"how do i freakin play"
-originalpheonix
"Try to press Play button, then New game button, then read the instructions"
Response by Moonmana
Okay. This is probably the most important issue of the game to review. Your "instructions" fade over a period of time. If I were starting this game and distracted by something else I wouldn't know what to do if I turned back and found no instructions. If you were smart you'd let them remain until the player shows acknowledgement that he understands. Like moving the mirror first for instance.
To be honest this game's mood is suppose to be relaxing, but it just feels tedious. It's this repetitive "move stuff around" mechanic where the time to complete the game is prolonged by the inaccuracy of the particles and the imprecision of objects moved by the player.
The need to have items so delicately and precisely placed makes this game a hassle, especially when the object placement still seems ineffective to a point where it takes a whole minute for a ball to fill. The pace is too time consuming and with the tedious nature of the game all relaxation becomes null and void. It is disputable how relaxing a game is especially when you get these pointless medals asking players to beat a tedious level within a certain amount of time or "clicks".
All this aside another matter is how elegant the background is, but how inappropriate the objects interact with it. Some objects either blend into the background (like a mirror) while others seem absurdly contrasting with the game's theme (particle changer's design). You can't even tell the difference between the particle absorbents you can move and the ones you can't; which furthers the exercise of moving your mouse around in a tedious manner looking for stuff you may or may not be able to move.
All that said, I don't think the theme flows well with the actual game mechanics. Some stuff is spot on, such as repetitive music and particle colors fading, but playing field just kills the mood.
To make matters worse every time you beat a level there seems to always be another one. And when you think you've got the game down you get another ridiculous fading tutorial message that teaches you YET ANOTHER game mechanic. There's no sign you are making good progress unless you actually look at the level selection screen and realize "Oh there's less than sixty, only twenty levels remain till I bash my head on a wall."
Probably the best metaphor yet is this game is watching paint dry. This is what I said after my mouse begged me for the sweet release of death.
So my recommendations would be to make small errors more forgiving and less tedious. That could be worked out with smaller obstacles or faster particle speed and longer particle duration so the scatter can be easier to work with. I'd rework the theme, though I must admit I'm stumped on how to do this. Maybe something like a solid black background and making the items more bright and intensive in their contrast. I would use a looped track with more variety and such. Get like a track that has very unique and differing sections that stay in a similar theme, but attempts to keep players focused and awake. And I'd implement more mechanics earlier so that the game doesn't feel like one giant tutorial. Also remove tedious mechanics like the gravity changer or the "click to flow" nonsense, it breaks game flow.
Aside from this I have to ask why you decided to extend the original game with this Unlimited edition, and I'm interested in how you developed the game's physics. Was it difficult? Were there any ideas you weren't able to implement this time around? How long did development take?
I hope you can measure my review's worth by words, not stars, and I'll be doing the same if you are kind enough to respond.