Prid-Outing's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Castle Crashing the Beard HD]

Great effort, but unfortunately it lacks the charm of the original game!

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I applaud your efforts in remaking this classic gem. I've been patiently waiting for this for a loong time now, and the pixel graphics are nice, the 2-player mode is a HUGE welcome, the "pet" buffs twist is a nice addition for replay value, and the new level-ups were a pleasant surprise :) There are also a bunch of improvements like better-positioned platforms, more variety in the boss pattern, and easier-to-perform aerial combos!

Having said that, this "enhanced" game comes short of its original inspiration when it comes to charm, enjoyment, soundtrack, and feel. The new art style is too "cutesy" (I mean, even the skull isn't daunting anymore), the graphics and gameplay lack that "oomph" impact (not sure if it's bc of linear FBF animation or 60FPS, or both), there isn't much of a difference between the level-ups (all feel more or less the same function-wise but with varying pace and speed, except the last lvl. compare the "Fish" level in this game with the "Golden Staff" level in the original) and they lack personality, something that I personally loved about the original game (each lvl having its distinct special attack and weapon feel), and lastly, the soundtrack in this game just doesn't fit the gameplay and is lacking imho.

I feel like this game doesn't know how to position itself and is experiencing an identity crisis -- you're using "pixel art", yet the art style is round and cute, something that would've benefitted far more from non-pixel and smooth art, and so while some things look nice in pixel format (bgs, blocks, ground) other things are totally out of place like the mellow and jelly-like art and animations of the Boss (the Skull's art style reminded of Cuphead). It's like a clash of different art styles with poor results, and no disrespect to Luis' pixel art skills 😅 The "Mario"-like coin blocks don't really add anything to the gameplay and were just annoying imo -- and they just didn't fit in the game (hearing the SFX felt weird and out of place). The grinding mechanism in the original with combo-ing the gravestones was far more enjoyable imo. And the music doesn't fit in either, which kills half of the charm of this game as compared to the original one :/

Because at the end of the day, we have to compare this to the original as it's an "HD" version of it. While there have been some nice additions (pets, more details in graphics, 2-player mode, QoL improvements), the overal pace of the game and the graphical "impact" is severely lacking in this game as compared to the original game. Not to mention the pain-stakingly slow "transition" periods where the boss cannot be attacked (e.g. Tom Fulp when shooting lasers, and the Skull swirling slowly into position to shoot fireballs), and the "Level Up" transitions that last too long and interrupt the flow of the game (especially when you're in the midst of a combo and doing lots of damage, only to be interrupted by the long "Level Up" transition that lasts way too long and doesn't pause the game, so by the time you've leveled up the boss is back to an "invincible" state...). A lot of these hurdles kill the flow and make pet "buffs" useless at times.

With all these bumps and an "HD" version that lacks visual identity, the end result is something that has a lot of potential and an interesting direction, but fails to live up to its former shell. Should've called it a "reimagining" instead of an "HD" version, imho.

And I'm not sure if it's my nostalgia speaking, having grown up, or these actually being my unbiased feelings about this game, as the original is one of my all-time fav Flash games! Either way, that's how I feel right now, but maybe my opinion will change over time, who knows? ;)

A tip: placing the combos atop or close to the character would add much better visual impact than simply placing them in a corner where they're not noticed :(

BoMToons responds:

I disagree with a lot of what you wrote. I do concede that the "feel" of the attacks between levels was more unique in the original, and the "settling in" for certain boss attacks can be annoying in this one.

However, I love the art, sfx, and music in this one (it's much more consistent and cohesive than the original imo). In the original, I did the menus and bgs, Luis did the character animations, and Coaly did the boss... so the art is REALLY inconsistent there.

I really don't understand how an objective observer of both would say that the original is "more consistent" identity-wise than this one... this one is waaaaayyyy tighter in art direction, sound design, music, and gameplay (ie: identity).

But I get that nostalgia is strong, and this one does take a LOT of liberties in re-imagining the original in very fundamental ways. It does feel like a brand new game. It's good they both still exist and we can enjoy both forever more!

[Party Land]

Lovely characters, lovely story, and nice gameplay :) Finally a non-pixel art submission ^^

You made the animations yourself as well? Wow, I really loved the smoothness and artstyle of the characters, especially the dad! I bet you used Flash for the animations, or? Would love to know your secrets behind it because I've been sort of struggling with animations in HaxeFlixel -- it just feel a bit more tedious than in Flash.

Anyhow, I must confess that the controls felt a bit awkward. Having to move with WASD and use SPACE as jump key just didn't feel comfortable. You should made W the jump as an option as well :) Other than that, I felt the game was a bit too simplistic, like there was no real challenge to it or the enemies, so I'd love to see an update or a sequel of some sort that carries over the sweet artstyle and animations and incorporates a bit more to the game :)

catproX responds:

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I did the character design and animation for the game. I used procreate to do all of the art assets, Tiled map editor for the map, and Texture Packer to create spritesheets.

Agree regarding the keyboard controls. It was orginally designed for an X-box style controller. Also agree about the levels and the boss encounter. It was my first step into HaxeFlixel and kept it simple. I'm doing a bit of "research" now on making a better platform level, hopefully this will translate in a more enjoyable (challenging) level.

