Ralix's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Coronavirus: A Text Adventure]

It's pretty interesting. Some plotlines and outcomes I expected, some definitely not (like attacking a guard with a sword in hopes of cleansing the humankind with the virus).

I don't think the intro is necessary. There's no denying that it's cool, and judging by my own experience, all those camera angles must have been a pain to animate… but it doesn't affect the story or gameplay in any way.
Of course, unless there's some ultimate ending or secret which takes place in the hospital and happens to *you* after you earn all the endings (e.g. you uncover tidbits of information about your situation and the hospital through the life simulator, and then there's a final cutscene). I only reached a couple of the endings, so I wouldn't know; but it'd be cool.

I also wish you could skip the typewriter animation (e.g. by pressing any key), because you go over the same initial passages over and over again and don't want to wait for them to load. I feel like I'd have to draw a decision tree to earn all endings, but it's probably fine, since things like checkpoints and going back would ruin the concept that you're controlling a new person, a new life after every ending.

So in summary, it's a text adventure in a really nice package, but it's intriguing and there's a lot of variety.

jamesanimations responds:

Thanks so much for the review! You guys have incredible ideas, i'll make sure to implement all of these. A secret ending where something happens in the actual hospital would be sick. Hopefully I can get this done by the end of the day before the game goes public!

[Eggs]

It's quite good. I like the variety with instant death eggs and bonus point eggs.
But the egg spawning needs a little more work because sometimes it's literally impossible to grab all falling eggs (two or three eggs at the same height, eggs at the opposite sides of the screen). When you lose, it's usually not because you messed up, but because you were unlucky with the egg placement.
You could either fix the spawning algorithm (maximal distance between neighbouring eggs), or you could alter the environment (smaller area, looping screen border…) or use mouse for movement (instant bowl placement anywhere on the screen, but it also makes the game a lot easier), or add a way to restore health every once in a while.

Filippo550 responds:

I added mouse control and the option to choose between keyboard and mouse controls. If you want you can check it out

[SUPER XP CHALLENGE 2!]

First of all, I like the player character and his animations. And the movement is flawless.

As for the rest… the thing is, the gameplay is extremely repetitive. There's no level design to be spoken of – it's technically just a long corridor, and the layout doesn't change between levels.

The combat, which is the only thing you do in the game, is very unremarkable. Just one kind of an enemy, one repetitive pattern. The best approach I've found is to come close, bait them with your first hit (which always damages you because the ghosts are a lot faster than you), then stand as close to them as you can without being hit constantly and time your hits right. And drink a healing potion once in a while. Repeat ad nauseam.
And when you level up, the ghosts level up too, so the game probably doesn't get any easier as you progress.

I think, all in all, it's more of a test of your patience than your combat skills.

[TicTacToe Noughts & Crosses HTML Edition v1]

Well, I understand if you're just testing OpenFL, but there's little need to publish it at this stage (when there's Preview available), let alone each version separately.

It doesn't really qualify as a game; it's just alternating "O / X" in 3×3 grid which you for some reason felt it needs to be in 1920×1080 resolution.
All user interface is blurry because of the size, the game doesn't tell you whose turn it currently is, it also doesn't tell you if there's a winner, you can continue even after winning/losing, and you have to restart the game manually. Also, there's no computer AI and not many people want to play TicTacToe as a two-player hot-seat game…

Good if you needed a test, very insufficient as a game.

[First Game]

For a first game, it's really good, although there are definitely some ways in which it could be improved. I'll just rattle them off quickly – but it's your game and your decision if the feedback has any merit and can make your game better.

Gameplay:
– It's pretty repetitive. I don't think it's very interesting to have to level up every archer again from scratch and by using a shared experience pool.
Then you're forced to make a decision between many average-levelled archers, or a single overpowered one and – as you said – the balancing isn't the strongest aspect of the game.
– Players probably shouldn't be in charge of advancing the waves by themselves. Leave some breathing space between the waves, but advance the waves automatically. Don't put the player in the position of "nothing dangerous happens, unless you voluntarily choose to" because a known phenomenon is that many players tend to choose the safe, anti-fun ways to stroll through a game without risk – which isn't very enjoyable in the end.
– The Restart button right in front of the castle is pure evil. If you need to shoot the enemies close to your gates, you could accidentally misclick and restart the game. Why don't you hide the restart button until the castle gets destroyed?
– Why are the enemies always spawned in a single giant cluster? Wouldn't it be better if they came in small groups in some order (for example start with 1, then send a group of 3, etc.)
– Are there different types of enemies later on? Not just with larger health, but with different abilities (for example enemy archers, or giants).

