Ramshackle Reviews [Suspended]

Yup, I’m doing it again. I haven’t seen any review threads on the forums lately and figured now was the perfect time to bring it back!
your game will be rated out of /10
pixel art ?/10
style ?/10
how well the game fits the style ?/10
gameplay ?/10
enjoyment ?/10
difficulty ?/10
story ?/10 (if necessary)
music ?/10
Title ?/10
Originality ?/10
Game feel ?/10
Creativity ?/10
Overall ?/10

and I will give you extra suggestions at the end of the review

The highest rated game will be featured on the title of the thread at all times until it is passed over, or something drastically changes (probably not going to happen)

demos will be rated out of /5

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I want the first review from Ramshackle Reviews part 2!

This one’s for a game jam, I started it last Tuesday I think it was. It doesn’t have a name yet, I’m very much open to suggestions in that area.

Sorry if there are any bugs, I was working on it earlier and because of recent events, some progress may have been lost.

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I’ll get on that as soon as I can, expect a review from mid to late tomorrow (Unless I can somehow get it out today)

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Well you can review this game demo:

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That’s fine, honestly, I wasn’t expecting it for a few days so take your time.

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Great! I’ll get on that as soon as I finish Abstracts.

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I remember when you opened your review channel under the name seamothmaster. Dang, that brings back memories. :upside_down_face:

I am working on a few secret projects that I will definitely share here when I am done. So get ready for my return… :smiling_imp:

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Same here, the good ol’ days when I didn’t know what a switch was. Love looking back at how much I’ve matured at coding.

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Super ballers is still a buggy mess so can you please rate it based on the fact that it is old and basically a rusty machine. Please only play the mode in the bottom left since it works. Flowlab Game Creator - Super Ballers

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We don’t talk about that username.

Can do, would you like me to use the demo rating system (out of /5) @Galactian?

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No, since I don’t update it anymore, unless something is game breaking. Please remember that the game is made for mostly gameplay and the art is slightly a joke.

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Abstract galleries untitled project review:

Art 5/10: Pretty impressive! The main character is a pretty basic human outline, but the main monster is the real intrigue. The teeth and eyes do a good job of being a fun monster while also posing a legitimate threat. the only problem that I see is the monsters eyes. They’re the only sprite in the game with color which can feel a bit out of place. with the use of dark and light grey with a little bit of white I think they can look just as good without sticking out as much. (also that trash can sprite is satisfying and I’m not sure why)

How well the game fits the art style 7/10: This is where your sprite work really comes in handy, they all fit the infa runner/tower drop very well! It gives me cactus jump (the dinosaur game) vibes while also maintaining what makes this game different. Very creative!

Gameplay 2/10: This isn’t actually a low score for the type of game you’re making here, it’s a really basic concept that follows with basic controls and overall basic gameplay. Not much you can improve upon except maybe adding some new game modes to keep the player busy.

Enjoyment: 4/10: you do what you can with the infa runner and tower drop but overall it isn’t the type of game that’s going to get sued because the parent can’t get their child to stop playing the game because they were so addicted (Yes, that has actually happened). But it is fun, that’s all I can describe it as. Fun but flawed

difficulty

Game mode 1 3/10: relatively easy depending on the generation. Overall the same as cactus run. It starts off pretty easy and gets a little harder as you go on. But the difficulty spike isn’t as present here. The only complaint I have is that the trash can is a little bulky with a weird collision area

Game mode 2 4/10: About the same things as I said for the 1st one except that it’s a little bit harder.

Story 0.0005/10: at the beginning it shows some potential for a cool story or some lore, but as of right now all there is to find is that we’re being chased by an unknown monster (or alien?
Screenshot 2022-02-08 10.27.15 PM)

Sound design 3/10: pretty basic, all flowlab made tracks from what I can tell. Not a bad thing, but could be better. A death sound would be much appreciated

Title 0/10: a title is one of the most important pieces of a game and its identity. Right now you don’t have one, but it’s something you need to find. It’s usually something that relates to the gameplay or the lore (it can also be a mix of both) I’d say you should think of something to do with this monster of yours.

Originality 7.5/10: for flowlab this is very rare, I don’t see many games of this genre being made here. I have a soft spot for this type of game. You went back to the basics and made it work. It shows that you understand game development. Not every game has to be the next big thing, and you understood that and used your time to instead make a fun well thought out game!

Game feel 5/10: the atmosphere is plain, but in a good way. It feels barren and empty, without hope, no one here is going to save you. It feels good like the rest of the game, but it isn’t great.

Creativity 2/10: This is a style I don’t see much on flowlab, and I think you recognized that. Although it’s a cool game the only raw creativity I see here is the freedom you took designing the monster. It’s a good game, but little things like these are whats holding it back from becoming a great game.

Overall 3.38/10: This is a really cool game, there are a lot of things holding it down, but if you address everything I talked about here the rating should easily go up. And hey don’t sweat it, these are purposely harsh. The only way you get a 10/10 is by absolutely working your butt off. But honestly great job Abstract, and I’d love to see where you take this project!

Reward: The ramshackle badge of approval


(credit to huckleberry for the sprite)

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Oh, wow! Thanks that was fast! I agree with most of the things you mentioned.

I think some of the flowlab tech issues earlier affected some of the game because I had death sounds and other sprites for the obstacles for G1.

I plan to continue to develop this game and to take your advice in most of the areas you touched on. I’m very proud of this game because I was able to figure out mechanics that I never attempted on my own in less than a week, and I’m happy with the rating I got.

Maybe after a few weeks/months of development, I’ll reenter this project for a second review.

Thanks, @Ramshackle!

