shinobody's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Valhalla Bound]

I love it! It captures feel of an old NES arcade port really well - it really feels like something that would be actually playable on the old console with Zapper. At the same time, retro stylization doesn't sacrifice anything, and it is a great and addictive experience.

On one hand, I thought that maybe the fact that you're not suposed to shoot the ghosts (even though it makes sense in hindsight) could be clearer from the gameplay - perhaps some sort of audio feedback or screen flashing telling you when you lose a life - but then again, having to discover the rules of the game by yourself with trial and error really brings out the spirit of old arcade games.

Avizial responds:

Glad to hear you loved it! :)

We had a lot of back-and-forth in regards to certain aspects of design. Whether to sacrifice some of the retro aesthetic to appeal to a more modern crowd or take a risk staying faithful to older styles of play.

We are retro at heart and it is nice to see someone appreciate older styles of gameplay and figuring out the rules.

But we are here if any players need some tips or tricks.

Thanks for playing our game! We hope to hear from you in future titles!

[Samurai Adventure]

I kind of like it?
I'm kind of not sure why it's called an RPG though, it's not like you actually get to choose much about your character during the game - it's much closer to an action-adventure game like Zelda. Mind you, as a Zelda-like, it doesn't look particularly bad. It's a bit on the simple side, but sometimes simple is all you need.
Only gripe I'd have is that navigation in the world is a bit hard since all areas are vast and use the same tileset, so they start blending together after a while, but I guess it adds to the challenge, and fits with the retro style, since older exploration-driven games like Zelda or Metroid didn't have built-in maps - though perhaps having smaller, more memorable rooms that use different colors or different tilesets or have unique names could help - something like Jet Set Willy or VVVVVV used to do.

SirenGames responds:

Thanks! I'll clarify in the description for future players, but this game was made in 24 hours by me and me alone (except for the music tracks). I was restricted to using 3 colors, yellow, red and white with a black background.

Also it's an RPG because you level up and increase stats as you play, which brings it out of a Zelda-like and into the realm of RPG I thought.

If I had more time I would definitely have added new tilesets and content, but 24 hours isn't a lot of time to make a game from scratch, so this is all I could cram in.

[Super Dangerous Dungeons]

I mean, it's definitely good, and a lot of fun. Sadly, it has a some issues?
Most of them are about controls.
For some reason, game seems to suffer slight slowdown at relatively random points. In another game, this would be barely noticable, but because it's a precision platformer, here it's a case of life and death. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's usually lethal. I can't say for sure if it's something to do with my computer or browser, though.
Second, hitboxes in the game seem to be semi-random - sometimes I touch an enemy even though i'm a pixel or two away, and other times a fireball flies right through my face without connecting. For example, in stage 17 I was able to find an inconsistent safespot on the long platform before the second spiked ball (if standing right at the very edge), which allowed me to pass it without dodging through the chain, which seemed to be original intent, and made the stage a joke.
Also, for some reason, on my computer, using WSAD seemed to have a split-second input lag, when compared to arrow keys which were near instantanous - not a big deal, since, well, solution was to simply use arrow keys and game worked fine. And really, none of the above problems are particularly game-breaking or anything.
Only real issue I'd have is that sometimes level design is a bit off - several levels in the Water Dungeon consist of simply doing exact same thing, twice - and at other points, trial and error kind of becomes a thing - but this is kind of due to the game's design.
See, screen is really small vertically, but levels are designed so that most of the time you move vertically - which means that most of the time, you can't see where you're going. Your character takes up like, only 1/14th of the screen horizontally - but 1/5th of the screen vertically, which means that you can't see any further than two lengths of your character up, or down. Which means a lot of levels involve rushed guesswork. And for the record, when it works, it works phenomenally - trying to think on the fly where to go next trying to escape rushing water or lava is a really great feeling. However, sometimes this simply results in blind jumps and cheap deaths.

Still, overall, despite some flaws, it's a really great game - it nicely recreates "bite-sized" feeling of old Game Boy platormers, which works really well for a browser game, and provides you with a good challenge that provides a feeling of real satisfaction when completed - and while it's difficult, short levels ensure that frustration never sets in and let you take game at your own pace, and you're rewarded for every difficult bit with progress.
All in all, while maybe not a masterpiece, it's definitely a really good, fun game that I came back to several times now, and I will probably keep coming back to - and I'd recommend to everyone looking for a good platformer that doesn't rely on cheap traps.

[Viking: Way to Valhalla]

Wow, this game sure cares nothing for explaining ANY of the mechanics to the player. Like, explaining to the player that skills are charged by using up elements, and which one depends on which slot you put the skill in? That logs need to fall to the bottom and you can't click right under them, and rocks need a sword clicked right next to them? Nah, why bother.
It's sorta fun once you realize how the game WORKS. Still, it remains extremely random - boards are really small, and trying to predict what will happen is almost impossible, making it in many moment more of a luck game than a puzzle game.
Still, pretty fun.

[We Become What We Behold]

Honestly, it is kind of telling that the moment I saw the thumbnail, I knew it was your gaming.

As an amateur designer - we need more of this kind of games. I'm not just talking aboout the overt message, though it's a good one - we need more games that tell stories through their gameplay, rather than cutscenes or text dumps.

