FutureCopLGF's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[NextDoor]

I'm not familiar with the story myself (only Junji story I know off-hand is Amigara Fault) but I had a nice time experiencing it the first time through this! Felt like a cool adventure that had a lot of good effective spooks (especially the time where it creeped up during the talk at the soda machine, jeez louise), very neat art and animations, and immersive, atmospheric sound.

The sound was a little hit and miss at times. On one hand, it did do a good job at having really spooky music and sound effects that immersed me into the experience and got me all tense, and if you wear headphones, you can get spooked as the sounds change direction based on your position. On the other hand, the way the sound transitioned from ear to ear based on position was too sudden instead of gradual, and I felt like there were times where, when approaching the loud room for example, there should've been a gradual increase in volume as you get closer and closer. I feel like it kind of ruined the last bit where you hear it stomping away, wasn't sure what was happening since the sound was a bit confusing in the way it was trying to communicate. (I'd admit my headphones aren't that great so it could be an issue on my end, perhaps).

Ending was a bit bleh, in my opinion, though perhaps that's no fault of the game but rather the source material: I wonder if it would be better if I was caught? Wonder if that's what happened in the actual story. Maybe I'll go back and get caught intentionally just to see what happens...

Sijbren responds:

Hey thank you for the kind words and the feedback. A lot of problems with the sound came from a lack of control over Game Maker's 3D sound in combination with html5. We are working on our own sound system to improve the last part a bit.

[Gravisquare]

Really cool puzzle concept, and great execution! Loved playing through this and not only making my way through the levels, but learning how to utilize the gravity mechanic to its fullest. Speaking of that, though, and maybe you think I'm an idiot for this, but man did I get stuck on level 6 for an embarrassingly long time, haha! I felt like this level should be moved to much later on, as the gravity slingshot technique it teaches you felt way too challenging and unnecessary to learn at the time, considering the much simpler levels that followed it with more standard box stacking mechanics and such. Speaking of that, it's kind of a double-edged thing: I thought the gravity slingshot level was a bit too complex and early, but that's only because the majority of the levels didn't rely on tricks like that and instead were more basic, but perhaps that's just a sign that the levels should've used gravity in more interesting ways instead to spice it up? Felt like it did have a good variety of mechanics though, just maybe the difficulty curve was a bit wonky at times.

In terms of controls, maybe it's just me, but I felt like the alternative control scheme (always left/right and up is always jump) made a lot more sense than the default controls. I feel like the controls should be switched, with the alternate being the default. Maybe you think that's silly, since both are available options, so why does it matter which is default, but I do feel like a dev needs to set forward a good default control scheme for a first impression and intended experience, as many players in my experience will not bother trying to try other controls schemes than the default: they'll just complain and move on to another game.

Anyway, glad to see another cool puzzler from you!

Rob1221 responds:

An older game I made called Gravity Arrows had the second control scheme as the only one and that had a bunch of complaints about the controls, so I'm not sure which control scheme is the overall preferred one for games like this.

[‎ BUGGED‎‎‎]

A pretty cool idea, and decent execution, but a little rough for me at the moment! I quite like the idea of being stealthy and taking control of other people's bodies for their powers as a means of compensating for your weak body, and I did feel like it led to some interesting puzzle-esque combat scenarios in my experience where I could improvise in interesting ways.

However, there were plenty of issues I had. The controls were initially a bit confusing to learn: wasn't sure why I have to repeatedly enter and exit a host to kill them, when I felt it might be more straightforward to just kill them when you exit once (and you can even make the infection process take longer to compensate for it only taking one time). Was quite frustrating in the later levels that there was no way to get back from making a mistake: once you get seen, it didn't seem like there was any way to reset back to zero by, for example, outrunning the enemies and hiding from them, or maybe by infecting someone and fooling everyone, and that made me just quit too easily, leading to boring repetition. Also was a bit disappointing that the only power to get from infection is a gun: no other interesting elements to work with.

