Alright, I'm wanting to do a thing. From now on, every week, I'll be reviewing some levels (two? three?) I find in the portal, and try to give them a really in depth review, and a score out of 20.
I was wanting to make a new topic for that but this thread already exists so it'd be kind of useless.
Let's start.
The Bridge
KARYETE
Gameplay: 8/10It's really interesting how you could implement a linear design in an LL level and make it really fun. Lovely challenges, New Super Mario Bros. style, that are really intuitive and make me actually pay attention to the design instead of just going forward and killing enemies (hi me.) Clever sections that wouldn't make me bored easily, even though I have to point out I couldn't quite reach some Big/Super/Grand/whateveradjectiveyou'dliketoinserthere Squares because they were a little too high. Fix that and it should be pretty fine. I should also say that, even if I like the structure a lot (refer to the Design section), I don't really get why did you call that amount of platforms and pillars a "bridge". I still would like it more if you changed the title or something like that.
Overall, I can easily tell it's a level from Karyete, due to the linear but fun platforming and the little touch of creativity you add to your levels. But, maybe you should try to risk a little bit more, and try new things with the design so it doesn't stay quite linear yet fun.
Design: 4/5You sure designed the level well, good sir. Simple but beautiful. The background and the snowing effect also remembered me of that way-too-good project I started but scrapped down ;-; . Overall, I liked it a lot, save for some elements I completely disagreed with (what's with those wall things in front of the wooden platforms??? Get them out of there they're bothering me and my Gameplay). I'm also really appreciating that whole temple motif you're been using in all your levels in general, with all those broken pillars, vines and unstable platforms, and those sure is a nice touch, but hey wasn't that supposed to be an actual bridge level? As far as I could see, you tried to focus less on the Bridge design thing and more on the Sky Temple themed thing, but eh, maybe it's better this way. There wasn't any wow factor but I don't think it was really necessary anyway.
Overall, the design was super decent and minimal, and bonus points for that.
Miscellaneous: 3.25/5+0.25: Yay for super mega hard challenge
OVERALL: 15.25/20
The Mountainside
WORLDSIXTHOCEAN
Gameplay: 5/10A good designer knows how to make the Gameplay difficult without having to add way too much elements for the player to interact with. You can't just throw lots and lots of enemies over the player and expect him to fight them all, when the point is actually to walk forward in a linear environment.
The part that bugged me off most was the Cave part. How do you expect me to fight hundreds of knights while in a fast moving platforming, having to avoid all the obstacles and the ice falling over me at the same time? Nonsense. Another thing that I didn't like was the excessive use of background tiles and items (I'll talk in detail about this in the Design section, but it affected Gameplay as well so I might consider it). They really confused me about places that I should or shouldn't go, and I eventually kept falling off the platforms for stupid reasons.
Also, the city. Instead of actually taking a look at it and talking to the folks there, maybe even buying things from them, you make it a quick and bland experience, expecting me to just enter the cave as soon as possible without actually having to explore around a bit. This is something you could've probably worked better.
Looking from the bright side, though, there were lots and lots of good things I liked, gameplay-wise. At least there was variety, and you kept walking and fighting with enemies in a fast-paced area, without keeping me bored, and I really appreciate that. The trigger usage was also amazing (congratulations for the New Super Mario Bros. Moving Ice Platforms that appeared out of nowhere in the cave section, they were superb) and the boss fight was, to the very least, interesting.
I wanted to give you a higher score in this section because of your effort, but there are some stuff that kind of ruined the entire thing. Also sorry for the huge text.
This sounds really familiar... Design: 3/5When I said the environment was really messy, I mean it. Plants, tiles, buildings everywhere, making the design confusing, and really hard to bear with. I appreciate the amount of detail you put into things, but that's maybe too much.
Otherwise, congrats for the solid work. I don't have anything else to say here.
Miscellaneous: 3.5/5+0.5: Interesting use of triggers.
OVERALL: 11.5/20
So yeah, I think that's it for today. Expect more reviews to come next week.
And don't worry Triple J, I'm going to give you lots of feedback. Just be patient. : )Also, as JJJ already said, you can suggest some levels for me and other people to review! I'll be sure to check them out.
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