FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Tiny Dangerous Dungeons Remake DEMO]

Wow, this is a pretty fantastic game you got here! Feels very professionally-made from how beautiful it looks and how smooth it plays. It's a rather simple game, both in terms of its map design and gameplay, but it still has an addictive sense of progression to it as you slowly get kitted out and newer enemies and obstacles are introduced. The boss battles were a nice highlight as well. Nice stuff all-around!

Not to be a downer, but I do have some feedback:

*Something that struck me about the game was how silent it was: so many things that I expected to have sounds play for them didn't, and it made the world feel a bit lifeless and dull. For example, when you're in the room with those wall traps that shoot arrows, I expected to hear sounds for them arming themselves, shooting, and the arrows bouncing off things: not only would this add a lot of life to the world, sounds can also serve as warnings for obstacles and let you catch their rhythm.

*Similar to the above, I was a little disappointed at the lack of reactivity. There were a few times where I tried to do something clever like drop a box on an enemy, only for it to do nothing. I'd also like it if when you try to use a locked door you don't have the key for, it rattles or something to let you know you don't have the key. Maybe I'm asking too much, but it just made the world feel a bit less in my eyes.

*As cool as the knives are, I feel like it completely disrupts the balance of the game. Before you get knifes, you need to learn enemy patterns and formulate a route that weaves your way through the enemies, which can be quite fun and challenging. Once you get knives, though, you can just kill everything at a distance and then walk through an empty room: so boring! I hope that the game introduces something to counter-balance this later on, but I didn't get to see it in the demo.

*As nice as the game is, I think that's only within the context of playing it for free on Newgrounds for a bit: without any sort of creative mechanic, sense of challenge, or unique quality, it's just not interesting enough that I'd throw down money to play the rest of it. It's just another adventure clone to toss on the pile of millions of others.

So yeah, it's a well-constructed and nice game, but if I put it within the context of Steam and all the competition present there, it just lacks a certain je ne sais quoi to make it stand out. I still think you should be proud of making this, though, and this could just be a me thing: some people might like the simplicity and treat it as a positive which gives them relaxed vibes, I dunno.

AdventureIslands responds:

Thanks for the detailed feedback! This was insightful.

Agreed perhaps there could be more sounds.

Later on there are more variants of enemies, including ones that cannot be harmed with knives.

Maybe the game is little simple side, but it's also coming for mobile, so simpler gameplay is easier on a touch screen.

[Wanted!]

This is a great little arcade game that's simultaneously also a very creative art collab as well! The presentation is very charming, the gameplay is some simple yet addictive fun filled with all sorts of references and challenging escalation to keep you on your toes, and the art comes with a cool gallery view that is searchable and contains links to artists: what a fantastic two-for-one special! Heck, combine that with the special bart game that changes the genre from searching to aim training and we've got a three-for-one special: whadda deal!

One aspect I found pretty interesting is that the game allows you to click on the target even if it is behind something: usually that would be a penalty and I could be fine with it as part of the challenge, but this game is quite generous and I like that!

I do wish that the gallery also gave you some lore into the origins of certain characters for the uninformed, but I understand that the space is limited and you've already done enough, haha!

sebulant responds:

Thank you for the very kind words!

[Babel.EXE]

Pretty neat game you got here!

The ZX Spectrum-style presentation is certainly well-done and eye-catching, and the story you constructed is short-and-sweet, just the right length to get built-up effectively but not overstay its welcome, which could've easily happened due to the rather simplistic gameplay.

The story events did a great job at keeping me hooked, from small bits of confusion like the color of the flower changing (which was so innocuous I didn't even notice lol) to more and more darker twists.

I was a bit disappointed that there didn't seem to be any sort of interesting player decisions to make besides following orders that could lead to different endings or what-not. It also sucked a bit when it forces you to do something in a cutscene like killing Amber, instead of having you do it with your own hands which could feel more emotionally resonant. But I understand you were going for a certain story and that's fine. Having said that, I was able to kill Noah earlier than I was ordered, so that was neat that it allowed that.

The story is nice, but it does suffer from the typical contrivances where the writer needs to clue the reader in somehow by making people act out-of-character. For example, why would Babel go back and forth on whether to accurately translate stuff for us or not? Yes, it's a gut punch when we realize we've been tricked, but realistically it makes no sense and they would just keep lying to us. It's the equivalent of a boss monologuing his dastardly plans to his captor who is about to die: it's just a little silly. But again, I understand why you had to do it (though I'd love it if maybe you did it a different way, like an alternate new game + afterwards which has the true speech while leaving the first playthrough fully with lies).

