Viking-Otaku's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Super Oppressed PPL.]

I guess I am sticking the hand into the flame on this one, eh?

First of all - hot DAMN there was more people on newgrounds being offended by this than I thought was possible. I mean, this is the site where content with blood and gore are rated "teen" and where the community goes into a flame war over that a school shooter simulation was taken off the page. I mean seriously, that event made Fulp remove the "everything by everyone" slogan under the site logo.

So yeah, with that out of the way, I appreciated the game. Of course, it's not ROFL-funny, but you can't help but smirk. Don't get me wrong, I fight for equality as well. I'm a bisexual, I struggle in the margin of the job market due to bad education and have a lot of friends that is impaired physically, psychologically and socially. And while it's important for all of those to have their rights and the possibility to get the help they need... A lot of loud people need to calm the fuck down.

At this point a lot of people are putting equality against the right to free speech. They claim to be offended while offending others. This game is a social commentary on it and should be regarded as such. There's a lot a game can tell that movies or text can't.

TO PEOPLE WHO ARE OFFENDED BY THIS GAME - this is how a lot of us feel, the people who just wants to get by. We who might to enjoy dark commedy or just doesn't have the energy to consider EVERY POSSIBLE PERSON THAT MAY OR MAY NOT READ OUR COMMENTS. I mean seriously, if we'd consider every possible outcome in all we do - the only possible means of communication would be cute cat pictures. No text, no opinions, because no matter what you say or do, someone will find it offensive.

Great concept, great message, keep at it!

MinorAtrocityGames responds:

If you think this is harsh criticism, then you sir need to go play some high skill dota2. That stuff will make your skin so thick you'll need a jackhammer get through.

I'm glad that you liked it. It's really turning into a 'your rights end where my feelings begin' kind of culture war. The brain evolved in general with the primitive brain first, then the emotional brain (Paleomammalian) and then finally what we consider the logical brain (Neomammalian). So if we place feelings above logic, we're taking a step back in evolution. The fact that people are being harassed and bullied into acting/looking a certain way because the receiver can't 'control' their feelings is disturbing.

And cats offend me, because I'm allergic. ;)

[Sherlock Run]

Has potential, but needs work

Information/story
The story could easily have been worked into the game by showing an extra frame at the beginning. It is not too complex and doesn't need to be included for such a simple game, but it would really raise the game, especially since the artwork is so nice. Information on gameplay however... I am still not completely sure how I get points, as it works differently every time, and as they are the main function of the game, it needs to be mentioned more clearly, or engineered to work better.

Visuals
Nice background and overall feeling, the artwork is nice. Shame that no more pictures were used.

Gameplay
Would've been decent if you had started the game with at least 2 points in every upgrade and some information on how you get upgrade points. The gameplay is way to hard in the beginning, and gets repetetive fast. The random-generated stage helps, but many times gets unfair and doesn't adapt to the players current skill level. I spent my first 10 runs either falling down holes or sliding into chimneys and dying because I couldn't jump far or high enough to dodge them.

Summary
Simple game with good visuals, but terrible gameplay: 1 star for the artwork, 0.5 for the rest

[Vampire Academy]

A simple puzzle game, nothing more, nothing less. I had, however, expected more out of the game from the name, title menu and graphics.

First: The graphics and music are top notch. The sound effects play well with the commands, although I would've liked something a bit more dramatic when turning humans into vampires (like screams or "poof"-sounds), not just a simple "click".

The gameplay is solid but simple and most stages are a piece of cake, even for a pretty bad puzzle gamer as myself. There was some stages that presented a bit of a challenge, but they were rather few. I did still enjoy it though. This game is a pretty good 20 minute-"time waster" to play casually when you've got too much time on your hands.

Final Judgement: 2
Design and Sound are good, but could me somewhat enhanced. The gameplay is simple and solid, but the game doesn't really present a real challenge or thrill. Everything is tied well together, but in the end, it is "nothing too new or interesting".

[Memento Mori]

Dark, to say the least. I'd say these are the thoughts of an atheist, pessimist or maybe... Just a realist. Death is something that has had humans curious for it's entire existence, ever since we gained the ability to think rationally, making up countless explanations, theories and the like for this, the final destination of life.

Although the game graphics and hitbox could be a bit polished (with the avatars movement matching the cloud platforms better, the edges and background having a bit more form), it's an otherwise very interesting game. It is short, yes, it has potential to be longer, yes, but finally it does it's job by in an interesting way deliver a message and a thought to the player.

As for music, style and concept, I have nothing to complain about. Using the thought bubbles as platforms was a really nice move, and the minimalist style keeps focus on the games message. Everything in the game does play well together.

