xalezar's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sloth Simulator 2]

I think you just need to adjust the viewport size (in your Newgrounds upload settings), as the game area is being clipped and one has to actually scroll down inside the iframe to see the rest of the game. Some players might not know to do this, and I only found out by experimenting. However, the artwork is beautiful so far.

Nesteaboy99 responds:

Yes, but even if i do 1920 x 1080, you have to scroll down as well. I hope it's understandable though xd

[Screw And Engine]

It's pretty fun! The music was very appropriate--it had this industrial feel and a driving rhythm, that went well with the fast-paced nature of the game.

It wasn't clear at first what the different colored screws meant, but I later found out in HowToPlay. Most players skip instructions, so perhaps some in-game onboarding would be helpful. Even something like showing numbers that fade in and rise up to give some quick info, e.g. "+1 speed" or "+1 luck".

I'm still not clear what the correct strategy is here since the screws seem head in random directions--there's no way for me to predict where the next screw will be aiming towards (or maybe there is a pattern that I haven't noticed yet).

I can see this being quite an addictive mobile game. What are your future plans for this project?

EDIT: Great to hear it's on Google Play--congrats!

MatRN responds:

All my projects I update from time to time, I also have them in PlayStore, but they are not updated.
If you want to follow me to know more about my projects you can do it :).

[Legend]

Very fun! It took me just a few seconds to figure out that there are a limited number of jumps. At first I was trying to figure out why I kept dying, but then I noticed the little squares. Was it intentional to not explicitly tell the player? For me, it was easy to discern after dying a few times. But some players might not notice for a while.

Perhaps you can make the removal of health boxes more obvious, e.g. like a little explosion, so it catches the player's peripheral vision, and they draw the connection between landing on the ground and losing one HP. What about making the health boxes hearts, to associate them with the heart refills? Just some ideas.

I thought the introduction of the heart refills was well done. You mention "health" in the in-game text previously, and the heart icon is generally associated with health. So no additional onboarding text was required.

Not sure about the music style. It has a sort of wandering, pensive feel to it. The drone-like texture is hypnotic. But your game is much more exciting! Something more upbeat with a conventional rhythm would be nice.

EDIT: Beat all 20 levels! The gameplay had a good hook that kept me wanting to keep trying until I finished it. I think it was because the levels were designed in a way that informed me it they are reasonable and possible to clear. The delightful particle effects were a nice touch. Do you have plans to expand on this game further?

MostlyMadProductions responds:

There is definitely a possibility for this game to be taken further and turned into a steam game, as it has a very simple to implement mechanic, however this game will only be attempted to be expanded after my current big project is completed, (Codename: Vylan). I am glad you enjoyed the game and I hope to see your name in the comments of an expanded version of this game in the future. Definitely follow my twitter to be aware of the release of any of my games. :)

[POLY WARS]

Hmm ... I wasn't sure how to play it. I see you have the controls down in the description, that's fine, but many players tend to not read it. Might help to have some in-game inboarding. Maybe start the player in a safe zone so that they learn the mechanics one by one. Then introduce an enemy once the player familiarizes with the controls.

I found the WASD controls to be confusing. It seems you use the mouse to change your forward facing direction, where W is move forward, A/D strafe sideways, S to move backwards. I understand how it works now, but I don't think most players will get it at first. Maybe the mouse can just be for aiming, while WASD move the player.

I am digging the music. It is very appropriate for this kind of genre.

AbhiTechGames responds:

thank you so much for your feedback I will definitely update the game by keeping your points in mind

[Starfreaks: Angel's Pawn]

I has that nostalgic aesthetic! Suggestion: what if you incorporated some kind of blinking rectangular cursor somewhere? That would really make it feel even more retro.

CaptainJackTHAC0 responds:

good idea!

[Little Rolling Game DEMO]

interesting game! I like the onboarding: you explain to the player the controls, and introduce one mechanic at a time. The copy has a home-brewed sense of humor, which I dig. Music is catchy and keeps me motivated to keep trying.

I felt level 8 was probably too cramped to make it a fair challenge. I stopped to write this review at level 8, but might keep playing since there are only 10 levels as you mention in the description.

Don't know if will take the fun out of the game, but what if you showed the outline of the draggable block's original position? That way the player can gauge whether they have moved enough so that when the mouse is released, they will not be kliled. Just an idea.

Not bad for a demo. What will your future plans be for this game?

EDIT: Cool--looking forward to your next version :)

Pciphidic responds:

Thanks for your review! I'm going to (if you don't mind) use your idea of block outlines because I think that's a really good idea! My future plans with the game include many new stages, longer levels, more story, and way more mechanics such as: inverted gravity, cloning, destroyer/creator keys, enemies, items & inventory, mouse defense, and much more! (also, I'll tidy up the graphics with shading and detail)

[Hanukkah Runner]

Cute game. :) Nice work with the parallax layers--the cycling sun and moon add a nice touch. I like the integration of the Hanukkah narrative.

I felt the controls could have used a bit more in-game onboarding. E.g. like when you first start, maybe on the screen it can say "Jump with X or UP" or "Slide with Z or DOWN" as an obstacle approaches. Maybe some kind of indication when you successfully avoid an obstacle to let the player know they are doing something right.

What will be your future plans for the game? :)

KJScott responds:

I had put controls scheme into the instructions but having it in the game would work well. I could put something in some it appears very very early in.

I have some tweaks to put in based on feedback, I think I have a couple of notes I need to fix in the audio, and was planning to update the sunset/rise if it works.

Long term, I will either do a sequel or eventually rework the original concept and tighten everything up a lot but that would definitely be for next year.

[[BTNverse] Universal Thief]

UPDATED on Jan 16, 2021: I finally sat down this weekend and played this game from beginning to end! Best weekend ever! Took a bit of time to figure out how to fight that final boss. At first I didn't realize that the highlighted border on the enemy's menu indicates their next move. After I found that out, the strategy became apparent. :)

This was very entertaining! I love your unique twist on the turn-based battle system. Absorbing enemy skills after each battle is something I've never seen before. You can essentially customize your character however you want. This is pretty impressive, especially since it was a game jam entry.

adriendittrick responds:

Thanks a lot for the nice review :)