FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Gal-Nin]

Hmm, for me I felt like the game has a pretty cool concept, but didn't quite get its execution off in a satisfying manner. Without a tutorial or anything, it took me awhile to even figure out what was going on. I started off by just utilizing melee attacks, which were surprisingly satisfying to use due to the cool hitfreeze on contact, but also a bit annoying since enemies were so spongy that it took forever to take them down.

Eventually I figured out what was happening: it looks like you've got this system where you throw your shuriken into an enemy and then shoot elemental balls at them, where you want to pick an opposing element to do bonus damage (and in between that you melee to build up a bar so you can keep at it). That's actually pretty cool in my opinion, but everything else about the game kind of compromised that design. Not only was it really hard to grasp the system at first, you aren't even allowed to experience it at its fullest until you pick up all the scrolls (and once you pick up the scrolls, you're technically done and can race to the ending, so what's the point?) Enemies felt way too spongy and way too crowded in number that honestly I wanted to avoid combat since it was such a drag and you could only shuriken one enemy at a time.

I definitely think this elemental concept could work and it could be fun, but the rest of the design needs to synergize with it. For me, the ideal would be to give us all the scrolls quickly so we can engage with the combat and weaknesses in full: then take us through some combat arenas that lock us in and make us engage against some cool enemy formations, where you try and tweak the number of enemies and their amount of health and so on to create more satisfyingly paced fights instead of the haphazard crowds that I just ran past in the game currently. Definitely a lot of potential here!

fxydev responds:

I've made some changes based on your feedback and updated the game. Putting the scrolls closer to the player's path could be interesting so I'll definitely revisit that in the future. I softened up all the enemies and put together a new level so hopefully you give it a shot sometime. Thanks for all that feedback.

[BLOOD MOON]

Hmm, it definitely had me at the start, but then lost me hard unfortunately. I liked the presentation and concept of the game, the combat was a bit brainless and mashy but satisfying nonetheless, the hovering inventory mechanic seemed interesting, and so on. Seemed good! But then...that was all it had. I tried going through several more levels after beating the first, but it never seemed to evolve beyond that initial first level: in fact, sometimes it seemed to devolve by requiring way less resources, so little in fact that I could finish a house before enemies could even spawn! It really weirded me out that it just kept looping without any sense of progression: I seriously thought the game was bugged out in some way and had me stuck in purgatory, haha.

Overall it definitely feels like the game has potential, but its design just felt so confused to me. Why do the levels keep looping with random up-and-down requirements instead of increasing in difficulty by requiring more materials and more structures and such? Why are the enemies so braindead and lacking in variety or escalation as the day goes on, since coupled with the fact that I can attack so fast without getting tired it makes it so easy to just form an impenetrable shield of slashes and never get hurt? Why does it wait so long for enemies to spawn when a level starts when the enemies are what makes it exciting? Why does it take so long for the inventory to burden the player in any significant way when it could be used to make some exciting risky plays (do I go back now or do I risk getting everything for a single trip)? Why isn't the orbiting inventory used in some interesting way, like maybe becoming a shield that can get knocked away, or becoming throwables to take out enemies, so you need to re-pick items up? And so on and so forth. For me, it felt like an ok prototype, but didn't flesh out the design well enough for what it's core conceit should be.

Stepford responds:

The game was a little school prototype between Plufmot and I that we decided to upload to Newgrounds. It wasn't meant to be anything special, but somebody decided it deserves frontpage. 😅

[Monitor Maze]

Maybe I'm being unfair, but I felt like this game's execution was a bit strange. With the game's theme centered around hacking and monitors, and with enemies with visibility mechanics, I really felt like it was going to be a stealth game where you try and avoid enemy contact. You know, you try and rearrange monitors in a way that you can either avoid or lure enemies away in clever ways, like trapping them into a monitor that you shove to a corner as you collect the keys. But with the melee slash, there's no need for any clever strategy: you can easily go through every level with the same strategy of mindlessly collecting keys, easily slashing any of the slow-moving non-threatening enemies. The levels might get bigger in terms of monitors on-screen, but they never advance in any meaningful way. I actually tried playing the game a few times pretending I didn't have the slash and had a good time! Well anyway, perhaps I'm being unfair judging the game on what I think it should've been. As much as I had gripes on how overly simplistic the game was, I still did think it had solid presentation and a good aesthetic, and still had a decently fun time making my way through.

