boticelly's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Spacejacked: Endless Mode]

Great genre mix (platformer/tower defense) with many interesting ideas. This game's difficulty level and its high speed made me sweat a lot. It was a very enjoyably hard experience, at least till I've reached the 20-th level and then the game became insanely difficult to me.
I have to say, that my three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
First off, this game has some fresh and interesting mechanic innovations. As I've noted above, I found combination of tower-defense and platformer elements very enjoyable. Gravity-switching mechanic allows to extract more advantage from two-dimensional flat platformer-like space by opening it's otherwise wasted verticality. Controls take time to adjust, but when they do, movement and navigation start to feel very natural. Turrets mechanic too does not work in a way one could have expected, and a player accustomed to more standard tow-def. rules (as me myself) could experience some hard times adopting to it. But after a few failed attempts I figured that this game requires more flexible approach to resource, space and turret managing: no penalty for turret deconstruction encourages players to shift their defenses according to the situation. Key to a timely turret management is good tactical and strategic thinking and precise spatial orientation. That's where gravity-switching platformer mechanics comes at hand, closing a circle of my description. Game's overall shortage of locations is compensated by the variety of ways you can enhance your defense’s efficiency: by combining different types of turrets, different locations, relocating turrets "on the move", shifting between locations, shooting enemies yourself, optimizing your shooting position, upgrading turrets, etc. Unfortunately though, shooting mechanics feel somewhat underdeveloped and most of the time pretty pointless; same goes for the turret upgrade system (in most tow-def. games player's choices oscillate between location and upgrades. here clear advantage is on the side of location, since you will rarely have enough resources to upgrade more than one turret, and at this point this upgrade will not do much difference).
Second, game's theme, music and graphics I found very well designed and quite fitting for the overall gameplay tempo and rhythm. Music, in my opinion, is especially important, since, while keeping player constantly on the edge, it creates frantic hyper dynamic rhythm that encourages player to move, think and react faster. Also game is very well visually organized. Interface is simple and clear, which allows more fluid and uninterrupted gameplay experience to occur.
Overall, playing this game was one of the most refreshing and exhilarating experiences I've had in a long time. It offers real challenge, while also creating some space for players muscle to grow, so to speak, and to achieve high scores through developing actual skills. With that said, this game also has some gameplay mechanics issues and definitely itself has some room to grow.

[Valiant Knight - Savior]

Interesting application of a quite simple mechanic to the well thought out visual architecture. By creating very well crafted space puzzles, which require precise timing and reaction, but also strategic thinking, this game produces attractive and absorbing gameplay experience.
My three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
Game tapping mechanic is extremely simple and accessible. The game though exploits this simplicity and accessibility by creating wide variety of spatial obstacles and complications to overcome. This approach, in my opinion, is very much justified, since it allows for smooth player's skill progression and good tactical flexibility. I also liked game's rhythm - of complexity increase from level to level, puzzles on each level and even character movement animation and music. I think it is the rhythm that attracts me in this game the most, since it creates the satisfactory feeling of steady progression. Some of the gameplay opportunities, though, I fell like were underdeveloped. Achievements system feels dispensable, since achievements do not really encourage any new and unconventional uses of game mechanics. Also lack of any hidden or optional content makes active game's space exploration unnecessary.
Visual style of the game, as I've already noted, is a fine addition to the overall game's rhythm. The way in which the character moves and is controlled actually flashes his character as a sort of valiant (just as the title suggests), but single minded and shoving ahead knight on his stereotypical quest to save the princess. Some of the game mechanics, though, could have been deeper integrated into the game's story. For example, it is incomprehensible to me, why would a knight on his quest to save the princess want to collect some royal gold coins. This lack of clarity, though, creates some interesting undertone, as the knight in this story appears as not only valiant, but also greedy.
Overall, I think this game's two major achievements are simple yet well elaborated game mechanics and great gameplay and visual style. It was hard for me to analyze separately visual/audible/story and gameplay components of the game, which I consider as a good sign of their productive intervening. With that said, the game lacks some of the elements that could have made its experience even more diversified, enjoyable and meaningful.
P.S.: It's a shame how low this game's views rating and reviews quantity are. Hopefully, it will somehow get much better recognition, which it deserves.

