Recent reviews by sp1nz

I've played some grappling hook games and this one has the most fun movement so far. Don't let the simple premise and simple objects fool you because they very much work if you're into games where gameplay is king and you enjoy mastering high skill ceiling movement or just want to swing around for fun. Runs smooth, supports replays and has a good amount of settings to fiddle with too.

Rotund Takeoff is a competent precision autohopping platformer for speedrunners and masochists alike. You basically just move left or right and the rotund bunny (Chubbit) jumps a certain height automatically based on the block type it lands on. There are also some extra gimmicks as you progress, like float zones and enemies with predetermined pathing. The game is easy to learn but hard to master, especially if you are going for the elusive flag time thresholds (you can see the next time target by pressing up 3 times in the results screen).

The levels are spread across 5 worlds in the lively overworld map; 7 in each are basic reach the goal endeavors, 1 is a boss fight, 1 is an optional world speedrun that includes the 7 levels + boss in it and 1 is a bonus collectathon level (the bonus level is switched with a dastardly but short precision level in the 5th world though). So there are 50 challenges you can conquer in the game, some being mandatory and some optional. The level designs are mostly fun and varied but there are a few stinkers in the mix too. Also some general design choices are questionable, like the spiky balls having a variable hitbox with their spinning animation. Still enough of the game is a blast to play and the audiovisual department really brings it to life, making it an easy recommendation for the target audience.

Listener-san approved brainwashing.

Awesome Pea 2 fixes the biggest problems I had with the first installment: you can now jump after running off edges and the level design is way better. There is some devolution though as the game doesn't have a launcher with graphics or control settings this time around and in-game settings don't offer control rebinding either - also with no external programs the game defaults to analog stick for controller movement. The graphics are different but not better or worse, that is to say they're again clean Game Boy-esque graphics. The music is again an assortment of pretty good chiptunes. While the challenge is more fairly and interestingly designed in the second game you're still left wishing for more obstacle variety or new game mechanics over the course of the game since it's a re-tread of the obstacles and mechanics from the first game. My suggestion is to skip the first game and play this one, if you are interested in either. All in all it's a decent platformer to be sure but it also doesn't evolve its own formula enough to warrant a high score. 6/10 from me.

Awesome Pea is a wholly mediocre platformer with a couple of fatal flaws in the mix. You can't jump after running off an edge and the vertical cave levels are sucky with their seemingly RNG vertical bullet spawns. The level design is also way too samey in the long run and you've basically experienced the whole game after you've seen each of the tilesets once. There are no checkpoints either (not a problem for me but good to mention), so if you are going for all treasures you will notice that the longer vertical cave levels are triply annoying compared to anything else. On a positive note the graphics looked clean and the chiptunes were pretty good. The game won't offer much for platforming veterans but if you dig the Game Boy aesthetic or are looking for a basic platformer to tide you over for an hour or two you might like it. 4/10 from me.

Take my review with a grain of salt, I didn't spend that much time in the game. Even though I'm giving the game a thumbs up, it's not getting it with flying colors. Think of it as a 6/10 from me.

Novel idea but has many problems, some of which might just rise from my lack of understanding for it:

-Very confusing game at the start and it's not good at teaching how it works. Would greatly benefit from an interactive tutorial.

-The game wants you to keep track of the past but this kind of time traveling is not really geared for long term clarity, through its user interface or otherwise. You'll have to zoom out and drag around, and if you manage to get a long game going it's only increasingly bothersome to navigate and to keep track of. On the other hand it might be easy or exciting for those who can play multiple chess games simultaneously. This is largely dependent on usual match complexity and length, which I can't anticipate.

-I beat the weak A.I. on my first try without even understanding the game and I'm by no means a master at chess (I mostly play vs. A.I. level 3-4 on lichess and rarely win against level 4), and I beat strong balanced A.I. 2 times in like 5 attempts. I didn't even use or know how to use the time travel at this point. All of the games I won without me using time travel resulted in 1-2 timelines. After knowing how to time travel I beat strong aggressive A.I. on my only attempt against it, that game had 3 timelines. So if you are looking for challenging A.I., this is not it - I feel like it would be hard for me to lose to the A.I. going forward.

-I don't understand the time travel logic, why certain pieces can or can't go back in time on certain turns, how their valid destination squares are chosen etc. Also how does it make sense that a bishop can change it's square colors in the past?

-Puzzles seemed easy but I only did the first 4, which were rook ones. The puzzles only go as far as mate-in-three from looking at the list however - probably hard or impossible to make longer mating patterns that can be forced in this style of chess.