(oh yeah and there is a slight bug where if you stand inside an enemy, an enemy can only hurt you once since it seems they are coded to only hurt on initial collision, but not if you remain within collision. i've also had some slight bugs where enemies ignore walls, mostly after a quick monitor switch)

kypello responds:

Thank you! Yeah I think you're right, it definitely is too straightforward with being able to kill enemies so easily.

I guess I was so focused on making the game that was in my head (which wasn't really a stealth game), that I didn't notice when the mechanics I had created would be more interesting for a stealth game. That and, I was worried it would be too challenging without the ability to attack, but that doesn't seem to be the case as you and a few others have said it works better that way.

Thank you for playing and for the feedback!

[Coming Back]

Decent horror game! Definitely had some solid spooks to it: I liked the way you cleverly used the special effects to blur crucial information from readability, and the chase scene and such were neat set pieces. I also appreciated the multiple endings as a nice hidden touch. Overall, though, I did feel like the game was a bit goofy which did kill the horror aspect: it was just so short and simplistic in both graphics and story it was difficult for me to take seriously and get immersed. The goofy way my character walks around, the speech bubbles with very plain text that doesn't even change to show other people talking, the cliche-ridden story, etc. I do like it when games are short and sweet, but I felt like I was speedrunning this game with how fast it went through all the plot elements so bluntly, haha! Could definitely be helped with some more polish to the presentation and maybe some more interesting story elements, but still, it's a good attempt!

Primajin responds:

Thanks for the feedback, I appreciate you taking time to write your honest opinion!

To be entirely honest I just don't agree with some of it, it is super short no doubt but that was deliberate and the same goes for the very simple but stylised artwork, I really like how it looks and feels personally and love how the atmosphere turned out, the story is somewhat cliche I guess but it's also not as simple as "angry ghost chasing ex who murdered her" it was more meant to be about people feeling trapped in their own life, her for hanging on to a broken relationship because she's made a life with him and him for not accepting the guilt of what he did and blaming her instead, this is why he gets trapped forever in the alternate ending if he doesn't accept what he did.

Thanks though, I do appreciate good feedback!

[As one against our end]

Bit of a mixed bag for me! I like the whole concept of building up your party, strategizing an ideal formation, and dealing with the issues that the geometry brings in having to improvise new formations as you move through it all, among other things. Quite the goofy adventure with a lot of interesting characters to deal with!

But on the other hand, it felt like it was just really weird to play. I kept expecting to attack immediately when I cross my targets over something instead of having to wait an extra turn, and I keep losing track of everything as my targets flip-flop as I turn around and there's so much overlap. Considering the theme as well, I found it odd that you could totally leave behind party members as they go off-screen, and you only need one party member to reach the end gate instead of requiring to gather them all up. In general, the game felt strangely executed to me and unrealized, like it was just really haphazardly designed with the bare minimum, leaving it up to RNG to do all the heavy-lifting, instead of designing interesting levels with cool enemy formations and clever geometry obstacles to wiggle your party through. Part of me wants it to be more like a puzzle game, almost like a Sokoban game or something where your party members can be both helpers and obstacles to your progress, but maybe that's me wanting it to be something it's not.

I guess I was a little confused, and maybe I'm being unfair. It's like I was at odds with myself: part of me felt like it could work if I was just patient and took the time to keep rearranging my party into optimal formations by running into walls and such, but another part of me just felt like the game was too chaotic, difficult to parse, and annoying that I just gave up and went with a more reckless approach where I kept pushing forward and operating off instinct (which worked for awhile but eventually led to my death). Maybe it's just not my cup of tea at the end of the day. Still, quite the interesting one that I'll most likely go back to and give it another go, despite my gripes and confusion.

adriendittrick responds:

thanks for the well thought out review!
The RNG does do a lot of the heavy lifting and I really didn't design this as a puzzle game, more as a roguelike with a core movement premise.

