Hi there! Here's a video of me playing through this entry, and I'm going to release my full opinions of each after the results for the first round have been published. Until then I won't let on my judging score or overall review, but you can still watch my playthrough if you'd like! Cheers. :)
Viewing post in Berry jam comments
I was glad too! Here's my review!
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REVIEW DISCLAIMER
Dear developer! Thank you for making this game :) Here's my disclaimer I'm placing before all my reviews - I appreciate all games, and I consider every creative work a gift from the artist to the audience. The very fact that you made something is worth celebrating! Being a judge of this game, as was stipulated in the rules, I had to play at least up to the first existing hour of every entry and judge the game on that alone - no more than that! If any gamebreaking bugs were found, the game would be disqualified, and I was to judge the game based on the submitted entry by the deadline - without any additional notes. Here is my overall impressions of the game. Again - thanks for creating it! I appreciate every entry, that you gave it your all, and I encourage you to do what you love - if that means making more games, then please do so! Don't let my (admittedly sometimes too brutal) feedback deter you from making future games - I really want you to succeed! Much love, Cash <3
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CASH REVIEWS: "Berry" by ProjectESPider
Immediately, upon playing this game, I had a visceral reaction.
Insects.
A fly passes so close to the screen, its wings fluttering as it zooms close to the camera, that I could practically feel the hairs on the back of my neck stick up. It's safe to say that the first five minutes of this game, I probably visibly *s h i v e r e d* 10-20 times. Something about controlling a daddy long legs spider in this game took me a while to get used to.
This is just a warning to anyone who may be insect-phobic - get ready to squirm a little bit perhaps for the first minute or so.
But the first thing that I noticed once I got over my incredibly skin-crawling reaction to this game filled with creepy-crawlies was that it was incredibly made.
INCREDIBLY, YOU SAY?
Yeah, I said it. Deal! Immediately, upon entering the first screen, you're controlling a spider with pixel movement and platforming that is truly impressive. I can truly say that I don't think I've seen platforming done this well in RPG Maker - period. I haven't played all the sidescrolling/platforming games that I've come by, but the ones I have have featured some platforming that ranges from mildly annoying to frustrating to wanting to stick your head through the nearest door, and to stick that door through the nearest sink incinerator. (Mind the imagery, but you get the point.)
But this platforming - when you jump, it feels right. Dodging bullets like a true bullet hell game, traversing different environments and gaining exciting powers, even though it seems to use the default RPG Maker 2003 RTP graphics (within MZ, of course, obeying the requirements of the game jam), the animations and the mapping and the overall presentation made it truly one of the most gorgeous and reactive games I played.
BUT WHAT'S THE GAMEPLAY LIKE?
Bloody awesome. It plays like some of the best in the genre, truly impressive and balanced, with elevation represented beautifully in the engine, and bosses that are truly fearsome.
BOSSES, YOU SAY?
YES, why do you keep stating the obvious, all capital letters man writing in italics and underscore format! But yes, the bosses were incredibly varied, shooting fireballs and utilising timed mechanics in a smooth fashion.
There are portions where you dodge fireballs, and jumping over them feels like if you die, it's your fault. There was particularly a boss where they swipe after you, and then you have to grab a "web blob" that you will shoot to redirect fireballs towards the blob. This boss is probably the best part of the game. Very hard, and good. They swiped at you in turn, shot big pink blobs, and it was a perfect level of difficulty I felt. I was happy the entire way.
Writhing worms in a swamp areas made me almost want to gag, sadly! But there was some nice story given a civil war was happening of some sorts, and that there was some overall leader that we had to overthrow? I may have misinterpreted the story, but hey, the vibes of the direction were there in some very well-directed scenes.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
It's almost unbelievable the amount of content that is present here, given the jam, and that pretty much all the content is good! A jumping mechanic that is one of the best in the engine, intuitive, smooth, and mind-blowing. I struggle to find any flaws to this game at the moment. The only flaws I may perceive is that perhaps some of the optional challenges may have been too difficult, and I didn't know what the reward would buy me, other than brownie points? But still... that's barely a complaint. I also had quite a bit of trouble with the final boss, but that was also... a good thing? Apart from the visceral reaction I had to controlling a creepy crawly, this is everything I hoped to expect from a game jam like this.
Fantastic, incredible game. Spider-phobic people, beware!... but maybe still play this, anyway? Because it's... that good? XD