Reviews

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

To start positive, I like the handdrawn artstyle. It is something that really gives that personal touch.

However, after playing the game for the first few minutes, a lot of the game's flaws immediately become apparent. The first level lets you move the ball with the arrow keys square for square, easy! But then the second level moves the ball automatically, which continues through the other levels, okay!
Then the third level breaks the game for me. It took me way too long to figure out that you can jump with spacebar, because you can only do this on very specific frames. I tried jumping when the ball was in the hole (so sideways) and it just bugged it into the wall next to it, hardlocking the game after jumping again. Also mashing the arrow keys stops the ball from moving automatically, which makes you wonder whether it was intended for the ball to move automatically.
The level after is easy, but the next one is where I gave up. After jumping into the spiral square and trying some other things, the game hardlocked over and over again, making you repeat all the levels before you get another try.

For the humor requirement, the jokes didn't really hit me. The implementation felt cheap and the jokes themselves felt more like filler content loading screen quotes.

I think the concept had a lot of potential, but the result was just unfinished due to the amount of gamebreaking bugs. These bugs could have been easily recognized and fixed and I would advise to playtest the game constantly during development.

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

First of all, cool game! The concept is simple, but it works. There are no gamebreaking bugs and I was able to finish the whole game.

There were a couple of flaws however. The first being that you cannot put back a tile the moment you grabbed it, or rotate it after you grabbed it. This happened a couple of times and it just felt that I should have been able to do so.
The second flaw is that after a tile has been placed, it cannot be removed or replaced. You just have to wait until a Fluff has destroyed it, which sometimes just had you waiting instead of playing the game. What was cool though, is how you could manipulate the Fluff to destroy a specific tile, dragging the Fluff to that tile the moment it started shaking. I don't know if this was an intended mechanic, but it gives the player more control. Which is good!
A next flaw is that after the triangle level (I think), the shapes in the top right corner do not match all the shapes on the playing field, no matter how you turn the tile. If you want to place the tile in one of these shapes you can do so, because the tiles snap in place. However, this also changes the direction of the road seemingly random. (It is probably not random, but very difficult to predict) This made it so I just placed all the corner-road squares in random spaces, waiting for specifc tiles to easily build the road.
The fourth flaw is that after completing the road, it just became a waiting-drag-and-drop game until you completed the game. This just felt a bit boring, but it was fine.
Finally, it would have been cool if there was an ending screen. After the last level, it just looped around to the first level. I takes no time to make, but just gives this final touch to the game, rewarding the player for finishing the game.

The use of the Escher-shaped grids was nicely done in my opinion and I would be curious if it could be taken a step further by using his more complex Tessellation works. (Maybe it doesn't work at all, but that is something you'd have to try.)

The use of the humor rule was not really existent in my opinion. The dancing bananas where amusing, but nothing made me laugh out loud. Anyway, it is a difficult rule to implement.

All in all, I think you guys did a good job. The music worked very well and I enjoyed playing the game!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

When I played the game for the first time, I had no idea that you could shoot with right click and thought the game was just infinitely moving around, dodging bullets. Then I found out you could shoot using right click. However, after shooting the first couple enemies, the player is teleported outside of the screen, the camera is zoomed in and the game just hardlocks.

The gameplay is simple, but boring and no unique gameplay mechanics are explored. I have no clue whether a whole part of the game is missing, but I can only review what I was able to play.

The color scheme is vibrant and matches the cool music that the game has.
However, the game lacks on multiple fronts. You sometimes have to click multiple times in order to move the player character. I am missing the implementation of Escher and the humor rule. You can control the player character after you died. There is this random black dot on the player character that starts floating upward whenever you bump into an enemy.

All in all, the game is just not finished.
Nonetheless, I am curious whether there is another part of the game that I have not been able to play due to the bug. Or if this is not the case, what the ideas for the game were.

Edit: I saw in a review that you did that you are 15 years old. This review has some 'negative' points and improvements for the game, but don't let that discourage you in future game development! Making a game and participating in a game jam at 15 years old is not something everyone can say. Failure and mistakes eventually lead to succes. Keep up the effort and you're going to do great!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

My first reaction: Awesome game! You really did a great job, especially in the limited time of the jam.

The art style is really cool. I am a big fan of pixel art and have personally never seen it used like this for the player character. The changing perspective on the players was very interesting and provides a lot of opportunities for unique gameplay. I am already thinking of ideas, maybe you first play the room top down, after which it switches to a more isometric view, revealing that some blocks are stairs. Lots of possibilities.

The puzzles where not that difficult, but fun. I think you hit a good balance there.
The characters were sometimes a little difficult to control in the 3D space (especially when trying to go through doors and sometimes when moving blocks around), but it was not a big deal.