I initially wanted this to be a game about interesting formations but really it became a game about levelling up and growing with various characters hhaving to micro manage them all!

[Space Thread]

Fun little game that's short and sweet! Felt like it had a good tutorial that taught the mechanics and way to progress very well, and it felt fun to race around using the dash strategically to win. I only had minor confusions during my playthrough with me not realizing I could pick up items other than white things, and with me thinking that carrying items was burdening the character for some reason: other than that it was great! Oh my god, though, I was literally 1 pixel away from home with my haul that would've completed the game and I died to time over, aughhh! But even with that defeat, I had to come back and beat it, and I did on my second try with a whole minute and change left!

Elastiskalinjen responds:

Thank you :)

Yep, maybe I should have left some random debris in the ship, then it would have been more clear!

[Trail Of Pigs]

Damn, it's got a rough start, and the game can be a bit frustratingly hard at times, but boy if I didn't end up getting enraptured by this! It's like The Last of Us meets Oregon Trail or something, haha!

Like I said, first impression was definitely pretty rough. The tutorial just vomits a wall of text at you (without even establishing context through story) that is difficult to read and remember everything (would be helpful if there was a button where you could bring up the tutorial later to see if you forgot something), the menu functionality can be a bit confusing at times (why does the button to pause have a play symbol and the button to play have a pause symbol?) and the controls can be confusing to grasp (Sneaking is a bit confusing and I thought for the longest time that once someone gets close and starts stabbing you there's nothing you can do: turns out it was because I was running and apparently you can't shoot while moving).

Once I got past that initial hump though, I had a blast! Well...as much of a "blast" as someone can have going through a traumatic and depressing journey of brutal survival, I suppose. The game really immerses you into the direness of the situation with all of its aspects and makes you consider every action due to the limited resources: stealth wins out over shooting if you can handle the risk of it (and my god do you want to avoid seeing the horrors of shooting). Sure, it ain't perfect: the game can be a bit annoying at times with how sometimes a hunt is just a total wash with nothing found due to RNG, but it does fit the theme you're going for, so hey, I guess it works. Man, the places my mind went as I started to get into my role in this game: my god, the darkness of it all! Again, really cool game you've got here!

Stopsignal responds:

Awh man, i was really hoping i'd get a review from you, you always hit the nail on the head when talking about places to improve! I was kind of afraid you wouldn't see it, this makes me happy, hahahah

Thank you so much!! I think what i learned with this game is that, even if the mechanics make sense to you while making the game, you still need to tutorialize everything correctly, there is no other way. Stagger tips, inmerse people slowly, always have a way to show tutorials and help if people need it, if the mechanics are complex enough.

Also learned that people can endure and play a hard game even if it is incredibly punishing, if inmersed enough on its world (at least i think that? it does seem that the inmersion played a really positive factor with lots of people, and that's awesome!)

I really have to give a second try to this concept, make it again from the ground up. One day. Still, it was fun to do for now! Thanks, Futurecop! I still hope your name comes from that one mech game, FutureCopLapd, hahahah

extra: i am still seeing all reviews from everyone, even if not replying. it's just too many reviews to reply for now, but i'll try to get aorund to it! :)

[MADNESS: Off-Color]

Not too shabby, but gave me a bit of a mixed impression. Overall I think it was well put-together: presentation is very crisp, controls felt fluid, combat was decent, and so on. But in the end, I also had a lot of issues with those. For example, while the presentation was good, there were some weird issues like text being damaged by scaling issues, and the size of the weapons led to confusion on how they hitboxes worked (melee weapons actual reach was much shorter than their visual size, but on the opposite end, guns actually can hurt someone in front of you even if your barrel is past them). The controls were fluid for the most part, but I felt like picking up was really awkward (I would much prefer that right-click pick up what is below you instead of making you have to point at it with your crosshair), and I totally forgot about blocking for a long time since it felt so unimportant/against what the game stands for. Combat was decent, but it felt very basic and didn't really evolve anywhere: the bosses were cool, but the basic arena fights against mooks were just the same all the way through, with melees being very dumb and easy and gun guys being incredibly annoying since they just insta-shoot you the second they're barely on screen and they can still shoot you even with an empty gun!

