TankTheta's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Hinoken]

So, I enjoyed the game, but I have a real specific problem with the game.
And that's the sliding physics. They're way too much in alot of cases, which causes you to land, but then completely overshoot and fall off.
Also I don't really enjoy levels that aren't designed to be beaten. It'd almost be funny but I frankly think it's kinda anthetical to the game's design (Mainly the last stage before the final one, that one doesn't seem reasonable to beat)
It's an interesting idea though, and it's got a fun aesthetic. It just needs more refinement in this department.

Frogrammer responds:

Yes sorry for too punishing game difficulty, it indeed needs to be way reduced as well as movement to be more accurate

[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)

[Frog to the moon]

I find the cherry jump system to be a bit too inflexible for a platformer.

HenrySanchezNG responds:

Next will be a super turbo mode ninja pirate with like a million moves and zero cool down for all abilities.

(I'm serious)

[Nino, your grandpa is nuts!]

It's a simple but fun little game. I feel like it should be expanded upon, since you got some nice gameplay ideas (such as the white being defensive shields, even being able to be put around the player to stop them shooting), and the car boss was fairly difficult (The Grampa could of been more difficult, he was more defense than offense)

I reckon, make the patterns more complex and interesting, use more varied mechanics, improve upon the level design (It was frankly just a corridor), and make better reasons for enemies to fight you. The story was incredibly bare bones and random.
Also, I would like a no kill route, which is more difficult but rewards the player in a sense.

All in all, not bad, I would love to see this expanded upon in future. Into a much larger game with more interesting and difficult foes.

Delunado responds:

Thank you very much for playing! I agree with your ideas. It is a Game Jam game so it was made in just 7 days, lots of ideas haven't been included because of that. I'll take them into account, thank you again!

[untitled shooting thing]

It's a bit too simple to be honest. But, for probably your first game, it's certainly better than most. And I think there is potential. But you should first get some criticism so you can improve for making a full game.

First off, add more enemy types (this is just one simple fairly dull enemy with no animation. People want enemy variety because it makes the game interesting)

Second, add an end to the game (etc, make levels and a way to reach to the end of the levels, there's no goal so there's no motivation for the player)

Third, jump to a new Game Engine, Scratch is a very bad engine for running games, even this game clearly had some issues with performance. I recommend Unity or Godot, both are good for this sort of thing.

Now, with all that out of the way, I want to give some praise where it's due. I think the sprite art, is not bad. Needs some work to be a bit more stylised and interesting (it's quite square-ish rather than organic), but it's not bad for a beginner.
I'd need to see more of what you could do to give more informed feedback though (this is a very limited view of what you can do)
Player is simple, but controls okay. I think you should make the player itself more interesting though.

Overall, give this game more of a concept you can really build around to make it stand out. Think of games you enjoy, and why you enjoy them. And take inspiration from those, to assemble your own game, trying to make it a polished gem. Because this game needs a stronger idea I reckon. But there's potential.
Show a new build of this game in future once you've taken all the feedback. Since people can give more specialized feedback on what you can improve.
I wish you luck on that.

Dim-J responds:

Those are some really good tips, thank you for taking the time and effort to give such a informative feedback. Appreciate it :D
Also yeah Ive been trying to switch to another game engine called Pygame. So yeah I might change the game engine.

[The Hit On Hallows' Eve]

Okay, so it's a mixed bag, but a mixed bag with great amounts of potential
The main issue, which I think encapsulates the entire game, is a lack of refinement. The firing mechanic and the dash are good, various enemies aren't bad (Some are even fun, like the witch making enemies that are normally weak into unkillable obstacles. Especially the two big bosses of the game, they were quite enjoyable, Frankenstein was quite awesome indeed). But some levels are badly designed or a slog.

And the animations/art assets are frankly subpar (Presentation is important, and to be honest, most enemies look like a basic flash asset. It can immediately turn some people off. However I liked the mechanics), some sound design (especially when you pick up boosts, they are literal static) and some fight encounters need some work. (Level 1 and 2 don't even really challenge you at all)

After Halloween, take the concept and make it into an actual game. Make the animations stronger, make the actual art assets alot better (they look very bare bones), make the sound design better, clean up some of the level design, add more bosses and clean some of the bad fight encounters (and some of the weaker enemy designs).

Overall, I like the game, it just needs more refinement. I hope you take this concept and really run with it. Because it's fun.

svaerth responds:

Hey thanks a lot dude! Yeah, this was a massive rush job to try and get it out since no one wants to play a halloween game after halloween, so I think all your points are valid.

[The Wall]

Put in more effort.

Theswordsgame responds:

yeah i had to make this in like 5 hours so yeah but next time sure i will probably have more time

[PROJECT CYBER_GLADIATOR]

The game has very little features, but the roll's not bad and the gun firing is okay. But it's so blatantly incomplete that I can't in good faith recommend a positive judgement. If you can't even move to the second wave then it's a problem.
Completely more of the game, then try to upload it again. And make it more distinctive, it's right now just a average roguelike with nothing unique.
Also I recommend getting a better sprite artist or telling your artist to step up their game for characters, it's really just not up to the standard you should have for a quality game.

EDIT: Yes, I'm aware it's a pre-alpha, but this is barely up to even a pre alpha standard even. Th wave mechanic isn't functional. And that's needed to do anything more than kill 6-7 enemies. The counter may show it, but it doesn't change to the next wave very clearly. At least make the game somewhat more complete beforehand.

deadBatteryGames responds:

It's a pre-alpha dude
Did you even bother to read the description?
also, the enemies killed" not being counted was fixed already, which was a regression from the last build

EDIT: That's the whole point of a pre-alpha, it's a PRE-build of an alpha (which is already way before the game's even close to completion).
I'm afraid you don't have much of a clue about how a game development cycle goes. Spoiler: It's a slow and methodic process, and not all the present pieces will necessairly fit together as it is currently, as it's for mere playtesting/bug reporting, not for judging it as a complete product, which more than clearly it is not. The current focus is to complete the first playable demo and THEN go early access. So yeah, quite obviously there's much to do yet.
And wrong, the wave mechanic is currently working, just uploaded the new build with the fix. Also, it's a *placeholder* mechanic, just like 80% of the features currently in this build. Why? Because it's a PRE-ALPHA dude.
And yes it changes to the next wave, yes, it's sudden, because cutscenes, dialogues & effects are low-priority tasks in such a phase of development, and will be added later on.

If you have any actual constructive criticism to post (such as the wave bug report), then be my guest. But now, if you're gonna purely keep repeating the obvious ad nauseam as if I, the lead developer of the game wasn't are aware of it yet, plus making beyond unreasonable & pointless demands/complaints, then I'm afraid I'm gonna have to report you for toxic behavior.

[Phase Shift: Lab Escape]

It's really rough around the edges, but I sense some heart here. Refine the concept and see how far you go next time. Really polish the gem. And give each form more to do.

Pastruvium responds:

In future games I'll have to spend more time polishing the actual gameplay loop.
Thanks for checking it out!

[Last Shadow]

Uh, game's not loading dude.

DriftingSnailStudio responds:

That is right. Thanks for notice that