TheReviewTrickster's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Little Wheel]

A very fun game to pass the time. The puzzles are very simple and cna be solved easily by just clicking around most of teh time. And I think that's okay. It doesn't need to be challenging, that's nto the point. It's got a lot of charm and is very stylish. The story is fun and cute, so are the robots. I really like the idea ofthe robot city and the fun designs of everything. The minimalist appearance of the style is really cool too, and shows you a different world. The animation is smooth and much more sophisticated than it first seems. I love all the 3D-like stuff and the physics when things roll over. It looks really satisfying. Prime examples would be the fist robot and the train. I really can't fault this game for much, except the puzzles that are a bit unintuitive (though you'll solve them after about a minute anyways) and the music, which is fitting but repetitive. This was a joy to play!

['Arcane Cereal Duel']

Your style is as cute as ever, and you managed to come up with a very interesting idea with a game. It's short but very sweet. Trial and error is crucial here, and you do have to memorize what each thing does, but you also have to think. I almost failed and the hairdryer saved me in the last second. The animated objects are very cute and all of them feel useful, though in the run where I completed it, the scissors pretty much didn't come into play at all. There are definitely multiple ways to win, and I really like that. That's cool game design. However, there are some problems I would like to point out. Once you select animate, there's no ''back'' option, so you can either animate something you didn't want to animate at that moment, or reload the page, because there's also no restart button. The music is pretty cool for a battle while still being fun, but it can get a bit annoying, which is understandable. The game was made for a jam so you probably didn't have much time to make the music. It also keeps playing after you win, which makes the end screen less happy and more intense than it should be. Otherwise, it's a very fun game with a cool mechanic. Keep it up, and, if you can, please fix some of these issues.

Butzbo responds:

Glad you liked it and took the time to try different things!
The scissors act a bit like the "glass cannon" of the bunch, pretty strong but not the safest to use.
Also, good points, I made a quick update adding a 'back' button from the animate selection, didn't consider that at first but it does make sense to have the equivalent of a 'b' button as you navigate the interface.

Thanks for the review!

[Strawberry's Strawful Quebst]

I really like the opening cutscene, especially the ending. This is a classic Clock Day tribute. It's very simple, but I kinda like it that way. The difficulty curve spikes suddenly in F You mode, but that adds to the shock factor. Thank you for the medals, by the way, they're a nice incentive and reward, especially the 100 point ooone. I like how you gave it zero points on the in-game notification, and how your enthusiasm suddenly shifted in that medal. The sound effects also provide a bit of entertainment, especially when you're moving fast. They're diverse enough to be entertaining. Where are they from, if you don't mind me asking? That last difficulty was pretty cool, and it kinda felt satisfying to fill the maze in with the line; thank you for that btw. There was a really long path that turned out to be an elaborate dead end, but otherwise I wish there were more long dead ends like that (there were a couple intersections with those).
Overall, it's a simple Clock Day tribute with a good sense of humor. Happy Clock Day!

PhantomCat responds:

yeah, i was completely checked out by the time it came to animating that. Figured I might as well make it a real cartoon and only take five minutes on it.

the sound effects were all from the newest episode of Game Grumps. it picks one of fifty ≤0.1 second clips from it. There was going to be more but I am a shit

AND YES THANK YOU the mazes are random though, I make my computers work for me

I give your review a 10/10

[Zombie Resurrection]

The art is really cool. I love the darkly comedic backgrounds. Like, the whole thing is so cheerful, and then you see a hanged guy in the foreground. The music adds to that comedic effect, but it can get really repetitive. The gameplay has been done before, but there are still some cool puzzles where you have to think to beat the level. There's also a lot of timing involved. However, there isn't that much variety with the tools and I'm not sure if I took a cheaty alternative way to beat hte final level. Fast forward is really useful since the zombies are very slow. Overall, the game is a fun(ny) way to kill some time with a bit of difficulty. If you had more time, I'm sure it could have been even better. The medals are also nice.