GooseStranger responds:

Thanks for playing and doing this wonderful write up!

I certainly wanted to add player decisions but that quickly spiraled the scope, so I decided on giving the illusion of decision lol.

I knew some people wouldn't totally enjoy the game forcing you to kill Amber in that cutscene but I felt that moment would lose its power if I had given control back to the player, they don't realize they could or should attack, and die and have to do the scene all over again.

The thought on Babel.EXE translating some stuff but not others is a fair point. However, I feel some players would be a little cross if everything went fine the whole game and suddenly everyone is dead with zero context. I gotta do what I gotta do.

I'm glad you enjoyed and thanks for all the feedback!

[Trash Force Demo]

Pretty cute little game! Certainly makes a solid first impression with its very eye-catching interface design, but the gameplay is no slouch either, delivering some simple but addictive arcade fun which reminded me a lot of the game 'getting trashed' from No More Heroes 2 (if anyone gets that reference).

Had a decent time for the most part, but if I had any parts to give feedback on, it would be:

*Perhaps it's my fault, but I chose Hard the first time (as I do with almost every game) and it didn't give me a tutorial. Seems like it only does it if you play on easy, which makes sense, but I think it would be nice if it gave you a tutorial if it is your first time playing, no matter what difficulty you select.

*I feel like the difficulty curve of the game is a bit odd: parts of it slowly increase over time like the introduction of unbreakable asteroids and more of them, but other parts, like aliens, come and go instead of also increasing. It can lead to the game feeling somewhat boring at times when it chooses to go easy on you.

*Similar to above, it feels like the difficulty of the game plateaus and leaves you in an awkward state where you've bought all the possible upgrades but nothing is strong enough to fight back, so you just get bored and want to quit instead of staying in this purgatory. Would much prefer if the game ended with the boss battle, or just kept increasing in difficulty to a nigh unwinnable degree like your classic Survivors do: either end strong or keep it challenging, as both are better outcomes that leave a player wanting more than leaving bored.

*Perhaps this is a me thing, but I didn't think the whole metaprogression of statistical upgrades was necessary: feels like a hollow, unsatisfying and manipulative time sink.

Pretty impressive for a game jam game!

BluePinGames responds:

Thanks for playing and all the kind words!

To address the difficulty concern, i think the game does get to a point where its too difficult to progress. Furthest a newgrounds user got is roughly level 30. Its probably too gradual at the moment.

It will be better once we have more bosses, more upgrades and other types of levels :)

[Cronela's Mansion GBC - Demo]

Hey, this is pretty neato!

While I admit that a point n click adventure wasn't the best decision to do for a Game Boy game as having to slowly move the cursor around with a d-pad can be pretty tedious and uncomfortable, the gameplay is a pretty fun and addictive adventure just like the classics, the presentation is very impressive and charming, and the game runs very smooth which surprised me as I'm so used to Game Boy games being technically slow, awkward and glitchy. Cool stuff you've pulled off here!

In terms of feedback:

*As said before, the control scheme of having to move a cursor around is pretty bad. Would much prefer if you went for another solution, such as just cycling through objects on the screen and picking an action.

*Would love if, when I'm moving the cursor around and hover over something, it would highlight or display the name of objects to let me know I can interact with them. Without that, it can be annoying to have to click everything to see whether its important or not.

*I was a bit confused as to whether I can finish any of the puzzles in the demo. I felt like I explored everywhere except for the locked-off demo areas: are the critical pieces I need within there or am I just missing something?

Elv13s responds:

What a great example for a review and not just leaving profound words in the comments and calling it a day. Quite helpful!

Yeah the controls can use a bit of work, maybe changing it to actual d-pad for character movement and interacting with A and B[shows options] wouldve been a smart choice. But alas, we're too deep into the dev and it is really a port of multiple version on the gameboycolor so it'll be a dishonor if i change it now.

the puzzles here are solvable, some can be brute forced too so youre not missing anything that's not in the playable demo.

and thanks! I really poured my all into this game, its a bit outside my "expertise" since almost all my other games are platformers, so its challenging to develop.

