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| Timestamp | Since previous | Game | alaah's comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 28 01:02:17 | Blob Dungeon | ♥ 3 | *Note: I only played the post LD build. I ain't leaving a score anyway* I didn't even participate this time and yet I'm here to write a review-lite for the LD game I probably spent the most time with. Likely even more than my own ones. I don't like that it's Unity, but I got my Linux build, so I can't complain. Right off the bat, I would buy a full version fullprice if you pulled off an "artistic" map. Obviously it'd be dumb to create a non-tiled metroidvania for a jam, but that's what you should strive for should you want to continue working on this one. The overall feel is already hooking; the art style, toned dreamy background and calm ambient music are gorgeous and complementing each other, and to some extent hitting my taste. Semi-abstract background with geometrical touches is something I've wanted to make for a long time and never really succeeded, but right here it looks fantastic. For some reason it felt a bit like ScarKrow prototype, due to its cute simplicity and LD-ness, and Hollow Knight because of more peaceful ambient, obvious Unity-ness and bugs. The good kind of bugs. Entity/mob design is a 9/10. LittleBigPlanet-like "brain" idea is subpar. I might have a strange affection to bug eyes, but the main character is charming for absolutely no describable reason. Level design is outstanding for an LD game, and delegating it to two people payed off as it took me a healthy quarter of an hour to merely reach the credits, and aside from some bullshit moments the game was satisfying and rewarding with so many bonus areas. What I didn't like was a lot of quirks with the gameplay itself. Aiming seems to be handled by plain arc tangent or something, and it usually feels like it doesn't shoot where I point it at. Moving backwards is also awkward, but I guess that's a side effect of incorporating an "incompatible genre" and dualstickness. But it sure can be reworked well, but with a controller in mind. Also, jumping with no air control is absolutely horrid; this is so basic and caused several needlessly frustrating moments. Furthermore, I didn't love the lack of map; now, this might be a design decision or a side effect of Ludum Dare, but some sort of navigation, even the most basic one, is necessary in a metroidvania. But a total cluelessness contributed to sorta phasing out my sense of time. Mobs respawn with each room transition, but farming them seemed pointless and unrewarding without any sort of gold/scoring/whatever (another sign of LD syndrome); sometimes walking through them and tanking damage made more sense, especially with deaths not doing much harm. Finally, icicles are a brilliant idea but need some more work to feel smoother (like a constant stream maybe?). I'm blah blahing about things you couldn't really control and pull off within three days. I may be biased because I mostly rate compo games, but this is truly one of the better LD games and I had a blast playing it. Please keep on going. |