Played and beat the first. This game is definitely an improvement, not to say that the first game was bad, but this one definitely created a desire in me to see a third installment! Fantastic job! 5/5.
Reviews for "Wilt: Last Blossom"
Fun game; reminded me of Metroid a bit. Although it was too short but I'm still giving it 5 stars.
Nicely done. I like the retro art and music style. I think at least the last boss could be a bit harder, but otherwise I loved it.
Great game.
Storyboard is catchy and actually fun.
I also was surprised as subject X appeared and I mistakened it for someone else.
The only thing disturbing is that the end really sucks - you actually could've gotten deeper into theplot of how to get a cure for the "virus" or that Lilie and her dad now live with those other dudes underground.
I liked the gameplay really much, also as you begin with nothing and justgain a lot of experience and moves.(which actually should be normal in a game)
Oh - and you did great with the retrostyle.
Only thing that might be missing are the lack of medals the player gets.
Otherwise, the game is grand!
Keep up the good work!
I wrote a review for Wilt: Exordium that illustrated all the issues I had with that game.
Those no longer exist. This game shows high degrees of polish on the programming front and a tight narrative (for NG anyway). The music was great and fitting, the drama was appropriate, bosses were creative and fun (unlike the one from Exordium) and just...so much went right in this rendition.
The art is beautiful, from the trees to even the blocks. The weather effects were a welcome surprise, and the opening sequence, with the light focusing on him, and then "8-bit skull" appearing as you exited, gave the game wonderful, welcoming feel despite the dreary setting and depressing feel that permeated afterward.
I'm giving 5 stars because this is on the boundary of a game I'd be willing to pay money for, and it's length is fantastic as well as its polish. I do have two main issues:
-Faces: the people's individual faces were really...ugly. Their staring, dead eyes somehow didn't fit even with your theme, because your theme isn't people without hope waiting to die - it's people clinging onto the last vestiges of it. And I dunno, the faces turned me off a lot from everything else, just because of that look. Gaunt is fine, gritty is fine, but I still need to relate to them. I don't know if facial expressions like in JRPGs would help, or just better faces. I didn't find the daughter endearing or the father...anything, because the facial designs didn't really indicate that thought went into the character from at least that angle of the game.
-Length: your game is long, and that's a turn off for lots of people. Even if it seems cheesy, sectioning your game into "Chapters" is an effective way of assuring the player that YES, they are making progress, not just trudging through a dark tunnel with no end in sight. Breaking up gameplay with cutscenes and dialogue is also a must as games get longer, and most of the dialogue in the game was very bland. When you make something this long, variance is important to keep energy up, and contrasting a lighter cutscene with some difficult gameplay is useful. Even chapters with titles can make the player use a different part of the brain a bit. Chapter Three: Hook, Line, and Sinker makes the player pause and consider what that might mean, before delving back into the game with renewed energy.
But again, my quibbles are getting more semantic because this truly is a gem of a game. Go 8 bit skull! :D
Asvegren responds:
Thanks for this review, and thanks for the one you left for Exordium. Feedback is truly invaluable and I believe this showed in Last Blossom. I am glad that you got the opportunity to see how your feedback affected an end product! Thanks for the help.