[The Drawing Grounds]

It's very cool that this is actually a multiplayer game. I think it's the onlz onel ike that here on Newgrounds (I know there are others with the API andcontent sharing, but none multiplayer, I don't think. It's quite simple, both in the tools and everything and in the multiplayer aspect, but it's fun! You don't have to share everything publicly, and it's a fun game to play between friends. It even gives you PM text to use. The medals also add a bit of a reward and incentive. I haven't gotten all of them yet, but hopefully I will eventually. It's got an easy-to-use, cool-looking interface. It's also super cool how you can see the artist's drawing progression in various speeds, it's like an insight into their creative process. Also, good job on removing the parts where the person was inactive and adding a skip.
There are, however, a couple things that bother me. I think it should ask for a double-check before you initiate a game with a random user or a recent user. Of course, you can just back out, but it's scary when you start a game with someone you don't know and are playing the game for the first time. Also, I agree with Cyberdevil, it would be nice to save your work so you don't lose your progress whenever you need to go somewhere. And, even if you did lose a drawing, it would be nice if it automatically saved your answer, so the other person would know you've already answered. Also, some sort of point system for time bonuses (though this could be gamed if you exited once you realized what it was and came back in and entered the answer right away. Also, maybe once the time runs out, and it's finished, you lose? That would be bad if someone kept drawing simple things or writing the names since the other person wouldn't be able to guess. I don't know. Maybe a solution could be found for these problems.
Overall though, it's still a fun and pretty unique art game!

[Memory.exe]

The game is interesting and very long for a Ludum Dare game. The concept is interesting and the graphics are nice. There was a lot of exploration, though it got confusing. There were so many different puzzles in so many different places I found myself wandering around a lot. I appreciate that you have to carry over runes and stuff and it's cool how you have to create platforms. I'm actually not sure what the five elements were. I think I just got lucky with that one. I don't know what that thing with some fire, but not too much, was. Was that the spark? I didn't think that would be an actual element, I thought that meant fire. There was also some annoyance with the slidy controls, though if you had more time for this, you probably could have worked that out. I think you ould have explained better that we're supposed to hit signal triggers to finish off puzzles, because I didn't know why those weren't removing the obstacles. I like the end, when the game starts speaking to you, and the ending itself was interesting. Just a memory, huh? Overall I'd say you did good with limited time and made some interesting metroidvania puzzles, though some were a bit confusing.

squidly responds:

Yea that's why I had that message at the beginning saying to take notes :p

The end game puzzle isn't that hard once you've noted all the messages.

[Castle Crashing the Beard]

The art and animation are pretty great, and it's a pretty fun and challenging boss fight, not to mention it stars Tom himself! The concept is really fun, but the patterns are pretty limited, though still entertaining. I like the level-up system, and the hits feel really satisfying, especially when you get stronger and there's tons of numbers flying around and the attacks get cool. The magic is cool and it's nice that The Beard doesn't just charge you and gives you an opportunity to charge your attack. This is also helped by the fact that you can move while charging. The graves are a cool way to add experience points and to make the final Crasher optional. The game isn't too difficult or too easy, it's also pretty fair, the attacks do a lot of damage to you, and you can't spam the enemy. You have to be careful not to get carried away hitting things. One thing I don't like is the fact that you can't stand on the middle platform on the right side to get away from the bottom laser, and if you can, it's an extremely small safe space. The medals add some additional challenges and are a nice reward. The second phase with he skull is a bit boring, to be honest, there's only one move and it's a shooting one. Good thing it usually takes less long to beat Tom's voice lines are also delightful, especially the ones when you die. The music is nice too. Overall, it's a fun challenge that's pretty fair throughout.

