Super Meat Gaiden Z
Theme:
The balancing of the attacks was a common use in many of the jams but this was done very well!
Visuals:
This game looked RADDD! The 80/90's stylized city landscape with great parallax effect and brilliant use of particle effects really kept the eyes happy! The visuals had some slight inconsistency issues though since the main character was super details while the environment looked almost like cardboard cutouts, and the enemies were pixelated. I feel like time was the main issue here though because there was a lot in this game, so I can accept the compromise on some of the lesser important areas of this. The UI looked a little basic and out of place as well. And for the walkable platforms, it would have been nice to have something signify what was traversable. Like neon bloom on the objects, or some type of outline to distinguish the scenery from the platforms. The attack animations, especially the melee was fantastic! Very anime/dragon ball z-esque.
Innovation:
A well structured platformer. The main gimmick for this game was the balancing of your attacks, which honestly was cheesable by just spamming left and right mouse click alternatively. So the balancing act was completely removed. I later changed tactics to try the "intended" way of play and it made the game more fun and challenging. Maybe a cool down on the attacks would help with this.
Sounds/Music:
The game implemented juicy sound effects and a decent track of music. This was just a solid category. Nothing really lacked, but at the same time, nothing was extraordinary here. Still, keeping the volume up while playing this game will not get irritating or repetitive, which is a huge bonus!
Overall:
If you like ninja gaiden from the retro age, super meat boy, and anime like dragon ball z, then you will be pleased with this game. A very strong platformer that has some nice difficulty, appealing visuals, and balanced gameplay (as long as you don't cheese the game). This is a worth while try, and I think this should be further expanded upon. Add a story, make the art styles more consistent, polish the audio up a little more and you could have a heck of a game here!
I streamed it here, starts at 1:08:00.