[CA-6 EX (Picture Poker)]

Pretty nice little poker game! It's not that deep or compelling, but the presentation, especially the dealer, is very charming, and it all feels very intuitive and polished, so well done in that regard! I had a good time playing this for awhile.

If I were to have any feedback, it would be:

*There was a bit of confusion at the start when trying to learn the rules: for example, I was annoyed to not have my clearly Straight hand recognized. In general, while I appreciate trying to be concise, I don't think saying that the rules for the game are similar to some Luigi game I've never played is a good tutorial, haha!

*It's not a big issue, but it'd be nice if making a bet that goes over your max bet wouldn't stop you outright, but just fill up as much as it can without going over. Or, you could just make an 'all-in' button.

*I feel like the UI could be rearranged to be more intuitive. For example, why not have the button to discard be below the betting buttons, since forms typically flow from top-to-bottom and discarding is your final confirmation you do after betting? Feels weird to go down to bet then go back up to discard. Might be nice if the discard button was bigger and fancier to draw more attention to it, too, as it almost looks like a secondary, unimportant action with its current look.

*It's a nice game, but I didn't find the gameplay compelling enough to chase after ranks or stars or whatever the goal is supposed to be. Might be nice if the gameplay evolves in some way more than just the betting numbers getting bigger. Maybe it does evolve eventually? But if it does, it didn't keep my attention long enough to get there.

GlitchyPSI responds:

[This feedback has been implemented in v1.1.0!]

Thank you for the feedback! I agree that some of my decisions were subpar, and that is mostly because they were a drag-from of the first version of this game which was made in a big rush. I will look into tweaking some things (ESPECIALLY the UI, betting and lack of tutorial besides a LC mention, excellent points!) for a final update now that all of your guys' feedback has made me want to polish it a bit more! It's definitely made me think of it better.

[Magnolia Dwindlespark and the Mystery of the Entangled Propurrtions]

Whoa, this is a pretty unique game! Can't say I've ever played a game where I need to scale everything appropriately, but it tickles a similar addictive itch that a lot of other popular cleaning games do. For the most part, it all felt pretty intuitive to figure out: sometimes there's a bit of tedium as you keep trying to hit the sweet spot, but it's satisfying once it snaps into place. I like that it has a bit of a puzzle element to it as well, what with there being certain order-of-operations you need to do so you can scale other objects without them bumping into each other. Very creative and impressive for a game jam game!

If I had any feedback, it would be that sometimes it can be a bit frustrating or overwhelming. For example, I had a real hard time finding the sweet spot for getting the door to squeeze over the broom, for example, and I felt a bit put-off when I realized I had to individually scale different parts of the cat, or the various books on the shelves. Also it'd be nice if there was a save/load system in place: perhaps it's technically not that long to do in one sitting, but still, it's nice to be able to take a break so you can go at your own pace.

YaenGames responds:

Thank you so much for your consistently high quality feedback and kind words! I'm happy you found our game unique and satisfying.

I agree that the game can get a bit long on a first playthrough with all the books and so on. Was a little hard to gauge how many objects would still feel nice because of the novel game mechanic. Regarding the bookshelf, we were inspired by "A little to the left". Have a good one!

[Cash Clicker: With a Gun!]

Holy cow, this is really something special! I'm not one for idle clicker games because they hurt my hands and are usually quite boring and manipulative, but this one not only has an auto-clicking option to save my hands from strain, but it also saves my brain by making the gameplay be an exciting romp!

The game feels incredibly well-made in nearly all respects. Everything feels very smooth, polished, and intuitive: at no point did I suffer any confusion or encounter any glitches or bugs. The game is absolutely bursting with juicy effects that make the experience positively electric. The introduction of the gun is an intriguing hook, and the gameplay keeps my attention through threatening goals that require me to sink or swim. There are a lot of neat tricks too, like how failing to meet a goal doesn't mean instant death, but a new enemy that you can try to deal with (but is really hard to do so!)

I enjoyed the learning process of figuring out the best way to get farther and farther. For example, on my initial playthrough, I felt like the gun upgrades were a waste of money because the low amount of enemies meant I couldn't get enough money from kills to make the investment worth it, but the burst of enemies later on means you can't avoid it forever and need to be prepared. I also found that sometimes it's best to not bother purchasing multiple instances of a tier, but to just wait for the next tier instead: the UI seems to naturally push you to this strategy with its !!! signals. Fascinating stuff!