Also, if you don't know the game already, I heartily recommend you to take a look and perhaps inspiration from Defend Your Castle: https://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/102209

Bugs:
– Enemies only harm the castle on the initial impact, then they just stand awkwardly until you shoot them. They should probably attack like every three seconds or so.
– You shoot arrows even when you click on buttons (which shouldn't happen).
– The arrow does crazy things as it passes through the ground.

Graphics & UI:
– It's a bit simplistic, but that's okay.
– The UI is somewhat chaotic and unaligned. The plus buttons don't have the same distance between them, there are different font sizes (and some are too small)
– Consider using icons for damage, speed and accuracy instead of text. Just a thought.
– If you can, avoid using the defaults because they are too recognisable and placeholder-ish. Default Unity buttons, default dropdown, default 2D scene blue background…
– Why doesn't the ground go all the way to the bottom of the screen? The castle and the thin ledge now look like it's floating.

Still, a good game, especially if it's your first one. Good luck if you decide to continue working on this one, or with your next one. And welcome to Newgrounds!

CBernal responds:

Thanks for reviewing my game!
I will be working in some new updates and fixes for this week. (hopefully i can finish this for the weekend)

[Coinbag]

Quite good game, I liked it.
It would be nice to see an indicator of how many keys and coin bags you have (and need to collect) so you can plan better and don't run out of keys.
You can cheat a bit on the ground floor by going around the edge of the screen instead of unlocking the door to save a key, although there's a substantial risk of death if you miss a jump and fall. If this isn't intended, you could simply block us from going behind the edge of the screen.

GalefreeGames2 responds:

Thanks, I just added walls there because I like that the player can fall to their death XD

[The Merciless Deep]

It's pretty good and well-made, but it needs some new elements introduced later in the game, at specific depth milestones.
Because now, what makes you want to go further down? The joy of seeing a number get higher? You don't actually get to see new backgrounds, animals, hazards or (!) new gameplay mechanics – and there's no target either, so sooner or later, you'll probably let yourself drown out of boredom.

[Kill the Ice Age Baby Adventure The Game]

I mean, there comes a point when something is so silly and stupid that it goes full circle and is creative and original again.
This is inherently silly, but I love the sheer randomness and couldn't wait to see what's behind the next corner. It's a pity the game doesn't actually end, and your character then has to spend an eternity locked in the execution chamber.
But by all means, well done. Great game.

[Campo Afuera]

There's a surprising lack of laughing dogs. :)

I love the pixel art, but the gameplay is too simple to be enjoyable.
I probably can't avoid comparing this to Duck Hunt.
https://youtu.be/x-daxzVxrQI
Notice that in that game, the ducks come in waves, you have to react quickly and their fly trajectory is unpredictable. It keeps you on your toes.

Here, the ducks follow completely predictable straight lines, there's a lot of them and you can take as much time as you need. I don't even need to move the crosshair and just wait for the ducks to come in the line of fire. And it is a full line, so you're almost guaranteed to hit something as your bullet moves across the screen.
I wouldn't say it's boring, but certainly very casual.

Also, there's no animation for shooting the ducks (they just blink out of existence), the crosshair should be pixel art, too (since everything else is) and the score panel (and the score count itself) isn't aligned properly (outside of full-screen).

Be7ruvio responds:

Sure, I know I still have a lot to do, like making the ducks follow a certain trajectory and adding more animations. The crosshair is actually pixel art but it turned out to be a lot smaller than I tought so it doesn’t seem like it is. And yes, I always loved duck hunt so I tried to make something similar lol. I will definitely improve it, thank you for all the advice :D