[Frozen Islands]

Decisively simple and addictive game. Unlike other runners I've played so far, this one does actually have some strategic depth. The way this game makes you experience in-battle time is indicative. Some of the islands can be taken with lesser numbers but with more thought out, time and damage efficient abilities applications. Also this liberty has its limits it's nice to play a game that actually allows you some room for strategic thinking, while also staying true to its genre roots. By that I mean slow, but uniform and constant upgrade progress. Strategic thinking, however, is not only applicable to the battlefield space, as at some point I've discovered that troops positioning before the extraction have an effect on their survivability (especially archers). Landing preparation is a mini-game in itself, as it allows trying different approaches to the descent complication, and, therefore, different playing styles (troop-heavy, abilities-heavy or balanced).
I think the visual style, music and overall Viking theme applied very well to the gameplay style. On the one hand, economical system and overall story create a conflicting mix of profit and liberation and on the other - battle mechanics allows combination of daring boldness and strategic cunning. As good as this initial elements are, though, this game plays them overly cautious, allowing repeatability to slip in. With that said though, I've never beated an island in more than three attempts, and only on the higher levels.
With all that said, this game, as it is, does not go in depth to explore its own space. The backgrounds, as were already noted before me, are less then functional, having little to no gameplay significance whatsoever. This significantly reduces importance of player's visual awareness and reaction during the action. During the game (especially later stages) I was mostly looking on abilities icons, since it is vital to know when one of them was fully charged. Because of it the game does become quite repetitive and monotonous closer to the end. This problem became especially clear for me after rather disappointing boss battle, during which I had no options rather than sit and wait till one of the skills is recharged.
Overall, this game's mechanics and style have good potential, which would have been realized more fully if not for rather reserved approach to the game's visual space.

[Antumbra]

Very enjoyable puzzle game. I've never been a good puzzle game player, but this liked, mostly because it rewards each and every type of behavior and choices. It encourages experimentation with space and rules, which, in my opinion, is the most interesting thing a game as a social practice can accomplish.
My three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
I've found a combination of point-and-click and text-adventure mechanics inventive. Also this combination felt bewildering at beginning, after the first puzzle I quickly grasped the idea that the space of the screen is usually a part of the puzzle too, not only a shallow decoration. Then I also learned that audio and timing are also important for to keep attention at. That adds great deal to the feel of insecurity and danger, as I had to keep my sensual awareness at high level all the time. After the first 3-4 puzzles, however, game ceased to feel either challenging or scary for me. As I get used to die over and over, I was no longer afraid of the surroundings and possible jump-scares. At this point I started to pay more attention to exploration and trying different options, even looking for different ways to die. This approach was well paid off with cleverly placed and written achievements, most of which were not only quantitative indicators, but also interesting, funny and insightful comments on my actions as a player, and on some of the gameplay conventions in general. For example, I was clicking at random on the swamp screen :) Even at this moment, after two hours of gameplay, I still sense that there are some secrets of this game, that I haven't unlocked yet, which motivates me to play it again, this time trying something new.
Second aspect, story, sound and visuals, was my least favorite, also I thought it was executed on a decent level too. At some point, as I've already mentioned, scares are becoming less and less terrifying. At this point my emotional connection to the game's space and images was amputated (also the game was still interesting) and it transformed from a deep, emotional tragedy into a kind of dark humored farce. The emotional moments all work well as I've got through them at the first time, but it was the fact that I had to go through them over and over again that made them less and less empathy inducing. What I liked though, was the fact that game somehow adjusted itself to this new tone, while taking itself, so to speak, less and less serious. That was a well crafted move, as, in my opinion, it prepared me for the game's defamiliarizing ending: breaking the conventional screen space and proclaiming itself not to be a game. Also, it is rare to see such entertaining end credits :)
Overall, I've found this game enjoyably hard, challenging and inventive, also maybe little less then I've expected it to be. I'd like to express gratitude to the author for creating this game. Thank you very much, and surely, you should continue your work on the next Antumbra game!

