Alright Taile Gamougg 4 by John_Shrekinson
Where do I begin…
The Artstyle:
So I’m not really sure what to exactly think of this. I saw that some objects used a very similar layout as the default blocks and everything is really inconsistent. I do like how each level is almost like it’s own world, but I have no idea what’s going on half the time.
The Title right off the bat was super hard to follow. It was a massive amalgamation of inconsistent text and I couldn’t even tell what the title of the game actually was. The blocks almost seem to be randomly placed everywhere and some of the levels seem very challenging to even get past.
I do give props how there are a lot of different blocks with their own unique sprites, but sadly I couldn’t hardly tell what anything was.
The characters looked interesting enough, that classic Gamougg design, but the game seriously needs attention to animations. I know you refuse to add them because whether you don’t feel like animating or because that’s just a rule. The game almost seems frozen in frame and seems very bland without the use of animations to give anything life.
Another issue was the water stage where I couldn’t even tell what was a background object or the actual floor and I kept dying because of it. If you have background objects, make is similar to the solid ones, but make them slightly darker or way more distinguishable.
I’m gonna rate this a 5/10 on Art. A good start and the game does feature a lot of different characters and a huge variety of enemies and blocks, but it looks like multiple art styles thrown together at some parts and it’s hard to even tell what the level layouts are.
Gameplay/story:
So the gameplay is pretty poor in design. It’s a classic platformer, but there’s not much enjoyment in it. The level layouts almost seem at random and the mechanics are super poor and make the game way more difficult than it should be.
There is a unique story that follows most of the game, but usually when I play story-based games, I want to be able to follow the story easily and get to know characters better, etc. The story was pretty random and nothing really made sense. It almost seemed like it was composed of meme prompts. There were a few good moments, but some of the dialogue didn’t seem quite natural and definitely sounds scripted, when going for dialogue you want it to sound natural and easy to understand as if you were actually engaging in a regular conversation yourself.
I noticed at the beginning you play as Gamougg talking to Pro and he immediately asks about his parents. This was a bit random and I felt that you need to maybe show a simple cutscene where they talk to each other and maybe explain a bit more and get warmed up on that topic. With the amount of story you have and the amount of text you need, it can be hard to pull off with a large story based game like this. I would recommend adding more gameplay in between and have cutscenes between scene changes or character interactions that seem more realistic than simple statements on the basic plot.
The story itself wasn’t hard to follow, but the amount of tips was insane. I know someone probably already said this before, but almost every key on the keyboard does something and for a relatively short game (for a story game) it was almost impossible to know what key did what and it was already overwelming. I know you have many other Gamougg games that probably explain events leading up to this, but if you plan to make an entire separate game, you need a story that can be easy to follow for that specific game instead of needing to play all of the games to get it. Like Star Wars. You can watch just about any movie (Except the new ones) and they each have their own plot, new characters, and outline that differ from the others. Which makes each one unique. You don’t want to make multiple games of a series and they are basically just chapters of a larger story.
The gameplay itself was pretty bland and was quite difficult since enemies would attack while was in the middle of a dialogue scene or reading a tip on what key did what.
For Gameplay and Story I give a 5/10 as well. I would rate much lower, but with a decent story and plotline that most games generally lack, it makes up for the gameplay.
The Mechanics…
I kind of dread writing this portion since there is so much that needs work. The game feels very…
broken.
First off the NPC’s. I liked the following example at the beginning of Pro followed Gamougg, but when you change into Pro, the original Pro following you is still there and looks kind of weird.
Also the enemies are horrendous. They fly around at insane speeds (some of them) and throw random projectiles. Plus they jump whenever you jump which doesn’t make much sense so the game is almost like Superhot in a way. The enemies need a better system where they can jump and start chasing the player without the player’s action. I would even recommend having proximity detection so they don’t immediately go agro on you when you just load in.
The movement is pretty simple and the jump can be easily abused, especially in the water stage. I would recommend switching over to a second set of controls that allow swimming in water to be more fluid instead of spam jumping to get through the level. Even the houses had objects that can be used to launch yourself to the roof for the next floor. Same for the ladders. None of it feels right at all.
The bumper car (that’s what it looks like) doesn’t even float across the expansion you have to go through. I have no idea what makes it go up and theres a hundred keys it could be tagged on. Same with the motorcycle. I had to skip every level that required a vehicle to fly over a gap because it would sink when i tried riding it. Which made the game more of a chore to play than enjoyable.
There’s literally too much to explain what doesn’t feel right and I don’t even think I have enough time to suggest how to fix them all.
