FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[NumNumbers]

Hey, this was a pretty cool puzzler! I like how it starts out with a couple of puzzles that subtly teach you the core mechanics, and then quickly gets into some pretty challenging puzzles and continues to evolve from there! I found the whole sliding aspect very interesting as a concept since it really makes you ponder each move and how it might influence several tiles at once, and I found myself easily getting addicted to this. It didn't hurt that the game had a pretty smooth and slick look and feel to it either. Overall, I'd say well done! I dunno if I'll make it all the way to the end or anything since it is pretty tricky, but I nevertheless enjoy it!

[Boing Bang Adventure]

Hmm, a pretty decent implementation of Buster Bros gameplay! For the most part, I feel like the game is taking good strides in recreating that classic arcade fun with lots of fun power-ups and satisfying bubble popping. I love the little things you've put in like how the score counter spins up and your guy gives a little victory pose at the end of each level, along with other things like the world map and so on: very cute stuff! I also found the artstyle of the game somewhat charming: it had this weird old-school Geocities aesthetic to it.

However, I gotta admit that the game got quite boring for me rather quickly: I was already ready to quit around halfway through world 1, but I pushed on, hoping it would eventually introduce some sort of new obstacle or fun mechanic to keep things fresh. However, once I finally got to world 2, all I was rewarded with was a new bubble enemy that, while it looked different, it was exactly the same as before. It just felt way too repetitive overall and I could never see myself getting through all of the worlds: it just lacks any sort of variety or sense of progression to keep things interesting for me.

Pitigamedev responds:

Thank you for the feedback!

[Time to Strike]

Hey, pretty cool shooter you got here! For the most part this feels well-constructed and it has a really slick and polished look and feel to it overall: the gameplay is nice and juicy with satisfying effects, the menus are intuitive and flow nicely with cool transitions, there's a good amount of enemy variety and wacky powerups, and I enjoy the core conceit of switching back-and-forth between ranged and melee to manage your resources and find it satisfying to reflect bullets with the bat. Great stuff!

However, that's not to say that there isn't room for improvement:

For one, the bullet hell roguelike is a very flooded genre at the moment and I'm not seeing anything exceptional here to make it stand out from the crowd. It doesn't have any sort of unique and inventive spin on the genre, and what combat it does have is serviceable but not that gripping. In particular I found the gameplay too stop-and-start: the combat was simply too easy and too short, constantly getting interrupted and starting anew, and therefore never building momentum. It doesn't help either that the visuals, while slick and juicy, are not themed in any fun way: it's just not very exciting to fight in this featureless gray void against what looks like placeholder enemies (I'm not sure if this is supposed to be the final art or if it actually is placeholder).

There were also some issues like glitches. For example, very frequently I'd have a item selection screen where it was impossible to select an item or read its tooltip: the only thing I could do was ineffectively reroll or back out and lose out on the reward.

In terms of other feedback, I felt like the slow-down from swinging the bat was unnecessary and also confusing: I think the screen should be tinted more strongly to signify the slow-mo period. I also found the transitions between battles to be awkward: the teleport to a new position feels pointless and gets covered up by the transition so fast I wasn't even sure what was happening at first.

It's definitely taking strides in the right direction and it's pretty cool what you've done in a vacuum, but I just have to be honest that this wouldn't particularly stand out to me on Steam like you're planning: it just doesn't have that addictive and fun quality that other contemporaries have for me. Still, hoping you can work on it and I'd love to see how it evolves! If it at least had some stronger sense of a long-term goal, story or sense of progression, I think it could be great.

[Creepypasta Collab 2023]

Hey, pretty cool collab! I love that you went the extra mile and made the collab into an entire game, being this cool scavenger hunt adventure game through a spooky house with some great, stylish graphics. Collecting the tapes and bringing them back to listen was pretty novel and creative: well done!

While I do love the effort, I'll admit that there are definitely some parts I'd like touched up. For example, those default buttons and sliders on the main menu don't give that great of a first impression. But more than that, the gameplay felt a bit lacking in atmosphere: I wish there was more ambient noise, like the house creaking, tv static, dripping faucets, or the hum of the fridge, I wish there were sound effects for interactions like a little metal jingle when you pick up keys, and I do wish there were more spooky events, like some creatures popping up here and there. There were also some confusing aspects, like how interaction points don't go away after interacting (like picking up keys), and that trying to open a locked door only gives you feedback on mouse release, instead of initial click.

I'll also say that the execution of the tapes felt a bit clumsy to me. I really wish you could listen to the tapes on the go, similar to audio logs in modern games like Bioshock, Dead Space, MGS5 and so on. Having to not only stop your adventure to go all the way back to your room to listen to the tapes, but to then have to just stand there and listen without being able to move around and continue adventuring, felt like a bit of a bummer. I know you want our rapt attention, but it just felt like overkill, haha!

Lizguy74 responds:

I'm sure there will bee a sequel where those issues will be addressed and I'll definably be apart of the next one. It was awesome!

[Cathedral Nautilus: Virgiliath]

Hmm, as a lover of cool boss fights, I really want to like this game, but overall while it does deliver some flashy stuff and has a interesting back-and-forth health/ammo system, it just feels incredibly clunky. I suppose it's understandable for being made on such a short notice, but still, I feel like these issues have come up before in previous games so it's a bit disappointing to not see them ironed out yet.