There were two elements that can be improved. The first is the explanation of the player controls. It was sort of explained in the dialogue, but sometimes I clicked too fast and missed some explanation of the controls. This had me ramming the keyboard until I found the correct key. I later found out (at the end of the game) that everything was really well explained when pressing 'Esc'. Maybe you could just have a pop-up at the start that tells the player to press 'Esc' to see the controls.
A second improvement is in the music. I get that the concept of the game is to find the beat, but a game without music and very little sound effects is a no go. Music makes or breaks a game. Maybe in this case the beats could have a different implementation, for example adding a beat to the background song everytime you find one (this would require some music composing skills). But I adding some background music would really benefit the game.

The Escher rule has been implemented well, but could potentially be explored further with impossible staircases etc.
I am missing the hexagonal rule. You can find a hexagonal in the robot room, but that's all.
I see how you tried implementing the humor rule, but I think you could have added some more. Maybe adding some more interactable elements such as the poster (that one made me smile).

Lastly, you could maybe have added some sort of ending screen. (It could be that there is one, which I haven't discovered) After putting in the beats it just tells you your score. Adding an end screen just wraps up the game in my opinion. (You can have a button that allows the player to go back in and search for the remaining beats)

All in all, I think you did a wonderful job and created a game that you can definitely be proud of!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

The game starts of cool, zooming in and revealing the play area. The controls are intuitive for navigating through the 3D space, which makes it easy to position the camera the way you want it.

Then, the elephants are dropped of and the game begins. The idea is to get the elephants to the end point which is basic, but fine. However, the moment you start building, the flaws of the game become apparent.
The building tool feels weird to use and it does not feel like you have a lot of precision in placing walls and bridges. It is also not clear on whether you have the walls or the bridges selected. The world is 3D and smooth, while the building tool uses a grid like structure. I found myself just building a huge wall around the elephants so that they could get to the end goal, but because the elephants behave seemingly random and don't really feel like going towards the goal, you find yourself waiting a long while (and quitting because of it).

The readme tells how the Escher rule is implemented by having bridges be connected if they look connected. I couldn't really figure out how this worked in the game.
The humor rule is difficult to implement in general and the elephants, sound effects and music where amusing, but nothing made me actually laugh.

Even though I describe a lot of flaws, I still think you did a good job. If the building mechanic would be made more intuitive and the behavior of the elephants would be made less random, you really have the start of a game going!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

I am personally not a big fan of text adventures. I just get distracted really fast.
However, I think you did a great job with your game. The game was not too long and I really liked your writing style. It made it easy to visualize the world that the character was in. The text font and visuals were pleasing to look at (something that is very important in a text based game) and I liked the small map. This made it even easier to navigate through the virtual space.

The hexagonal rule was clearly implemented.
The Escher rule was implemented very basic, but I think that it is fine.
The adventure had some fun moments, but I think that you could have gone a step further by adding some more jokes, weird stuff, references or I don't know.
Props for the plug of your other stuff. You are the first one of the games that I played that really made it a part of your game, instead of just having it pop up randomly.

About the story, I think you could have done a better job in the choices that the player makes. The story is very linear and does not provide any replayability. In my opinion, these games should provide choices that matter, not providing just one option that progresses the game. Next to this, the story you have created was interesting, but all the readers questions remain unanswered. Which is not really satisfactory. It is not necessary to answer all questions of course, but answering some can really make the world and story more interesting and beelievable. (See what I did there :p )

All in all, I think you did a good job and if you would improve on the things above, you could really have a fun and interesting game on your hands!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

The art style is cool and gives the game a nice feel. However, the moment when you start playing the game, you find out that the gameplay is just lacking. The only thing you can do is just mash the mouse button to find the exit tile, after which the game freezes, telling you that you did it.

I think the random generation of the map is cool and the art style has a lot of potential, but without fun gameplay, a game is not a game.
There are a lot of possibilities that could be added to game.

The rules have no big implementation either, except for the hexagonal rule.
I did not see the humor and while Escher has used tesselation, I think this rule could have been used better.

I don't want to discourage you with the negative elements of this review, because I think that there is a lot of potential. However, in my opinion when creating a game, the most important part of the game is the gameplay. If the gameplay is inherently not fun and how good or bad the artstyle and the rest of the elements are, the game is not going to be fun/good. I would recommend you focussing first on this, the next time that you create a game!

Keep it up!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

When booting up the game, the opening screen and the music instantly catches your attention.

The controls of the game are clear and you are immediately thrown into the action. I think the art style is really cool and makes the game look really interesting.