The game does it’s job, for the most part, and you know the mere basic of enemies approaching you, but it feels sloppy. To start, I would recommend working on the controls of the player since the jumping is way to broken for semisolid platforms and the running is alright for the most part, but it could be smoother a little bit.
The keyboard and attacks is suffer. half the time, none of them work and I have to refresh the level. Plus the attacks are way too simple. Like a simple sword slash emit. I like the idea of weapons attaching to the player when they are equipped, but the emitted projectiles only fire in the direction you were last facing instead of where the curser is pointed. You have to run away from enemies and look back at them to shoot for the projectiles to even fire in their direction.
From what I’ve seen, the enemies all need some work. Basic raycasts to detect blocks and allow enemies to jump on their own instead of by the players jump. You have a strong foundation, but you’re building a stick hut. You need to work on the visual aspects and gameplay for the game to feel more fun than a chore. Some people might enjoy playing variety of games such as this, but for me, I really didn’t enjoy any of the gameplay. There were interesting moments I did like, but for the most part the game does need some work.
For the mechanics I have to give a 3/10, mostly because theres a lot of stuff that seem almost broken such as the vehicles, enemies, and movements. I don’t want to give any less since there were some features that weren’t necessarily the most easiest to make and I know a majority of this took some serious time, but a lot of it was pretty simple and at some points, It looked like it was just put into the game for the sake of cutting time. I know once you update the mechanics of the game, the gameplay will feel solid and very enjoyable to play the game just for the controls, not even the story, which would be a plus to the game.
You didn’t apply for difficulty, which I’m not sure if I should apply it or not since the game wasn’t exactly difficult, but I felt like you are kind of cheated on some levels such as enemies chasing you when you are still in dialogue or reading a large paragraph tips on the massive amounts of controls. Since this wasn’t necessarily asked for, I won’t count it on the final grade.
And the theme, which is a sub group of Artstyle and story, I would probably give a solid 3/5 on it. Mostly because you did have a pretty unique story and a very unique story. Although it doesn’t feel serious like it acts and the game feels more like a meme than a game. Which I’m sure it was implied to have some comedy, but it was to the point where the game was far from realism. This mostly reflects on the story and overall idea of the game and I recommend making the game feel more natural, mostly with dialogue and a story that’s easy to follow and makes some sense instead of complete random.
Your final grade is:
4.6/10 (F)
The game has great potential and I can definitely see it becoming its own series one day, but the game itself lacks good mechanics. The art was reduced by the amount of objects and art styles that overwhelms the player to a very high extent.
Another thing I would recommend is the title. Personally I always want my title and menu to be very simplistic, but unique enough so when people hear the name or see the outline they immediately know the game. The title was a huge thing I noticed since it was a collision of many, many different things all at once and it almost felt like I was reading a novel (not one to talk) just for the menu. You could have a recap that shows a credits like page/level that could explain to the player where the story last left off and other information needed before the game.
The Story and gameplay could use some work as well. Like I stated above, as a story based game, I’m gonna mostly pick on the story than most other details. The story is unique and unlike any other I’ve seen, but I do recommend keeping the plot somewhat realistic. You can always make fictional plots, but the story was a bit goofy and adds to the poor comedy of the game.
The mechanics was probably the biggest flaw on the game. There is so much that could use some work and even the level layouts need some work.
And that’s sums it all up. I don’t like comparing games on flowlab to triple A games out there cause that’s an unfair comparison, but I do compare it to games that are on flowlab and from my own experience. I can’t exactly say we all have the same advantages on flowlab, since some users just have way more time than others and have spent years on here and are way better than most, but that was their commitment. There’s nothing you holding you back and even stepping outside the Gamougg series (and maybe add animations) you can grow as a developer. From the few gamougg games I have played, it almost feels like its the same thing every time except its always a continuity of the previous game in the series.
This may be a harsh review, but my honest opinion of the game isn’t to put you down, but to help you learn from your current progress and build off of it. I mentioned that you have a strong foundation but you’re building a stick hut, mostly meaning you have a great thing going, but the game itself still needs work to become that immovable mansion you dreamed about.
Sometimes making a dream into a reality can be difficult, but with enough practice, I believe you can make a serious thing about this series. If you ever have any questions on how to improve a specific feature in your game, feel free to ask. I will help with the best of my abilities and this will go for anyone. Sadly life has had a good hold for a while now and I may not have the time to help, but I will whenever I do get the moment to.
I wish you luck on your journey and I can’t wait to see what your progress leads to.