-Who knows if the game has userbase for PvP in short or long term and there is no time control, matchmaking rating or names shown in public matches; so matches could take a very long time in some positions, be against wildly random skill levels and be impersonal (this last one is probably for the better). Multiplayer feels like the main purpose of this game though.

Still it has some highlights to it and it could be your cup of tea:

-I did one multiplayer match and I have to admit it put a smile to my face, we both used time travel and the game evolved into a 5 timeline match but then he couldn't find a move for a good 5 minutes and I'm not sure if he even had one that could save him, so he left. I imagine it will be hard to get a balanced match with randoms due to the complexity of the mechanics. My match felt kind of balanced but it didn't play its full course.

-You'll likely have your best time in private matches to be honest, if you have friends who are interested in the game's concept and know something about chess.

So it definitely doesn't seem like a great game for single player purposes and it's most likely very imbalanced for multiplayer purposes but the multiplayer will likely be its main appeal for anyone who wants to spend time with it. Feels like people are taken in by the gimmick and not seeing the big picture, while being in awe of their confusion. It's really like any chess variant, exciting to jump in but the novelty can wear off quick. The game has potential and it will please a certain type of a person but I have quite mixed feelings about it. However I imagine getting to understand the mechanics better and having dedicated playing partners would make this a solid puzzle PvP experience.

Fun snack of a dark comedy / social commentary that has a great taste in setting its mood through quirky writing, bomb a$$ music and crude yet stylish art. Reminds me of the old days of random PC indie downloadables and it has some of that genius spark that games like LISA and Undertale inhabit. The achilles heel of the game is in the combat; it does a good job of adding variety to the game but it is kind of a one note endeavor. The core style of the combat is interesting but it could use more enemy types, player/enemy moves and level design to elevate it. I hope this project won't be left alone and gets realized into a full game - will definitely buy it, if it does.

Pros:
-Awesome chiptune music.
-Minimalistic monochromatic art design works okay.

Cons:
-Keyboard controls have acceleration/deceleration time, while controller analog stick has instant(?) max speed and stop.
-Sprint button needs to be re-pressed after deaths and starting to hold it while not touching ground won't activate it either.
-Plagued by boring cycle based level design - levels don't even start you on a good cycle often.
-Very few different obstacle types throughout the game and very repetitive use of them.
-Many levels change to harder versions of themselves when you reach the goal - novel idea but leads to recycled level design.
-Levels 41-50 are suddenly new short tutorial levels near the end of the game - weird choice.

Only consider this game on a heavy sale, if you want some flawed short-lived pain.

Very well designed grapple-platformer with a great engine and emphasis on speedrunning.

You have your left and right movement buttons with 3 actions buttons; grapple (fixed 45 degree angle), jump and dash. The level designs are varied and will force you to learn all the ins and outs of your skill set; you can double jump, reel yourself towards the grapple location with or without dash, run/dash/jump on water when you have enough speed and/or good landing angle - these are just some examples of the diversity you can expect from your abilities.

The movement and physics are top notch and the game often revolves around skillfully maintaining your momentum. Difficulty curve is great but also steep towards the end and while you can take most levels at your own pace with added checkpoints there are some levels that force you to go fast or are short and technical without checkpoints. Decent platforming skill and/or determination is definitely required to finish the game but improving your times is in a sense the meat and potatoes of this game.

Speaking of speedrunning there are level/chapter speedrun/global leaderboards, replay ghosts, input display, replay playback speed options, speedometer, minimap, speedrun mode for full chapters and the game has robust gameplay options, some of which were mentioned in the previous list. Nothing to complain in the audiovisual department either; all around crisp and good stuff. The game also has a competent level editor, so custom levels are a thing you can sink your teeth in as a designer and/or a player.

All in all I'm honestly in love with this game, 40h spent in one week and blistered thumbs to show for it.

Even if the game wasn't riddled with technical problems or wasn't falsely advertised it would still be a bore of a game in its current state. Clunky inventory system, lack of interesting goals, massive in scope but feels soulless and empty, gathering materials and traveling is a chore etc. Not sure what I was expecting but the game would be way better with only a handful of planets that were crafted with love and purpose. Now it's just travelling from generic sphere 35935 to generic sphere 25836 and wondering what is the purpose of anything - maybe that's what the reality of space exploration is but it sure is dull. Clearly not a game for everyone and especially not for me, but if it was priced at 19.99€~ with no technical shortcomings or false pretenses, then I'd be more willing to give it a pass but now it's just an overpriced and badly handled mess.