Decent Metroidvania for the most part. Initial backtracking is irritating, but later on the level design is fine. The end is rather anticlimactic: here I am waiting for the king to test my worthiness in a grand final boss battle and he just...doesn't?
Reviews for "The Power"
Just finished the game and thought I'd share my insights:
THE GOOD STUFF
1) Overall the game was fun, you can't really go wrong with Metroid mechanics, I enjoyed running back and forth, gaining new abilities that took me to new places.
2) The graphics bothered me at first, but at some point I got used to them and started enjoying them. The good thing about that style is that I always knew exactly what I'm looking at, I didn't have to guess what's in front of me due to conflicting colors and poor drawing skills.
3) Even though there wasn't a wide selection of music, it was enjoyable and didn't get annoying at some point.
THE BAD STUFF
1) What bothered me the most was the bosses. The worm spewing one was a nice idea, but it seems that the others were just shoot nonstop and try to survive long enough for X number of bullets to hit the enemy. I kept hoping to see something different, or at least a typical boss that requires a different technique to survive his shots. Having said that, the final ninjas that are supposed to be the greatest battle are just a test of endurance and patience.
2) The power ups were mostly pointless. The one that pulls you up was nice for a moment but was rarely needed, also the fact that once you shoot it you can't stop the process made it less useful. The missiles didn't feel powerful enough to feel like they're worth using, and also since all strong enemies kept jumping around I'd rarely hit them with those. The worst were the mines that except for opening some paths in the beginning, they were completely useless both for combat and progress.
3) Other little things that could've been better but are less critical: whenever you collect an upgrade or save the game, you waste a few seconds waiting for the box to close instead of closing it with space; considering the length of the game the map felt too small, I pretty quickly felt too familiar with it. Had the game been shorter it would've been alright; like other people said, the hit area was too large.
Overall I enjoyed the game, even though the bad stuff list is longer. The fact I started yesterday and came back today to continue proves it. I'd love to see a sequel because it seems you're in the right direction, it would be great to see another game with the required improvements and perhaps a bit better storytelling and monologues.
amidos2006 responds:
Thanks that's great feedback :)
It's a nice metroidlike, and was fun up until the second set of ninja guys. I couldn't cope with the 40 damage a hit while facing 2 of them even though i had all the pickups.
well, is good but hard
I would love to see a sequel where you get the ultimate power but need to charge it up to get more weapons and powers <3