Also, it's a small complaint, but the kinda weird curved screen, odd moving camera and blurry chromatic aberration or whatever you got going on kinda hurt my eyes and just made the game more difficult to play and aim: maybe lessen those effects and just deliver the game in a more plain manner (or have a toggle to turn those off in options).

Basically, it's a little bare-bones at the moment without much to work with, but I still thought it was an interesting experience!

Frogrammer responds:

Hey, thanks for your feedback. I do agree that all the issues you mentioned could have been done in a better way and that infect/exit process was quite annoying. However killing enemy on exit once may have ruined some strategies where you would especially disable an enemy and then run to others, but idk there def is a way to make this mechanic work more properly. Also yeah the CRT effect is kinda toxic, could have been an option, so thanks again, i'll keep this stuff in mind

[Until There Was Nothing]

Quite the weird experience! It's not exactly the most complex or fun game or anything like that, being essentially a walking simulator, but it did nevertheless feel intriguing and compelling to be part of this odd adventure. In particular, it felt quite powerful to be part of the process, to be the button, the jumping force that strips him down further and further: as simple as it was, it did feel a bit harrowing. I thought it was a bit odd that the dialogue triggers were visible to the naked eye: usually those are hidden, wasn't sure if it was a glitch or intentional? Nevertheless, as much as it was a bit of a bummer, thanks for the trip!

dietzribi responds:

Thanks for the review!
Regarding the dialogue triggers- originally I didn't plan to have them visible, but it felt better to where they are!

[Blue Square and the Mystery Cave]

Pretty neat puzzler! I felt like this game had a pretty cool concept, and did a good job at walking you through escalating challenges with more and more clever designs to solve! In particular, I thought a lot of the puzzles that required you to do some recon so you could make a shot you couldn't actually see from the throwing position were neat, and I liked some of the ones near the end where you guide the ball through doors. Just really fun all the way through!

In terms of complaints: there was a little bit of confusion at the start when I didn't realize I could hold down click to charge my throw, but I figured it out rather quickly, so no biggie. I didn't like how previous ball throws wouldn't vanish when you make a new throw: they could end up getting in the way of your new throw, so I'd have to annoyingly wait for them to vanish before making a new throw. Also some of the physics were a bit wonky at times, particularly with balls getting influenced by opening/closing doors. Also, the fact that a lot of the puzzles were about making shots where you couldn't see where it was going since the target was off-screen were a bit annoying at times because of that lack of visual feedback (though I did like them nonetheless).

I had a nice time with this though! My only actual complaint would probably be that I wish there were even more puzzles to go through as I felt it was doing a good job at escalating the difficulty and introducing new mechanics like guiding yourself through the dark when suddenly it was all over. Oh, and speaking of that, the ending was a bit of a downer, hah!

raulmorenotamayo responds:

I completely agree with everything you said. This is very valuable feedback, thank you so much!

[Kity Builder (Prototype)]

Pretty cute game! Certainly has some good presentation to it in terms of graphics, and I love the transitions and animations when picking up blueprints and building and such. Also thought the trip around the island was neat as it had a little bit of a tutorial aspect in building bridges, and a puzzle aspect in building stairs out of buildings.

As much as I did like it, though, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when it was over so soon. I couldn't help but feel that the game was building up to something, like a little bit of a Sim City or Animal Crossing route where people would start to move in and you'd build them stuff in certain ways to help make everyone happy. Even if I disregard that and just treat it as a chill game with no objective but to make a nice city that pleases you (which I did), it still felt a bit lonely in the end, zooming out and seeing the island without any other kitties wandering around, and it also felt a bit lacking in terms of enough cool architecture to build to really make your own personal touch.

I still had a positive experience with it, so kudos to that! But I guess I'd love to see an enhanced version that either a) adds a whole escalation to goals and directions for building/managing your city and people or b) adds more fancy buildings, objects, paints, etc you can use to decorate your city in more creative and fun ways.