[Reboot Resume Restore]

Loved level 5, that was so creative and fun! What's the soundtrack? :)

HartfordGames responds:

You can find the link to the soundtrack/creator on the credits & info window below the game.

[Heartship]

Fun concept and nice graphics, but the difficulty can seem a bit unfair at times due to its RNG nature.

I had to check the tutorial on my 3rd try because I couldn't seem to understand how to beat some of the later enemies. That splitting took me by surprise as I accidentally discovered it, but that was a gamechanger as it defined the whole game -- nice work!

Still, the RNG nature of the enemies reminds me of the roguelike genre, which this is probably aiming to be? There are some "undocumented" techniques that you have to self-discover like how it's imperative to split in half and then use the gun to propel yourself to the other trigger when you're on a level that requires two triggers to be activated to knock out the enemies' shields, otherwise you'll definitely lose a health bar or two. Such an essential technique should've been in the tutorial as I almost always lost a life when splitting in half and slowly running towards the other trigger, meaning the aforementioned technique is a must to beat those floors.

Another nitpick I have is the angle of the gun. When you switch sides (left to right, or vice versa), the gun is positioned so that you won't have a full circle effect on your bullet (kinda hard to explain), but that's a bit jarring and makes the shooting a bit harder and more prone to error.

Otherwise, a solid game that I'll probably beat one day, as even the "easy" mode is pretty difficult, haha. I'm sure this will place on top 5 or something :)

HealliesGames responds:

I take all responsibility for not putting the tutorial mandatory. My bad.
Yes the genre is rogue-lite, and I took inspiration from the progenitors of the genre itself.

The random difficulty is the element that characterizes the games, but I can assure you that any combination that come out is absolutely feasible.
Some more difficult, some easier, but beatable.

I thought it would be nice to find out the technique of pressing the buttons yourself, because in the easy difficulty the speed of the enemies allow you to press the buttons without using the "gun technique" (only if done quickly though).

In normal and hard no.
But then again, obviously for me it is simple. I will definitely add it in the tutorial.

Thank you for your time and review Prid-Outing, as well as for encouragement. :)

[Drones]

Great job on your submission, it's very solid! :D

The visuals look undoubtedly stellar and have a nice retro feel to them. I love the pixelated 3D drone, the soundtrack, and the look of the game. Absolutely amazing work!

As for the gameplay, I have to admit that the learning curve is a bit too steep at the beginning, as the game goes pretty quickly from 0 to 100 in difficulty. In one moment there're no supply drones nearby, and in the next you're being bombarded by all types of unknown enemies when you're trying to drop supplies. To be honest, I didn't quite understand how to drop the supplies until my 3rd try at the game (I kept diving into the drop zones, haha).

The controls feel smooth but the drone can be a bit hard to maneuver when there are dozens of enemies around you, each with their unique moveset that you have to learn the hard way. When you die, you have to spend your money or it will perish in the next round, and that is a really weird gameplay choice tbh, as learning the game took quite some time and I couldn't accumulate money as fast at start, so every penny counted.

The upgrades themselves don't provide that much aid in hunting down drones and dropping supplies, because the enemies are still pretty hard to avoid and get around, so the incentive to earn money and upgrade kinda gets lost, or so I personally felt. Adding turrets that help you, dash/boost mechanism to better avoid enemies, getting better control of your drone, etc. are all upgrades I'd love to see in a future update to make the gameplay easier as well :)

I eventually managed to understand the enemies and get hang of the controls and the "meta" of the game -- mostly because I switched from using a laptop touchpad to an actual mouse, haha -- and suddenly I'm good at the game. However, it got boring pretty quickly as I couldn't really feel the effects or aid of the upgrades, so the motivation to continue was sadly gone.

With that said, it's an impressive start at a fun game with an incredible look and feel, and I hope to see some more updates in the future :)

filipp8 responds:

Thank you for enjoying the game.
It was released for a game jam, so it is not complete and sometimes unbalanced.
I plan to update it regularly in the future.
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Edit
I added explosions and some other things like ingame hints.
I plan to add more content. Would you like to play it again?

[Quarantine]

it's like you took a deep dive into my soul and exposed it all for the world to see in this realistically creepy game :( I hate growing up and losing my fantasy and creative mind, and drowning in thoughts is really destructive. Well made!

GabeMalk responds:

Glad you could connect with the game, hope it provided you not only with sadness, but a bit of compassion too.

[Ghost House]

Nice game, was kind of fun to play, especially considering this is for a game jam :) Level 3 is soo difficult though xD Just when I thought the worst was over after taking out the spider's nest, there was another nest I had go through through a secret tunnel and that got me :( I'm assuming it was the last level since you probably wanted it to be difficult to complete. Good job :)

GoKritz responds:

nope! 10 levels and a boss fight. glad you enjoyed it :)

[CRAVEN]

I wasn't expecting much, but dang, that was CREEPY as heck ;O You really nailed the whole eerie atmosphere and setting, as it made me creep out x) Good job!

Koobazaur responds:

Thanks! I was pleasantly surprised people dug the dark-grim atmosphere. It was part of the experiment - I wasn't sure if it will translate from my vision or put people off. People also liked my second game's aesthetic. Glad it worked :)