[Adaptor]

As much as interesting concept it is, execution is lacking. It's very easy to die, and restarts DEFINITELY shouldn't take this long in a game where you die THIS often. Also some sort of indication when controls switch - sound, some sort of color filter - would make everything much more intuitive.

Reversing controls or switching sets would be enough, but BOTH mechanics together feel like overkill. Perhaps adding other reversals, like having slide/jump button and switching those could work better than this.

[Sanity Check: Chapter 1]

The moment I saw generic RPG Maker main menu I was like, "I'm sold."

Ok, no, but seriously, this is a really great game. Dialog is pretty funny, and satire of RPG Maker games/creators is spot on. I only wish it was more stable, but I'm assuming that is probably RPG Maker MV's problem, not the creators fault.

[I am the ninja]

Eh, it's okay.
Hint: generally, it's better to try to introduce players to new mechanics in safe environment. Otherwise, player having to guess e.g. what jumping robots do and dying because of something they couldn't predict, frustrates them.
Similarly, first encounter with chains (that I thought were just decorative background) screwed up my jump and made me die - for no fault of my own.
E.g. - compare how in Super Meat Boy in couple first levels you can SEE the buzzsaw obstacle, but you can't get hurt by it until level 6 - and before, player would encounter the buzzsaw in Warp Zone minigame level before that, letting them find out what it does, in a way that does not hinder them from continuing the game.

Also it's a good idea to ensure that player HAS to know all basic mechanics from the get go - I died multiple times in level 3 before realizing double jump exists (in second level, I managed to get up on the ledge with precise walljumping).

What else? Eh, some loose hints - when player dies, position and status of all objects in the level should DEFINITELY reset, otherwise levels where player has to figure out pattern of multiple moving obstacles get kinda confusing over time. It'd be also good if, once player dies, they'd have to press the button to restart - this gives player time to calm down from rage after dying, and pressing the button is a concious decision to continue, making player more determined - minor detail, but it works pretty well in hard games like Hotline Miami. Just a thing to consider.

All in all, not a bad game. Definitely some care and effort was put int it.

Frozennnn responds:

Hello thanks for the feedback and nice review i will have all in mind for the second part

[Sentry Knight Conquest]

Look, I can give this game that it has some real cool design. Definitely someone has taken a page from design of Doom, since it has orthogonal unit differentiation (layman terms: each enemy is actually behaving different from each other, instead of just dealing more damage or taking more hits). However, I'd say game is still slightly flawed and could use improvement in some areas.

First of all, game is too chaotic. Game area is tiny, monsters and bullets are huge, and there's so much shit happening at all times! Like, my first introduction to the exploding demon bat enemy was when something I didn't even notice exploded into my face, and I thought what the hell was happening.
For the record, that is not a good thing.

Second, the game isn't superbly thought out in the way it presents its design to the player. Game is clearly inspired by bullet hell games, but hitboxes of bullets, explosions, and enemies are extremely vague and unclear - the only way to figure them out is by trial and error, which is hard due to chaos onscreen. Worst of all, your character moves extremely slow, and there are pond areas which make you even slower, which requires you to plan your every move carefully in advance - which is just not freaking possible considering that enemies can spawn literally EVERYWHERE on the screen, and half of enemies do a special attack on their death, so killing enemies isn't even always advantageous - and with clunky aiming and chaos onscreen it's almost impossible to aim your shots precisely to decide when you want to kill enemies.

Why did I encounter those? Because I freaking refuse to upgrade my HP - more on that later. In fact, upgrade system is one of the pointless, stupid ones where it's impossible to pick your way to play, instead you're expected just to buy whatever you have money for instead of deliberately picking certain upgrades geared for a certain strategy.

For example, in games like this I prefer to be extremely fragile, but fast, small and deal a lot of damage - and this is ALMOST possible! If you could upgrade your speed, and firing speed - since you already can upgrade your hitbox and damage - but again, upgrade system is geared towards you upgrading everything at the same speed, since upgrade price rises exorbitantly with each one.

Why is that a problem? Right now, there is only one way to play this game - the way developers intended. Have a lots of HP, tank a lot of hits, use spells a lot. And that's okay, that's decent. But the game could be truly good, or even great, if each player could pick what playstyle they want - for example, someone could be this slow tank with lots of HP that regenerates quickly and uses spells - but another might want to use only their gun, and be extremely fast and small knight with a huge hitbox.

That's what separates good from the great - when you look at every Deus Ex, Doom, System Shock, Starcraft, Street Fighter player - you will find that these games DON'T have a single optimal strategy, that each player prefers to deal with stuff in different ways. And that, to me, is what signifies a great game (or at least, game with a great gameplay).

Tyler responds:

I never played Doom but thanks for the review. Will keep it in mind for my next action game. Always working to improve.

[PLUMBER'S CREED]

Okay, so I think the game kinda works as a stealth game, figuring out a way to make progress was fun. What doesn't work, is platforming. Everything moves too fast and frantic, there's zero windup to everything so "direct combat" with enemies is completely random. Particularly painful since you claim it's inspired by Super Mario Bros, games legendary for tight controls.