Sambero responds:

Thanks dude. Your feedback is always incredibly useful and I was genuinely waiting for your comment hehe. We are already working to expand the game, more towards the sandbox route, and we hope it will turn out nice and feel more complete ^^

[Spooksville, USA - The Sequel to Heck House]

Wow, quite the upgrade from Heck House, and not just in terms of graphics, but gameplay as well! I ended up getting really addicted to this game: it's just so moreish in the way you can keep discovering items, putting them to use, getting another item, using it, and so on, all in a rather intriguing playscape.

I felt really clever not only figuring out the puzzles, but spreading out the team, making use of their shared inventory to scout out and recover items while minimizing travel time. That being said, the game kind of screwed me over by making some puzzles require some specific people to do them like cutting the fish (which was confusing because I didn't know each person's name from outside the game or inside). I can understand it, as it makes each character more interesting, but it felt bad that not only it ruined my strategy, I felt it also hurt the pacing by forcing backtracking.

There were some other confusing aspects, like the lack of explanation for basic controls and what buttons do anything at the start. Also, I had no idea how to save my game, and the load menu freezes if you try to exit it. But overall, it felt like a pretty fun and interesting adventure game!

EDIT: Made it to the ending and did the ritual and everything! Was good to dig up all the secrets. As funny as the joke about it being too complex to draw the ending, man, I was hoping for a big explosive payoff! Oh well, at least the gags afterwards were funny. Felt a bit silly as well that the ritual plays out automatically when you have everything: I would've preferred to use each item manually so as to feel clever. Anyway, nice work!

AxolStudio responds:

Thanks for playing! Your comments are very helpful - although I probably won't be changing this game, I will keep them in mind for future projects!

BTW: P / Pause shows some info/details about the character you have selected which might help with the few puzzles that required a specific person.

[Jump Forge]

Quite the impressive game and editor; It's like a mini Mario Maker! I had both a fun time playing through some featured levels in the listing, as well as making my own level called 'The Basics'. The editor was very easy to grasp how it worked due to the great HUD design and control scheme, and I liked how it had all of the essentials like having to play test your level. Uploading was a breeze! I also liked how animated and charming the presentation was: menus swish out, blocks make sounds as you place them down, and so on.

In terms of complaints: the gameplay is a little simple, so even as impressive as this is, the appeal does wear off rather quickly. Lacking a tutorial or buttons on screen, the game is a bit confusing at first to learn how to control anything. I wish your character would freeze when you enter build mode so they don't get in the way (and it'd be nice if there was some way where you could just have the character float around with no gravity perhaps). Also with no built-in levels to work with, it is a bit overly reliant on having the good luck of finding a good user level to play for fun (and I have no idea how to vote or feature levels that I find for others). But I can definitely see myself coming back to make maybe one more level: it just works so well!

Prox276 responds:

As always, I greatly appreciate it! I can't overstate how much I look forward and value your
reviews each time I release a game! :)
You rarely get to see in-sight this extensive and honest. Thank you!

[Roguebot Rumble]

I think there's a pretty decent concept here, but at the moment, the execution felt very rough for me, leading to a bit of a mixed bag feeling.

To start, it was very confusing for me to figure out the rules of the game: eventually I grasped that it was a bit of a defense game where you try and stop a lemmings-esque swarm from entering your portals, but until then, I had no idea. The energy bars on the portals are so tiny that I barely noticed them, and even when I did, I was confused why, when the enemy enters one of my portals, that it adds energy to their portals instead of damaging my portal, which I felt would make more sense. Furthermore, when I beat the level, I actually thought the game either bugged out or required me to manually quit out to proceed to the next level because I didn't notice the exit portal. I notice you do have little signs that point to objectives, but they disappear so fast: maybe they should stay present all the time, or at least stay for the entire duration of your first level experience to serve as a tutorial.