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@DeadlyGumChewer In the Dark: Playtime world demo

With enabled demo rating so it is /5 instead of /10 for an incomplete game

Art 4/5: I was genuinely surprised by the art in this game! It’s a pretty cool style with smooth animations, the sprites are basic while also having quite a bit of detail, and they don’t overdo it. Seriously nice job, because this is shaping up to be a pretty cool game!
Screenshot 2022-02-08 11.04.20 PM

How well the game fits the style 2.3/5: It fits very well, but the animations are really what stick out. That first death I encountered vs the first monster got a genuine reaction out of me. It honestly felt refreshing. Obviously not everything is perfect, there are too many different pixel sizes, and some of the sprites feel a little stretched out, but overall its the animations that truly bring out the good you’ve got in this game.
Screenshot 2022-02-08 11.04.08 PM

Gameplay 2/5: its pretty basic you can move up down left and right. You move reallllly slowly. I’m not sure if this is a gameplay gimmick to increase difficulty, force you to use boxes to protect yourself or if it’s just a random decision.
Screenshot 2022-02-08 11.04.33 PM
Screenshot 2022-02-08 11.04.45 PM
Screenshot 2022-02-08 11.16.06 PM

Enjoyment 1/5: right now the game is cool to experience which is why I gave you the 1, but it isn’t really “fun” at this point. The gameplay just feels plain. The most fun I had was using boxes to push the monster around. The ai is hopelessly stupid at this point, and it won’t kill you unless you run into it yourself.
Screenshot 2022-02-08 11.12.53 PM

Difficulty 0/5: there is currently no difficulty present, its hilariously easy
Screenshot 2022-02-08 11.14.18 PM

Story 1.7/5: there is obviously a story present, but no definitive way to experience it in all its glory just yet

Sound design 3/5: Pretty good! I hear quite a bit of new tracks and sounds quite a bit. The monsters excessive heavy breathing can be a little annoying after a while though :laughing:

title 1.5/5: In the dark sounds like a really cool name, but with the added “playtime world” it feels a bit tacked on. In the dark: playtime sounds pretty cool, but as of right now there isn’t much playtime setting going on

Originality 4/5: for flowlab I’ve seen a few horror game be attempted, but none quite like this one. It genuinely feels different than most other ones I’ve seen.

Game Feel 0.6/5: there isn’t much of a feel to it yet, a little bit of an ambiance but not totally fleshed out.

Creativity 3.6/5: as I said in originality this game does feel new. And i especially love the monster design. I remember back in one of your old threads some people were talking about the similarities between this game and fnaf security breach. I’m not a big fnaf player, but so far I haven’t noticed any similarities in the game world itself. It does really feel new.

Overall score 2.15/5: this is looking really promising! Keep going because you have something special here it could just use some work. Really look into those suggestions because I really think you got something, and with some effort this can become something really awesome. Great job @DeadlyGumChewer!

Reward: The ramshackle badge of approval


(credit to huckleberry for the sprite)

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Here was a game I submitted for the flowjam.

It currently has three endings and sadly I literally worked on this game straight till midnight of the day due so I didn’t get much play testing done. I already know the gameplay score will be quite low since it’s just a basic exploration and find items type game, but I eventually plan on updating it sometime.

Anyway I hope I can get some pretty good feedback for future updates.

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Sounds good! I’ll get that and @Galactian’s done probably tomorrow. Maybe I can squeeze galactians into today, but I’d have to finish it pretty quickly

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Sounds promising, I love a game with purpose so this sounds great! Gameplay isn’t everything y’know!

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@Galactian review for Super Ballers

Art 1/10: Backgrounds are large overlapping pixel blocks, the title screen has 3 of the same button with sloppily written words over them to tell you what they are. the main characters are basic flowlab squares. The most advanced sprite is the basketball which is also pretty low

how well the game fits the style 3/10: it does fit, but the basic sprites and lazily written title screen really take away from the points in here

Gameplay 4/10: it handles well enough, you can jump double jump and move left/right. It works, but can get boring after a little while


enjoyment 2/10: The fun is there, but it really doesn’t last. I had fun for all of 3 goals then I started to get bored and move to the next game mode. I’d suggest tweaking the jump height a little bit

difficulty:

Guns 7/10: the ball…no matter how hard I try it won’t go into the freaking basket…now my strategy is to just defend until the timer runs out

Normal game 3/10: relatively easy now that I can grab the ball, the ai goes crazy jumping all over the place sometimes lol

story 0/10: None present

Sound design 4/10: pretty basic tunes, but they fit. Not much else I can say about it, but that logo drop scared me bad lol

title 5/10: it’s fine, not very meaningful, but that’s what the game is so I’ll give it a 5 to be fair

originality 3/10: ive seen quite a few games like this on flowlab, most notably @MetaNinja’ pixel sports. But you did have a few new things in there…like guns

Game feel 1/10: this is really where the game is lacking. It just feels plain. I don’t feel happy when I win, in fact I feel nothing at all. I have nothing to look forward to when I open the game

Creativity 2/10: you had some funny ideas, but didn’t really take the time to fully flesh them out. The guns mode for example


but I guess it is kinda funny to point a glock at a cube with a basketball

Overall 2.5/10: I’m not saying this is a bad game, trust me i’ve seen bad games. I just feel like it would be a lot better with more time and effort. I’ve played your other games before and you are talented and could easily raise the score with a little time.

Reward: The ramshackle badge of approval


(credit to huckleberry for the sprite)

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Btw it feels a lot better when you win a heated game against the master bot after a 10 point comeback in 30 seconds.

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Ha! I’m sure it does

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