Now, not everything is perfect. If I had a few complaints, it'd be:

*I found it frustrating that I can't see the amount of items I've purchased, such as letting me see whether I've purchased 1, 2, 3, or however many shovels. It just makes it difficult to keep track of everything without that: I'm unsure whether I've dipped into one tier too many times, or whether I've purchased a tier at all.

*As mentioned, some of the design decisions felt a bit odd, such as how the gun feels really worthless for a large portion of the game until enemies get more intense, making you stick with boring clicks and passives. In a similar fashion, the ultimate giving you a cash prize feels hard to ignore as an option, which feels bad because it's so boring compared to something cool like a minigun.

Funster10123 responds:

Thank you for such thoughtful and engaging feedback! Everything that's been polished was once a sore spot, just like the game's current issues. We plan on adding QoL features and balance patches to help improve the quality of CC:WAG. Thanks for playing!

[Level 9 Access]

Pretty neat game! I enjoy the crazy fast-paced nature of the game, what with how every level turns into absolute chaos as all sorts of obstacles and hazards get introduced: the randomness of it all really keeps you on your toes, forcing you to improvise as best as you can! I easily found myself getting hooked to the game from how bite-size the levels were and how quick it was to immediately retry upon death.

I had fun, but if I had some complaints:

*While the randomness does keep you on your toes in a fun way, it has the downside of making the game feel very repetitive and like you're not progressing: replaying a level is just as different of an experience as moving to the next level, so why bother? Yes, the levels are different from each other in their geography and do escalate in subtle ways, but it just doesn't feel that significant compared to the random events. Furthermore, the randomness calls the scoring system into question, as it can just be up to luck as to whether it gives you a series of easy events that let you do it quickly.

*Sometimes the randomness can totally screw you over, such as when the game spawned two antennas I needed to align within lava, making it impossible to do so without dying. This wasn't even a justifiable punishment from being slow and letting the lava rise too high, as the antennas were spawned way at the bottom of the screen practically where the lava started, so it felt incredibly unfair.

*Slight nitpick but I found it weird that unlocking the exit doesn't give you a message or signal like it does for every other event: you'd think it would be something to celebrate, but you can easily miss the fact that you've unlocked the door because you're too busy trying not to die!

Still had a nice time, though, and I found it an interesting alternative take on the gameplay of your previous entry, RPG MK II!

BlueEagle421 responds:

Thanks a lot for playing! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

You are right about the scoring system - the randomness can make it very hard or very easy to get a better time, but I also find it extremely satisfying when the elements align to your favor.
Speedrunning also requires strategic approaches.
And yeah the lava has it problems and I'm still figuring out how it improve it, make it more fair for players.

Making elevator opening more noticeable is a great idea and I will try to add some cool effects to make it more clear.

It's nice to hear that you remember RPG MK. II :) I wanted to try something different this time.

I also recently updated the game with new city types, new content and movement improvements. It can delete saved data unfortunately, but just letting you in case you played the older version.

Cheers!

[GANBATTE!! ROBOCHAN - DEMO]

Hey, this is pretty neato! Definitely succeeds at emulating those retro vibes: love that classic intro, and the gameplay was very authentic, like playing some long-lost entry into the NES library! One particular aspect I enjoyed was the boss fights, which felt like they had a good assortment of moves, with their horizontal rushes that require you to move out of the way being a highlight!

There were a couple of stumbles for me, though. For one, I didn't like how when you 'advance' in the intro cutscene, it skips completely to the next card without filling out the remaining text first. Another aspect was that I felt like the game was way too easy. Now, not all retro games need to be Nintendo hard, sure, but boy did the game feel pretty unthreatening and boring without challenge!

If I have to be honest, though, the game, while kinda fun, didn't necessarily spark joy for me, being just another Megaman clone. Now, there's nothing wrong with making clones: everyone, including me, starts out by copying their favorites, and its a great way to learn and grow. But competition is fierce, and while this game is fun to play for free, without any sort of unique mechanic, clever twist, challenging gameplay, or just some certain je ne sais quoi to elevate it above just a mere copy, this just isn't anything I'd whip my wallet out for. Still, good on you for making this, and best of luck in your future endeavors!

WLCSoft responds:

Thanks! I'll keep all that in mind for my next projects.