TankTheta's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Asgard's Fall]

I'm pretty tired of this Genre. The only reason VS stood out was because of the extreme build variety and fun gamebreaks.

But everything else after, just never rose even close to that.

[Genokids DEMO]

Some good old feedback. I'm gonna focus on the boss.

So, the boss. Yeah. I think one of most critical issues here, is that you've made this boss far too aggressive with little regard for the player's own aggression.
In a hack and slash. This boss has next to no telegraphing window for most attacks. Moves around extremely fast. The beam forces the player to take no aggression lest they just eat damage. And the lack of telegraph time make the more aggressive approach less appealing. In a hack and slash. I was having fun, till this boss fight. Because the boss didn't feel like it respected the flow of combat.

And the projectiles spawned distracted the lock on system.

Anyway, that's my main issue. Other issues, others have said, but the boss is really where I have a problem.

[Noir: Deinitialize]

Honestly, you did pretty well for tributing Nier Automata in 2D. I say expand on the mechanics and see how far you can run with the idea

[Afraid of the Dark]

I'm gonna be honest here, the sprite work's quite rough. You're trying to be like Isaac style wise but you're not going anywhere near as far as what's required. And you're relying too much on shaders over shaded details and expression.

Clean up the fundamentals and learn how to actually pull off the style ingame.

And as for the gameplay, I just find it kinda boring. You should really push it more if you're going to make a platformer. And design the bosses better.

[Alpha_Zero]

Honestly, I think this game has potential to be greatly expanded upon into a fully fledged game.
What I really enjoy is the basic gameplay look. It's incredibly fun to run up, grab an enemy and toss them at another. And the time stop in darkness is rather distinctive and has a balancing draw back that I greatly enjoy (the void). As if he's moving so fast even light can't reach him.
And the enemies are fast and intense in a solid way. You said you were inspired by Katana Zero and Ape Out, and I see where those inspirations come from. But you could genuinely make something that would compete with both. Especially if you expanded upon the gameplay mechanics to complement this.

But, there is some serious criticism to be had. One, is enemies activating an attack after they're dead. This is a pretty big problem, that I've see multiple times. As if there's an alarm trigger activating after death. This, must be fixed. It's a really awful bug that makes it feel as if it's not your fault but the fault of said bug for a death.
Next, The menu. It's not really fitting for the game. I'd recommend something with alot more personality. Something people will remember
Thirdly, The "FIRE FIRE" voice makes the enemies look like a joke. It really pulls me out of the experience slightly. It slams right into the wall against the atmosphere the music and the rest of the sound design does well in.
Forth. Jump effects aren't placed correctly.
Fifth. The tutorial's not good at conveying the Time Stop ability. Rework that section and you're good.
Sixth. The visuals need some variety. It's just a basic silver jail. I'd like to see something with more personality.
Seventh. More enemy variety. I think the last level showed the extent of using two enemies without spicing things up. Without a bit more variety, things can quickly get a little bit dull. So definitely add more.
Eighth. The screen's REALLY far back. It can be hard to appreciate the designs of the character with it so far back. Zoom it in a bit (And hell, I'd love to see the game's sprite art maybe get more detail/ making slightly larger sprites. Though that's a suggestion there)

Overall, I honestly I really enjoyed the game. I'd really love to see it expanded upon. You should, and make an interesting story around it too. Like, why is this guy in a lab like prison at the start of the game? Maybe because he was experimented upon. Who knows. Tell a story. Anyway I hope you enjoy the criticism here :D

Frogrammer responds:

Thanks a lot for your feedback.
- Yes there's a bug about enemy still shooting after being killed
- Sadly didn't have enough time to work on menu and leaved it very rough
- Indeed, FIRE sound may had been too goofy
- Yes, main mechanic isn't quite presented
- 48 hours weren't as much to add more enemy variety add still add some polish
- Option for screen zoom could be a good solution for this, I'll keep in mind

I really may return to this one day, thanks again)

[hunter with a top hat]

Okay, the battle was just too short. There was at least 1-2 fun mechanics from the boss and a really nice atmosphere. But this is like, man I wanted more. Expand upon the idea, there is potential. (Also this isn't really like cuphead)

(I can sequence break in the first 10 seconds and leave the stage completely. Maybe you should of play tested this and ironed it out a bit more.)
EDIT: I can sequence break TWICE within the first minute. Dude.

[Tonight we hunt Revenge]

There's potential here. But the mechanics are frustrating to work with at times. I think the lack of a proper jump is the worst part, because you're forced to use an attack with an extremely long wind up to actually jump, but half the time you can't react cleanly to an oncoming attack. The entire game felt slugish. But I think if you reworked the mechanics, I'd enjoy it more. Because I love the style, I like the idea. It feels like an alpha of an indie game.

So don't give up, use the feedback and refine the game :D

[Descent (2021)]

This game is honestly kind of rough. Aside from the big lag spikes, the game's main glide mechanic is frustrating to work with because it proactively works against the jump. You don't automatically pull it out after holding the jump for long enough, you have to let go and hold it again, in incredibly small windows of opportunity. The idea isn't bad, and I really like some of the enemy design, but I just don't enjoy the game enough.

EDIT: Don't take this as saying give up. I do want to remind you that you can refine the idea, and make it truly shine. There is some potential here. And I only give the criticism so you can see the flaws in your work and work to fix them. I want to see people with passion chase that and make the best game they can.

[BackToEarth]

Honestly, this feels like an alpha. If you're trying to make something like Downwell, you gotta put a bit more effort in than this. For one, you literally die from fall damage, making risky or exciting play basically impossible. Second, enemies are just boring. 3. Player has great speed but once he becomes too fast it becomes impossible to control basically. Because you can't see what's happening. I'd like the speed if it allowed me to react or do something with it, like imagine smashing through enemies or what not.
4, final note. The player doesn't really do anything more. Maybe mid air jumps, or weapons, or something. The gameplay needs some variety.

Anyway, while my criticism is harsh, I do see what you said about this being a Gamejam game. Don't give up, take up that criticism and make the game more exciting.