I feel like I am perhaps being a little unfair: the game built up my expectations so high with the initial impression that I felt a bit let down, and that is a little bit on me. But still, I do feel that while the game is pretty solid, I felt it could be much, much more, especially if it had more novelty and variety to the combat.

Stepford responds:

I definitely agree with your feedback! We wanted to have more enemy types and we also had an entirely different melee system in the works, but we just didn't have enough time.

Thanks for playing, though! <3

[Pico Untamed Demo]

Not too shabby as a Pico's School clone: got some interesting point-and-click adventure aspects along with some neat combat scenarios, but at the moment it's definitely a bit rough around the edges.

In terms of feedback, here's what I could see:
1) Would love if there was some more interactions in the world beyond just clicking directions and inventory items. For example, it'd be great to click on BF or Tankman and get some dialogue from them, or get some hints by clicking on their locks to see what item you might need, and just flavor text in general would be nice.
2) I feel like the buttons and interactables in the world should glow/highlight when you hover over them.
3) Weird game layout where you go east and then the directions are reversed on the next screen?
4) HUD, text, and other elements aren't consistent and it's confusing. For example, you've got a sectioned health bar normally, but suddenly in the boss fight you've got a different health bar in a different place on the screen. Buttons and text change from scene to scene for some reason instead of staying the same, leading to a slightly hacky unprofessional look.
4) Boss fight and hide/ambush felt a little bit too simple and awkward at the moment: you barely have any time to read how the hide/ambush system works and the boss fight is a simple mashing race against time. Basically, not much strategy to them.
5) Transitions can be a bit wonky: people who you've killed show up for a second while you're transitioning only for them to go away once it's complete.
6) Felt it makes more sense to click on the object that needs the item instead of the item themselves (or maybe you should be able to click on either one, or maybe drag the item to the object it needs to be used on?)
7) Picking up items was so sudden and I had no idea what I got and where it was needed.
8) Boss fight dialogue is difficult to read: could maybe stand to use a text box around it or something else to increase readability.

Looking forward to seeing the full version of this game!

TrickWithATwist responds:

Thank you so much for your feedback. We will make sure to use it as a reference as we develop the final product :))

[A Pico in Time (demo?)]

Pretty neat game that I feel has a decent core to build on for the future. It seems to be going for that classic dating-sim stat-grinding gameplay and I felt like it achieves that well with a lot of variety in activities and an interesting story/quest line. I definitely feel the art is great in particular with a lot of goofy, stylish locations with funny easter-eggs and references.

It's got ups-and-downs: for example, while the art and interactivity for the locations in the world is pretty cool, each having their own unique background art with elements you can mouse-over to see what they do, I can't say the same for the overall world map (which takes place in a white void) and the rumble battles/singing minigames (which are quite drab and lackluster with no special effects). Game also has a bad habit of relying too much on text when it could use visuals instead: the shop/equip menus and tutorial screens could benefit from a lot more icons and illustrations instead of bland text. Basically, I'm looking forward to seeing this more fleshed-out with a bit more polish in the future.

toffeescoffees responds:

yeah no doubt! we plan on working on this more in the future and all that youre saying is totally right! the only reason why some parts seem very undetailed and lack-luster is that i was the one making most of the art for the game and i only worked on it from april 10th to may 1st so i had to cut some corners. the full game will hopefully fill in those gaps and such ^_^ thank you for the detailed comment and everything!! it really helps me out, especially in the art department :)