The gameplay is somewhat one dimensional, since you can use the same tactics to kill all the enemies. Just circle around them and spam spacebar. This worked, because it was very difficult to die, especially after a few upgrades. If you just tried a little bit to dodge the bullets, you were never in danger. Next to that, your mana pool never ran out.
The upgrade menu looks really cool and allows for a lot of choices. However most of the time, the choice is easily made by just picking an option that does not have any negative effect. Not only is it very easy to pick an option, but it does not immediately feel like you have gotten an upgrade, since the enemies are also of a higher level. This makes it so that it feels as if the upgrades do not really have an impact.
Something that I also would change is that when you press spacebar, your character stand still for a short fraction. In my opinion, fluidity in movement is key in these kinds of games. You want to feel like a boss, killing enemies, becoming stronger and mastering the game. This short movement impairement just slightly kills the flow. I get that something should happen when you press space so that players do not just ram-spam the spacebar, but I don't think this movement impairement should be it.

On the rules, there were some funny quotes, but I think I missed a whole lot, because I was more focussed on the gameplay. The Escher rules has been implemented through the Tesselation and (seemingly) infinite space, which is cool. The hexagonal rule was implemented in the upgrade menu, basic, but okay. I personally missed the plug.

All in all, I think you can be very proud of what you created. It is a cool game and I think with just some minor expansions (such as different enemies and meaningful upgrades) you really have a cool little game.

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

I think this game shines more in its artstyle than it does in its gameplay. The colors are vibrant and the shapes are very nice to look at. It is cool how the white dot in the second and third levels also acts as a light source.

The gameplay however is very basic and does not show a whole lot of creativity. It is just moving the hexagonal to hit or not hit the different dots.
Since the levels are not difficult, but sometimes easy to fail because of a misclick or something, this can really get on your nerves. In the second level I had done two laps, but tapped the rotate-key accidentaly, having to do it all over again.

The Escher and hexagonal rule usage is clear and is the part where the game shines most. The plug for another game is basic. The game lacks humor, apart from the ending screen, which, I am not gonna lie, I found a little funny.

All in all, you have a really good start for a cool little game, but try to spice up the gameplay a little more.

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

The game idea is cool and makes interesting use of an actual work by Escher.

The gameplay is basic, just collect the stars and then you go to the next level. Simple, but it works.
The controls were very weird at the start and could maybe have been explained in a quick tutorial. However, after a short while, I got them under control and then breezed through the levels.
The difficulty went up when you finished a level, however, this only happened very slightly and was hardly noticable. I think this difficulty ramp up should have been much larger. I reached level 20 and it was as easy as level 1.
The enemies were very easy to avoid and there were extra lives everywhere. So getting hit by an enemy didn't really matter.

What is missing is music, just some background music would have done a whole lot.

As said before, the usage of the Eschers rule is very nice. The usage of the hexagonal rule is there, but very basic, this could have been better. I missed the plug for another game.

Regardless of the improvements stated above, I think you made a cool little game!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

I am going to have to start by asking the question whether you have read the different rules that have been set out for the gamejam. I cannot find the usage of a single one of these.

That is too bad, because I think the concept of the game is good. It is still small and basic, only has one level and the gameplay is a little one-dimensional at the moment. But it is something that can be build upon. Adding more rooms, abilites, different enemies, you name it.

The art style is really nice and the player animation is cool!

All in all, it is difficult to review your game within the rules that have been set in this jam. So next time, read those beforehand! :)

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

When you boot up the game you get this very cool scene. After this, I thought I would be thrown into the main menu and it took me a few seconds to realize that it was the actual game.

I had expected more. The gameplay is basic and becomes boring really, really fast, because you do the same thing over and over again. No new levels, layouts, gameplay mechanics, anything.

Even though the concept of the game is very basic in itself, I think you could have done more with it. Created different scenes, different levels, spicing up the gameplay even a little bit.

The Escher rule is implemented by the DJ Escher character, who is cool and nicely made. The hexagonal rule is implemented through the hexagonal plates, which works, but is very cheap. Apart from the cool sunglasses that Eschers has, I don't really see the humor rule come back. I have also missed a plug for another game.

All in all, even though the concept is simple, I think your game lacks gameplay. The art is fine. Maybe DJ Escher could have been explored some more.

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None

Review by Tijzz all reviews by Tijzz

This game turned out very different than what type of game I expected it was when I booted it up. I think you did a good job, diverting the players expectations.

It is too bad that the time of the game jam is so short, because I would have loved to see some more levels and interesting rooms in the 3D space.

Even though the gameplay in itself is not that special, the different stuff that you created in the second level was interesting to look at. I am not sure how long it would remain interesting, but adding levels in which you use platforming and other stuff could be very cool.

In my opinion, you should have closed of the rooms and put on a roof, instead of heaving the open space and the Escher backgrounds in the sky. These were of so low quality that it did not do the game any good. (I even think that if they would have been of good quality that they still should have been removed.)

For the rules, you have used Escher in the background, but have also tried to create these impossible rooms. I have missed the hexagonal rule and I am not sure if I have seen the plug (was that the add?). The humor rule was also not very apparent for me.

However, I think you have created something really cool and if you would have had more time, it could really have been something more!

Scores: Overall None Artistical None Technical None Genre None