Foon → Ludum Dare Explorer → LD51 → Run Right
By headchant
| Category | Rank | Score | Count | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 3.00 | 3 | ||
| Fun | 3.00 | 3 | ||
| Innovation | 2.50 | 3 | ||
| Theme | 2.50 | 3 | ||
| Graphics | 3.00 | 3 | ||
| Audio | 2 | |||
| Humor | 2 | |||
| Mood | 2.00 | 3 |
Hello! :) I will test your game just a bit later, but I wanted to say I noticed you state Love2D is needed to play the game: although it is indeed lightweight to download (and use), maybe [creating executables](https://love2d.org/wiki/Game_Distribution) would help some people? Not sure, just wondering.
By the way, do not forget to review and rate other games, if you have enough time; it will also help yours get noticed and have testers and feedback. :)
(I am now in a rush to test as many games as possible to help, so please do not mind the cursory reviewing style.)
There seems to be a mistake in the description: "You can only move diagonally" -> rather **orthogonally**, I think, or **vertically and horizontally**. Or "You can only **not** move diagonally". X)
Wow, I do not know if a similar idea had already been used, but this feels new to me! :) The concept of a regular tile-based scrolling is a nice one to fit the theme, and orthogonal ‘teleporting’ feels original too for an action game. The mix between turn-based and real time is a nice one!
The mysterious tense music is fitting, and I do not think any important sound was missing! (By the way, I smell sfxr! Did I spot it rightly? ;)) The graphics are nice, with a nice smooth translation effect, and a well thought blinking red outline for the dangerous area, because it is intuitive (I understood at my 2nd or 3rd try how things worked, without any written explanations!). To nitpick a bit, I think some simple 2-image animation for the player character and enemies would have added more life and visually helped the player identify quicklier where the threats are, but this is a detail. I also think the enemies’ shots were not that visible, and maybe some way to highlight them would be good.
I won with 8 coins after just some trials, but really prioritising ammunition and health, actually: I wanted to go as far as possible. :) The duration for the route is entirely reasonable. And the coins are a good incentive to try getting better!
I guess some could complain about the lack of in-game explanations, but as I mentioned earlier, the game does a rather good job at explaining itself, which is a great feature. Just in case, I would still advise you to add a ‘How to play’ section and get a bit more explicit about enemy detection (I did not count the precise range, by the way!), coins to get, clicking, and the ‘danger zone’, so that if someone is really stuck, he have a reference to land on his feet.
A possible criticism could be that once you understook how movement and detection work, you are somewhat superpowerful (because of ‘teleportation’) compared to those static guards — even though they were often gathered together close enough so that some bundle would be challenging! Suggestion: maybe authorize at least some guards to rotate regularly, so that we have to be more careful, or can pass at certain times only?
Last note: the title is so straightforward! XD (pun not intended)
I really enjoyed this game, pleasantly surprised! :) (And I often use Love2D myself, by the way; I was also pleasantly surprised by another game, [*Turn Based Destiny*](https://itch.io/jam/gmtk-jam-2022/rate/1622361), which was also a Love2D ‘hidden’ gem.) Thanks for the submission!