*While I certainly like some juice in my games and this aims to deliver, this game is just overdoing it with way too much explosions and particles that the screen becomes a confusing mish-mash. I could barely tell what was happening: death always came as a surprise to me since there was no feedback if I was hit.

*While the camera zoom-in when you're sword-comboing the boss is a neat effect, it shouldn't come at the detriment of no longer being able to see the HUD: not being able to see my health or the bosses health makes this already confusing game even more confusing. In general, HUD elements should always be absolutely positioned and not influenced by camera changes.

*I feel like the way dialogue boxes should work is that, if you press while the text is being typed out, it should fast-forward to fill-out the text, and then await another press to move forward to the next box. In this, however, pressing while the text is being typed skips to the next box outright, making it frustrating to read at your own pace.

*I hate how you both can't hold down the attack button to keep swinging your swords, and that the rate of fire for swinging your swords isn't limited in some way: not only does that mean I need to keep mashing the key which can be painful, but it means that the game can be unfairly won by having an auto-clicker while people without dexterous fingers have a harder time.

*There's just a lot of weird awkward things, like being able to move and attack during dialogue or when you're fading back in after death instead of being locked down, weird delays between walking up to a door or dying and then the transition happening, not sure where hitboxes are, etc.

At its heart, this seems like it would be a great explosive boss battler, and I like where you're going: just needs some polishing and more fine-tuned execution.

[9 Cam]

Wow, color me surprised with this one! It may not make the best impression with its visuals and slight clunkiness, and while I do think that the story was a bit unsatisfying and it didn't quite push the camera concept as hard as I'd like it too (for example, some of the final challenges like the laser room can be beat too easily by just staying in the center when I would've loved if it pulled more perspective tricks), I found myself easily getting addicted to this due to its intriguing 9-camera perspective and its steady escalation of puzzles and mechanics. Basically, I think this is a pretty good example of the classic gameplay trumps graphics (and as much as I'm dissing the visuals, they still have some style and serve to evoke a rather mysterious mood). Quite the experience, and I guess I need to look up HalfQuake now...

Mantis1 responds:

Thanks a lot! I had trouble coming up with puzzle ideas that utilize the 9 camera concept. I specifically wanted levels that are not mazes, frustrating platformer challenges, or can be more understandable with 1 camera. I appreciate your review!

[Spooky Tripeaks]

Huh, solitaire ain't really my jam and I have no idea how to play it, so I was really worried about this game, especially since it doesn't seem to offer any overt tutorials or instructional text. But lo and behold, through a combination of intuitive design and a great, juicy, polished UI that helps you through subtle reactive means, I was actually able to make my way through this, learning bit-by-bit and having a good deal of fun! The music can get a bit repetitive and I wish certain elements like building up a combo to get a Joker were a bit more exciting and prominent given the struggle, but like I say, overall this feels pretty nice.

[Grave Danger]

Ummm...call me stupid, but...how do you start the game? I can walk around and dig but the title screen doesn't go away and the game never seems to start. It is an unfinished game jam entry? I can retry later if it gets patched or explained or something.

EDIT: Ok, now I've actually been able to play the game proper by holding down the key. It's a decent little arcade game, but unfortunately I found it rather awkward and frustrating. I like the idea behind the game getting more and more harder since burying creates tombstones that make it more difficult to walk around, but the execution didn't work for me: most of the time it just led to coffins appearing in blocked-off areas or on top of others which made it an inevitable failure.

Extar responds:

You need to hold X to start. :)
I've uploaded a more up-to-date version.

[Disguise and Conquer]

Cute game with a pretty decent idea where you dress for the occasion with your limited resources, but felt kind of dry and insubstantial, not making the most of it: would've loved it if for every costume we put together, we were to get a funny little cinematic where it shows us in-costume at whatever event we planned for and we can see the earthling's response and be graded. That'd feel so much better than the current setup and would really encourage replays. Also, when you put together a costume but then cancel, I don't think it should reset you to no clothes: keep everything on and let us adjust instead.

AhWham responds:

Thank you for the review! Cutscenes showing the consequences of your picks were planned, unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of free time during this jam to make it the best it could be so a lot of features and replay incentives were scrapped to put out a complete game. As for resetting the clothes, that was done to prevent a bug of rewarding the player with no points if they canceled and then hit confirm without changing the clothes. I admit it was a bandaid fix and if I had put more time into this, it could've been much better.

I do hope, if I have the time and motivation in the future, to make an update/sequel that'll push this concept to its peak and make an overall great game

[1-BIT HALLOWEEN]

Decent little short story game! In general the game feels well-made and polished, and I like the way it's all presented like a play where it's all on one screen with all rooms and elements visible: makes for some fun moments like seeing the kid interact with Eyezy while you're occupied talking with the mother still. Some of the visuals and interactions are quite creepy too.

I gotta admit, however, that I found the story rather unsatisfying. Once I got past all of the ways you can get kicked out before the story even starts by saying some rather innocuous things, it just didn't lead to a good payoff. It was also annoying for replays that you have the correct answer to the child's intro question about the rain as the second response: this means that, despite being able to mash through every other response to get back to where you were, you have to slow down there lest you get an immediate game over and start all over again. As a huge fan of CYOA books who enjoys finding all of the unique endings, this felt like a quantity over quality situation where all the bad endings are just insubstantial, purposeless filler and even the good ending fails to satisfy, so much that I wouldn't even be sure if it was the good ending despite it being the case.