MinatoArisato's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Volty's Quest]

I like the visual style, but some of those levels have some really pixel perfect requirements with the cannons. Specifically that first 3 cannon level where you end by smashing through the glass wall on the right. You have to make two pretty much perfect angle shots with no real indication where that is besides trial and error. There's another one later when the spinning blade arms are first introduced which can also kill you in the cannon while you're aiming.

I think it's got potential, was surprised the recharge mechanic wasn't used more from the getgo.

[Candy's Dream Egg]

Just finished it, the visual style attracted me since I love the look of the gameboy. I've got some mixed opinions on it though, so don't take these criticisms badly.

The good: The graphical style, presentation and music are all great. I love games that show and don't tell, just drop you into a setting that you don't know where it's going to go next. That's what I got here when I started, some dreamy state that could lead to anything. Also you had a ton of levels, which is great as most ludum dare games are often pretty short. Also the egg recall mechanic was really good. I was surprised at how well it worked.

The bad:
I did get stuck a good chunk of times, usually when the egg and the player had to occupy the same space in an upper platform and I'd recall it into myself. Thankfully you've got a restart button so its no biggie.
Although you had a ton of levels, some were more well thought out than others. I do appreciate that you employed the 'show off new mechanic' before each new segment, but the levels themselves weren't all quite as interesting beyond the initial mechanic introductions. I think the best ones were a few of the switch and conveyor levels with the button blocks. Also the falling platform sections are always fun, though the girl isn't much of a jumper as it doesn't seem to be the game's focus.
There was a lot of recalling the egg upward through one way platforms (for the egg) and I think those sort of levels crowded the game a bit. It often felt like I was repeating stages rather than playing new ones.

All in all, you made this in 48 hours? fantastic job. I'd like to see more gameboy aesthetic games in the future.

[HEAL ME PLZ]

Really don't like the mouse movement, would prefer WASD. Presentation is pretty good, though it would be nice if there were more mechanics or heroes leveled up or something.

[DARK SOIL]

I like it, though the pacing is a bit fast to start. Like you start off with one plant, and the spawns start quickly but they're still manageable. Since they come at a set rate and there's no breaks though, you get overwhelmed pretty fast. Like I wanna water the fuckers but I have to stop every few seconds to kill shit again. Maybe the idea is that it's a smash tv style arena game, but I think it would be cool to have either longer spawn times after clearing out a plant long enough, or have some kind of pesticide so you could at least purify the area you're currently working on. Because when I was playing I would purposely try to put everything on one side so I'd have somewhere to run back to. Could also do the round based thing like a TD game where the rest period is between waves, but that could also slow the pace of the game.

I really like the gardening theme though, the spritework is pretty great and the music is stellar. That's my two cents, hope it helps.

[PICOLLAGE2020]

jesus is that the lusty barfly flash in here? this is a stellar wall, I love it.

[MELT]

It was pretty laggy in my browser, not sure if its just me, but yeah the game concept was a little hard to pickup on that first level until I realized movement and shooting was the limit of your flame. I think that could be solved by like a flame meter or a more detailed visual cue of the flame on your head or something. Puzzles were a little weak at times with a ton of leeway later on. Was there supposed to be a boss at the end? or does it just end there in that big room?

[Miskatonic Brain Drain]

I dunno what I just played, but I forgot I could slide or do anything besides answer questions until I started hearing "To defeat me you must slap my balls" neat game.

['DUCKS!']

Holy shit, that last level was some chip's challenge shit. Great puzzles, great characters, I loved that each duck had such a weird design and simple name 'Helium duck' 'Brick duck' and the cute little noises they made between switches. The idle animations were pretty cute too, though pushing blocks obviously looked a bit silly. Anyway, I had a lot of fun. Favorite Duck was BRICK DUCK.

[Get Creamed!]

Somewhere in my mind I was hoping for Ryona

[INTO THE ABYSS v1.1]

Well I got 82% with no secrets found, though I had a few ideas where some might be. I just didn't know if this would be the kind of game for them and focused on finishing. Also that spider sprite was nightmarish. I loved the aesthetic, I'm a real sucker for gameboy graphics and this looked awesome.

Now some criticism. There were a few jumps that were a little unfair given the camera was too far up to be able to see the spikes below. So you take a leap of faith and end up on a spike, generally you want that stuff to be fair so you don't get cheap deaths. There was a later one with a bat out of view that I hopped on rushing through, but we can attribute that to my lack of patience.

I also died a few times before getting my second heart to the frogs sitting so close to the doorways. You walk out and walk straight into a frog before you realize they're there. That's not a super cheap death, but maybe if they were even one tile further away it would give people more reaction time.

Last criticism is that the unity round hitbox is fairly noticeable in this game. Is this one of your first attempts at making a platformer in unity to teach yourself? If so, you made it much farther than I did and actually made something to be proud of. Though from what I did learn square hitboxes work better for this sort of game so that jumping is smoother, and you don't get hitched on walls so awkwardly.

That's all, I hope none of my criticisms came off as mean or anything, I really did like it, I just want to give an honest opinion that might help make your game better.

gamesbynoe responds:

Thank you for your review! I will make some tests with box colliders. BTW im working on another game thats why all your tips very helpfull! Thank you.