Vilehead responds:

Wow.... Boti. Wow, thank you. I love reading this kind of reviews. Detailed, well writen long and interesting. It is I who thank YOU :) I promise I'll do my best to keeps this level of quality.
Lots of love mate <3

[Dead Rampage]

After beating this game I felt like everything in it was on the right place: platformer/shooter/RPG mechanics, visual style, story - all worked well to create hour or two of fun experience, but nothing more.
My three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
In terms of mechanics, as I've said, this game is decent. Jumping/walking/shooting feels very fluent and controls are convenient. Monsters variety is somewhat limited, or at least it feels that way. Also, I've found that it is much more efficient in terms of economy and survival no to buy each and every weapon in the magazine and instead just save up money for the most powerful gun you can get to without getting completely overrun (my picks were basic pistol > benelly > hydra > combat shotgun > Hansel and Gretel). This obliterates the need to purchase much of the weapons (especially low level ones). Somewhat similar situation is with skills, as there is a specific order of obtaining them, that makes game significantly easier to beat. I went with experience > money/regeneration > health/engineering. After I get full experience and regeneration upgrades, attacks ceased to be challenging and I've beat the game at 24-th wave, while with other upgrade/weapons settings I've never even reached the 20-th wave. So much of the role playing elements in the game in fact turned out to be mere distractions, not allowing for different meaningful customizations, but just increasing the replayability till player finds the right setting.
Game's visual style, music and story were entertaining and well put together. I liked the background artwork, which created good sense of space and movement. Sounds and music are not too loud and work fine to create some rhythmical thrill and underline crucial gameplay moments. The ending was both fun and unexpected.
Overall, I had a good time playing this game. In fact, I even think that this is one of the best games of this genre that I've played. With that said though, it does not add anything new in terms of gameplay mechanics and, in my opinion, exhaust itself quite fast.

[Love me, fast!]

The funniest game I've played on NewGrounds yet :) It's not saying a lot, since I'm only here for a few months, but this game definitely leaves a mark for me.
My three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
The game's main memory-oriented mechanic unveils itself gradually, as it is almost impossible to hit high score in the first couple attempts: you have to learn on your mistakes few times and figure out some repetitive patterns in girls’ questions and answers. I actually started to pay it as an actual dating sim: carefully reading all dialogue options, suggesting, etc. But at some point I realized, that there's a time limit and score is not cumulative, so I had to answer ALL questions in only 20 seconds! What the hell?! But then I realized that there's a time bonus for each right answer, and game opened in a totally new light to me. I started looking for some hints that could've helped me to answer right questions before even reading them, to enhance productivity. And I've found those hints in words different color schemes, certain key words and themes that interested different girls most, etc. Discovering this hidden patterns and deeply though-out connections, and then memorizing them was extremely fun.
Audio/visual style, story and characters are very good as they are, but what makes them even greater is the fact that they interact cleverly with gameplay mechanics and endows them with lively humor. Each girl’s character develops gradually, and knowing and understanding each of it actually helps you to get higher score. Also the idea to combine incompatible: aggressive, assertive powerlifting-training tone with such a delicate matter as dating was very clever, as it ridicules the very concept of dating simulation, while also providing clever farcical satire on excessive, ostentatious masculinity. Music and visuals are excessive and flamboyant as well, but this actually serves both to enhance overall game's tone, and to make visual memorization and recognition easier.
Overall, the greatest thing about this game, in my opinion, is that its gameplay, its story and its music/visual style dynamically complement each other to drag you into its farcical merry-go-round travesty experience. It achieves dialectical interaction between gameplay mechanics, story and audio/visual style to produce meaningful and extremely fun gameplay experience, which stands as a great artistic achievement for me.

CreativeVomit responds:

Wow, this is... this is the most in-depth analysis of this game i had received ever. The thing i like about this (and other reviews too) is how random people can get and notice the faintest details about some design or aesthetic decisions that i took, not mattering how subtle they are. Knowing this is invaluable, because asserts the fact that with enough sensitivity any artist is able predict the extents of how any of her creations can get into any person, thus enhancing her abilities to envision and deliver any message or experience through this art form in exactly the way she wants or maybe even beyond. Thanks!.

[Ten Second War]

Very interesting and original gaming mechanic, from my standpoint, at least. I was not very impressed at first, but as I started playing the gaming idea in all its brilliant simplicity came to me.
My three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
The actual gameplay mechanics here I think are great. Their main advantage lies in their flexibility and modularity, which allow for many new variations with initial components. Each puzzle allows endless replayability, as it combines elements of both shooter and puzzle and requires logical thinking, spatial coordination and great deal of reaction. You can perfect your score endlessly, and leader boards are actively encouraging you to do so.
Visual style, music and setting I found serviceable, but not interesting enough to drag me into the game's space even more. It felt pretty abstract, functional, which is enough for extensive level creating possibilities, but not enough for more intensive gameplay experience.
I think as it is this game is a decent introduction of some great gameplay mechanics, which open opportunities for new ways of producing meaningful gameplay experience. It is less a game and more a construction kit for inventive spatial puzzles. I think that its core idea could be developed further into a full game - maybe with more thought-out setting, visual style and story.

