adding stuff like flying and that being a pain because of how the system was managed, and I agree that I didn't quite get to set everything relevant as physics objects. Likewise for the "powerups" when breaking stuff, they kept falling through the floor and I never really understood why, Unity isn't great with colliders on Particles.

Frankly, looking back at it, I love the concept of it and would want to make something bigger in general, not just locked to the apartment but have some sort of gate to other places and what not. And obviously more polish in all of the systems.

But yeah, 48 hours isn't a lot of time, and while it's not a perfect game by any means, it has a "fuck" button and I think more games could stand to have a "fuck" button :P

[Ziege]

Damn, this is a tough one for me to review! I think the game is technically quite solid with a nice presentation, intuitive design, interesting concept, and so on. But I have to admit that I'm not a fan of turn-based board game strategy stuff, and playing this just felt like such a hopeless endeavor, and a slog at that with how long you need to wait for the computer to calculate their move. Also felt strange that the game only had the one mode, where you'd think it would have different scenarios that could be bigger or smaller in scale. Anyway, even though this game ain't for me, I'm putting it down as alright since I think other people easily could have fun with it.