[Alien Hominid]

An undeniable classic. The art and animation, just like in Dad 'n Me, is absolutely beautiful. Probably the most entertaining part of the game are all the different enemy death animations. Seriously, there's so much variety. There's headshots, crotch shots, body shots, close-distance slices, splitting bullet shots, fire shots, freak attacks. And they're ALL really well animated. The freak attacks are really good for taking a breather, and I like how they remove bullets underneath you. The backgrounds are really cool too, and the way tou can jump around on them is unique, considering their style. Sometimes the edge detection is stupid, like when you're trying to get the 1UP. It's really annoying because you end up falling off the building and it's hard to judge where the edge is. It's hard enough with the helicopters, which, by the way, are OP, since they can shoot in, like, 8 directions, take a few hits to destroy, and respawn. The game is really difficult, and it's fair for the most part, aside from some things I've already mentioned, and some other things. The bosses are kinda underwhelming, and the final boss isn't entirely fair. There's no invincibility frames when he punches you away, so you can get hit the moment you get up, before you get the chance to jump. Also, the enemies can pretty much instantly shoot you if you're above them on a short byuilding.Also, I managed to cheat him somehow, by firing a bunch of bullets at him in the first phase without him punching me. The second boss is the easiest. It literally stops and waits for you to destroy it. The grenade guy is annoying for 1 simple reason. You can't get past their barricades without jumping on them or doing a freak attack, and the enemies have a habit of standing on the other side until you jump and somehow lure them. Overall, it's a cool game with great death animations and lots of difficulty, mostly fair but some not so much.

[ZS Dead Detective - Murder Case]

Art is cool as always, though there is a bit of a disconnect between the backgrounds and some objects, or between backgrounds themselves. I do like the way you redid the deaduction system in the sense that you no longer have to arrange different combinations of clues for the solution to pop up even htough you've already figured it out. However, I'm used to there being a solution for every possible character being the culprit, so the first time around I gt the wrong thing because I didn't think to check the 'choose another suspect' option because i checked it before and no new options were showing up, and I thought that if I got the right deaductions it would just show up somewhere else on the page. Also, the fact that there were two conclusions, one about the brain, and one about the main culprit, may have confused me a bit. Otherwise, the story is good and makes sense, though the bit about the guy not turning into a zombie because he was already dead when the brain was eaten, was a bit confusing and maybe could have been explained better. Overall, another cool game, with some interesting updates that may need some getting used to.

Muja responds:

Thank you for your very detailed review, much appreciated!

[Dad 'n Me]

It's amazing how a Flash game from 2005 can age better than some AAA titles. The art and especially animations are freaking fantastic!!! It's hard, but fair for the most part. The controls are pretty good, and the gameplay is REALLY fun and satisfying. I know it's mass murder of children, but it's just so cool. Every hit feels like it has weight to it, the rage is great, because it knocks over everyone around you in an explosion of purple flames. The flames following you around is great too and you get so fast! The best thing about the rage is that, unlike some games, it's not borderline impossible to activate, and it can be pretty easy to keep, since the rage itself pumps so much adrenaline through you that it's impossible not to get great combos. Every move and thing you can do feels useful. The amount of environmental kills you can get is huge. There's all sorts of explosions and the cars are great. The fact that most of the enemies can't hurt you under normal circumstances really makes this feel like a Boss Rush-type game and you really remember it as distinct and unique segments. There's so many little details that make this game memorable, like the backgrounds, the fact you can score in both soccer and basketball, the fact things can bounce and hit you or enemies. Even the.music is pretty great. Some parts just aren't fair though. In the part with the ninjas, the guy on the bike thing can only be killed if you picked up the explosive and got yourself hit. If you accidentally wasted it, you ARE going to die. Unless you brought a ball with you. I also feel like throwables, especially explosives, don't do enough to hurt the enemies. The ninjas are so annoying and honestly scare me more than the boss. They're way too fast with the borderline-unavoidable attacks, which also makes them hard to catch. Speaking of, it can be tedious chasing the kids up and down, especially when dashing. It's hard to actually get them when dashing unless they're a boss who comes towards you or you time it perfectly. I appreciate the heal when you reach Sunchips, because the game would be unbeatable without it. Sunchips himself is okay, and has a bit of variety. Overall, rightfully a classic for its awesome gameplay and amazing art, but definitely flawed.