[Super OpenWorld Retro RPG]

I have to say that I liked this game with my mind more, than with my heart. As a 48-hours challenge project it's good, but the ideas behind it begs for more thoughtful elaboration.
My three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
First off, much like the subject that it is travestying, it suffers from pretentiousness and under delivery, as its gameplay is somewhat rough (shooting especially) and not quite well connects with any modern open world/retro/RPG trends. Also, this may just be the intended part of the game (it is 'shitty on purpose', after all), as its title actually refers to the game inside the game, the one specific element, that causes main character's dementia. Nevertheless, in my opinion actual gaming mechanics could have been more elaborated and diversified, or at least more elaborately not-elaborated, if it makes any sense to you.
Game's graphics, music and sense of humor are its best parts. Unfortunately, they are not quite supported by the gameplay and stand somewhat on their own. For example, I only noticed that civilians were saying something at my second walkthrough, as the text bubbles above their heads emerge and pass by too quickly. So, this part of the joke was missed. While passing by civilians on the wheelchair I had more time to look at what they've had to say, but in terms of gameplay I was not actually doing much (except reading and pushing button). So it appears that whenever the game was actually playable it had nothing to say and looked and felt quite average (like the helicopter fight), but whenever it was conveying its idea to the player it had to incapacitate him by making itself less playable.
In my opinion, no solution for this contradiction was found in the game, hence my first impression and low rating. If more time and effort are put into it, this fun little satirical joke on gaming, life, life as gaming and gaming as life, can become something much bigger and interesting.

[Chain Reaction Shooter]

Simple, but beautifully realized gameplay mechanics, very neat visual and audio style with great attention to details (like circles bouncing, imitating real physical impact). The ricochet mechanic took me by surprise. I think it is a lucky find, as this seemingly insignificant addition (in terms of mechanics) instantly expanded possibilities for tactical puzzle solutions. Also I think that this puzzle is good as it is, but addition of music and story would have made it even better. Now it's nothing more than an elegant and delightful time-passer.

[Dfragmente]

Simple game with some interesting ideas and definitely some unrealized gameplay potential. I've almost got tired getting through it, but just at the edge of my patience it took an interesting twist and felt somewhat fresh thanks to it. But then it ended in a rather funny, but also rather abrupt way. I was left with a feeling that the game ended just when the most interesting part was about to begin.
I have to say, that my three major criterions in any game analysis are the extent to which game utilizes its gameplay mechanics, how this mechanics interact with the story and artistic style to produce an integral aesthetic experience of a game, and how fun and interesting this experience is to me.
This game is not very original or interesting in terms of mechanics. It utilizes the most common platformer basics and uses it to create somewhat athletically challenging, but not very interesting spatial puzzles. Interesting gameplay twist occurs when game enters its "glitchy" stage, as virtual space defragments itself so its familiar conventions begin to crumble. This creates opportunities for some interesting and unusual gameplay mechanics, but unfortunately only few of them were realized. I liked the 'jammed' level, but unfortunately this is the only instance of 'glitchy' spatial logic application that I could remember.
The audio/visual style of the game and its story serves ok to justify the transition from regular to 'glitchy' space. The idea of an in-game glitch as a part of actual story is very interesting to me, as it assumes a reflection on game's virtual space conventions, something 'hidden' and taken for granted in most other cases. But, as in the case of the gameplay mechanics, this game's story feel flawed and sketchy.
As a result, my overall experience was mixed, but overall rewarding. I definitely with this game and it's author to realize full potential of their ideas in the future.

hexdie responds:

Thank you for the very well written critique! These are extraordinarily helpful!

I do realize that more could have been done with it, especially in the later portions of the game. Development on this had been stretching out much longer than I had wanted it to, so I decided to cut scope on it. After releasing it and seeing people's reactions, I would like to approach this game in the future, possibly with a sequel, and use some of the opportunities I missed with this entry. This was my third game, and first platformer, so while I missed some opportunity, I'm overall happy with the results. Thank you again for the great feedback!