Final Judgement: 3
Points for concept, style, general atmosphere, potential and composition. A longer game with a bit more gameplay or more twists (or a more heavily delivered twist) would score higher in my books. Still, I think you've done a good job, and you've given me some interesting thoughts to ponder on. Thank you!

Mnemusyne responds:

Excellent review, thanks.

[4 Warriors]

A nice concept, though horribly excecuted.

Apart from the terrible english and horrible narrating, filled with numerous grammatical errors, the game runs smoothly. That is, if you do not consider the fact that your close combat troops cannot attack enemies when they arrive on screen, although enemy archers can still fire at you and that your troops always will attack enemy melee troops, no matter what you tell them to do.

I managed to, on easy difficulty (you cannot play any other difficulty, the game gets stuck at day 1), survive to day 29. The first 18 days was childs play, the archers killed anyone in their range. The cavalry was a problem easy solved with spearmen backed with said archers. On day 19, I was swarmed with cavalry from both sides who wiped out almost all archers. Without their support in taking down enemy archers, my spearmen was wiped out the next day. Without any spears but the hero, cavalry soon stomped my other troops to the ground. The heroes, having more health than all their respective troops added together, survived for a couple of days before succumbing to archers, which they wouldn't attack, even if I mashed the attack button. Apparently, rushing a horde of 50 cavalry with someone shooting arrows in your back is a smart move.

Apparently enemies target troops you try to strategically move out of range. This, in combination with you being forced to attack melee troops before you may attack archers, eliminates almost all possible tactic options save for the initial deployment. For a strategy game, I'd say that is pretty bad.

This game is barely a beta, much less a full game. Although the artwork looks nice, the music is fitting (though very repetitive) and the concept is interesting, it is otherwise horribly done. I hope you can take this critisism to heart and work it into a real game.

1 star for artwork and concept.

[Trigger Knight]

Adrenaline rush

Great and challenging game, easy to get started and hard to get bored of. Every run is an adrenaline rush, forcing you to keep track of items, future encounters, lifespan and health all at the same time, sometimes in the midst of battle. Everything breathes speed and adrenaline.

GAME MECHANICS
I love the single-button idea and think it works very well. Although it requires a lot of planning and timing to come far in the game (for example, past the dragons), it is really easy to play.

List
The list of coming battles and encounters is great and show only just enough to give a picture of what is going to happen and keeps you focused on what is coming next. If it would´ve been longer, it would've slowed the pace of the game.

Fighting
The fighting is simple, but still adds a lot to the game. If you were to choose attacks or press buttons to slash, it would have disrupted the flow. The possibility of striking twice and making critical hits adds spice.

ITEMS
In contradiction to some other people that have aired their opinion, I do not think it is a problem that you cannot use items outside battle, nor carry more than one. It makes the game more challenging. The items make for a good balance and makes every decision important for survival.

ENEMIES
The three "common" enemies are, as much else in this game, typical RPG trademarks. Although their attack pattern doesn't vary, they're still different enough to not make it boring to fight them.

Dragons is as hard and as rare as they should be. As a dragon does about 1000 damage per hit and have at least 10000 health, you'll have to have maximum upgrade in both blade and armor and be at full health to match it in fair combat and even then, it might not suffice. Therefore, I dare say, the Divine Edge is the only way to defeat it (unless, of course, you´re incredibly lucky with the criticals). I want to point out that this makes a game-mechanically working "sword of evil's bane" that is not only a plot-based power.

ENCOUNTERS
The encounters fill all necessary needs you have, not more, not less. All encounters are necessary in their own way: Battles to gain gold, Bladesmiths and Armorsmiths to keep up fighting value, Soulshrines to keep up lifespan and the various item shops to survive throughout the game.
In total, one of the best games I've played for a long time. Well done! 10/10

A LONGER GAME...
I'd love to see a longer version of this game, however, there are some things that I'd want to point out if that'll be the case.

KEEP:
The Style (Music, artwork, simplicity)
The Pace (Don't slow down gameplay on me!)
The Hard-To-Slay Dragons (Because they put up a real threat)

ADD:
Items (A longer game needs a more varied collection of items or a varied collection for different "runs")
Stages (Different stages with different design)

[Mother Judgement]

The boss battles lift it up

This game is hard, we all know that. Even if you get ahold of the extra weapons, most of the stages includes mostly running for your life while hitting the shoot button as hard as you can.

However, the boss battles are good and raises the rating, especially the last one. In fact, after playing the last battle, the rest of the game look even bleacher. A little more conversations and a little more thought about the stages would definitly give it a higher rating.

Otherwise, the game runs smoothly, the controls are simple and easy to learn and Josephines comments are wonderful. The graphics are simple, yet not ugly.

Work on the gameplay, and you'll have one hell (or heaven?) of a game