The combat was alright once it got going, but it was a bit annoying that you don't start with a full array of moves: instead you only get your combos piece by piece very slowly, making combat feel very boring until then. I understand that maybe it helps teach the players the moves, but it just took so long to get to the good stuff and I felt unfairly gimped. Having said that, combat still did feel somewhat lacking even with the combos since the game didn't seem to require any strategy for their use, like using heavy punches for greater knockback or to break shields over using light punches, which could maybe double as mobility options for getting around the arena faster. I'd push myself to use the combos to keep myself excited, sure, but more often than not, I'd screw myself over since it would be better and faster to just take them out with the same mash combo over and over.

Levels were a bit tricky as well, since they fluctuated in difficulty and thus, didn't feel like they gave a good feeling of progression or story to the game. This issue is a bit exacerbated by the reliance on user-created levels as well. The character also had a floaty way they moved which caused me getting caught a lot on geometry or having no way to engage with an enemy without bumping into them, causing damage and frustration.

Again, I think it is a really neat concept that could definitely work: when you have the right level with a right combination of enemies to fight strategically, it can lead to some really hectic and fun brawls where you need to improvise. But at the moment, I just wasn't get the scenario much of the time. As down as I sound on it, I still feel its a good core that I had fun with, and I look forward to the continuation of RogueBot that you allude to, which hopefully this feedback can help in some way with.

MindChamber responds:

this was a fair and thoughtful critique, and I agree on all counts, thanks for taking the time to review

[Mad Pirate Skeleton Bomber]

I wasn't a big fan of the way the bombs switched back and forth, but once I got used to it and saw how the levels were constructed to work with it, I ended up loving what a cool design decision it was! Love how satisfying and fun it is to get through the challenging levels by getting better and better at utilizing the bombs in all sorts of ways: you start off easy with simple bomb jumps, but later on you're chaining together complex combos like jump into wall-bounce into bounce and so on. It's a bit silly in a way, but the bomb switching did add a necessary complexity and rhythm to the game that felt good to get under control and tame with skill.

The game did have a few wonky aspects. I kinda hated how the player has a bit of a momentum to their movement and ends up drifting: this made me end up going into a lot of spike walls which had bigger hitboxes than I expected. (I understand it's most likely necessary because of wall bounces and such though). Speaking of hitboxes, the hitbox from a bomb explosion also lasted a bit longer than I felt necessary, creating weird scenarios where you run into a dying explosion and well, die. I wish the game had a cursor lock so I wouldn't click off the edge of the screen and end up losing control. A minor nitpick, but I didn't like how when you're looking at the notes it doesn't pause the game. But really, I feel all my complaints are quite minor compared to the fun I had.

Anyway, well done on this! I had a blast, bombing along through the levels, all to an addictive jaunty pirate tune that's still stuck in my head!

EDIT: Woohoo, Galleon Bertha is complete! What a wild ride and amazing ending: didn't think the game would escalate that much!

saantonandre responds:

Thanks once again for your well thought reviews Futurecop! glad you're on newgrounds satisfying devs hunger for feedback.
I've already watched your gameplay on twitch, I just couldn't wait for the March video :)
I've gotta say, while I failed at showing what were supposed to be the "main solutions" on most levels, my players never cease to amaze me by planning the most complex uncontemplated routes, hahah.

I'm glad you enjoyed the main mechanics! switching was in fact a necessary ingredient for the design of this game, not just to add complexity but in order to keep freedom of movement and being able to shoot unlimited bombs at your pace, with no cooldowns or ammo system, yet having to give a purpose to your inputs. Not having to switch would have so many not-obvious implications.
Yet, I know how it's bold to expect players to adapt to it. I'm happy whenever I see players like you putting effort to slowly find some entertainment.

I agree on the wonky aspects, which I may have subconsciously ignored as I got used to them. I can fix some right away. (EDIT: just implemented cursor lock and adjusted some hitboxes)

I also agree on the tunes, Tim really did an amazing job!