AlkalinePineapples's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Queen Boat]

Educational and uncompromising in its presentation.

Additionally, what I like about this story is that it could've just been about the titular Queen Boat incident and leave it at that, but it doesn't. It instead also includes a personal story about finding real, satisfying love from someone who doesn't simply view you as a sex toy, because being queer doesn't make you immune to being a bad partner. Unfortunately, what separates this story from others about finding true love is that our protagonist doesn't get a happy ending, because it has been arbitrarily decided that people like him don't deserve one. This all serves to highlight that the queer community is just as human as everyone else, with flaws and wants of their own, and how unfairly they are treated.

I was going to nitpick that this game isn't really a game, just a story where certain texts can be read in a different order, but I guess the whole point-and-click thing allows you to put yourself in the protagonist's shoes more easily than if this was just a written work.

Overall, pretty solid!

[Dot Dodger]

Perhaps the dot could start off with a little more speed, as the beginning is incredibly uneventful, and it takes a while before dodging becomes a challenge.
Multiple Dot Mode isn't that much more exciting either, it's incredibly easy to herd all the dots into becoming a singular, more manageable dot.
Also, you should probably mention how to activate Multiple Dot Mode somewhere, unless you intended on keeping it a secret.

[Interactive Art Gallery]

boing boing

deliriousgoth responds:

boing boing

[Pearto's Big Adventure]

The screenshake can get a little excessive, but all in all we are pear.

[Pitching]

It's a little difficult to tell how long a meter is supposed to be in this game, so the gameplay is mostly guesswork, but I'm assuming that's intended.

Pretty fun, nonetheless!

[The Gubbler in the Baubled Bubbler]

I feel like the water shooting animation goes on for a little too long.
Plus, a simple score counter would be nice.

Jowain responds:

Yes, I agree with both of these things. I hope you can forgive me for trying to bring the Gubbler to the people as soon as possible

[We live in a Bubble]

I understand that only having 24 hours to work with is a heavily limiting factor, but this was still quite a lackluster experience.

Instead of having the game be a series of levels, you probably could've made this be one of those games with infinite spawning enemies you have to dodge. Have a small grace period at the beginning to familiarize the player with the unusual movement system, then ramp up the spawn rate over time.

Plus, by having the game be one level instead of several ones you proceed through by taking damage, it makes it less obvious that getting hit is the end goal, not a mistake.

Considering that you're working with an interactive medium, the least you could do is let the player do all the cool, important bits. Instead of taking away all control for an unnecessarily long cutscene (I feel like it could've easily been half as long), have them continue to try and dodge enemies, with no bubble to protect them, expecting the worst for the inevitable next hit.

Then they do get hit, and that's when they realize that they're invincible, and the bubble was limiting them the whole time! Having the player realize this themselves helps to hammer the point home.

As a bonus, maybe during that final scene, touching some of the black hearts reveals them to also be colourful ones, representing the good friends and lifelong partners you would've missed if you stayed in your bubble and cut yourself off from the outside world.

Several paragraphs seems like a lot, but I feel like everything I said above could've easily been achieved in 24 hours.

amidos2006 responds:

Thanks a lot, love your feedback. I wish I had the time and the idea at the time when working but I was running the game jam and taking care of two dogs which made it less than 24 hours technically.

Thanks again for your feedback :)

[Toxicology]

A pretty fun and challenging game, although I feel like there needs to be some consistent way of gaining a little bit of health, otherwise your ability to get the upgrades you need to keep up with the horde is entirely down to RNGesus deciding whether or not to make the zombies drop food.

[Weekend at Mario's]

A fun and unusual experience.
Although the cooldown felt a bit too long. I understand that it's there to prevent players from making Mario "fly", but it often results in me having to wait on the ground with nothing to do. Maybe make the cooldown timer deplete faster when touching the floor or something?

[Eternal]

A short and neat game.
Although the Dash upgrade is a little useless. Your rapid fire gun is more than capable of deleting any bullets in your path, so dodging isn't that important, and as a traversal tool, it's only slightly faster than walking.
Plus I would've liked a little more enemy variety. Maybe have the diamond-shaped guys appear in more rooms instead of just the Dash boss room.

Yanchii responds:

Thanks for the feedback! I appreciate it. :)