Hello. I played your game. The difficulty and story are very good. As mentioned in other reviews, SE and BGM are essential for this game. Also, if you set up a gimmick that uses a little head, this game will be able to entertain the player even more. Good luck!
Author Comments
IMPORTANT:
Please read the controls as they include mechanics vital to completing later levels on harder difficulties.
Controls:
- A and D to move left and right
- Space to jump
- Release space early to do a shorter jump
- Falling off a platform without jumping allows you to do one jump in midair
Itch.io link: https://flop21.itch.io/dont-miander
Latest patch notes: Available on Itch.io
"Your name is Mia, you just came to in a dilapidated basement and see next to you a box with a shipping label addressed to a "Miander Manor". You have yet to hear of such a place and the spelling makes you skeptical it even exists. All you know is you need to get out.
Now hurry and make your way to the surface, and whatever you do, Don't meander!"
Created for the Untitled Game Jam #45
Please keep in mind this is my first game, feedback is GREATLY appreciated
Programming by @Flopson21 (myself)
Art by @Sp0onfulls
flop21 responds:
Thanks for the review, im still unsure how to go about bgm due to my dislike for using stock music but im sure ill find a solution. As for the head gimmick im unsure what you mean. If you could message me to explain further it would be quite appreciated.
Fun game! Initially I saw how easy this game was, but then when I saw the glitchy effect I knew something changed. Great idea, tho I feel like Mia is very slippery...it would've been more cooler if all the surfaces were ice and the glitched surfaces were lava or something, idk it's still a cool game I liked playing it :D
flop21 responds:
Thanks for the review! We plan to release a patch later today that will address multiple issues including slipperiness.
Holy crap, Mia moves like she's high on everything! The eyes sell it, too
flop21 responds:
Tbh I cant tell if thats a good or bad thing, but hey thanks at least for the rating
*NOTE TO PLAYERS - This game requires more than 1 playthrough*
** SPOILERS below **
Ok, First off this is a deceptively clever little game. It's almost too clever, because I almost gave this a lower rated, and moved on. However, I was pleasantly surprised I didn't.
CONTROLS - There is something a bit off about the player hitbox or the platform hitboxes. Either the player has a rounded bottom edge, or the platforms do, but I kept sliding off platforms that I seemed to be successfully on. Which made some frustrating jumps later on.
STORY - We pretty see 3 characters in the game, but we get no information about what is going on, or how the characters are related or what's going on. There could be a bit more depth of the story, since there aren't necessarily "enemies" we really need more information about the plot to help drive the story and player. I'd recommend this game is well suited for giving us plot text, as we progress through-out the game.
FRICTION - Friction needs minor adjustment, this or hitboxes aren't square, but either way when i'm landing at a slight angle, It feels like i'm sliding a bit too much, and given the precision you're demanding at the later stages, this needs addresses. Its not a huge issue, but could use minor tweak.
GRAPHICS - For me personally the backgrounds are way too busy. I get that they are setting the mood that this is an old mansion or something, but you could reduce the contrast of them a bit or add in just a hair more detail. It works as a simple platformer, but there's a lot of room for refinement and just a bit more variety in all of the platform and background sprites.
CONTROLS - Also let "W" be jump.
FIRST Ending, I think the "changes" that happen to the menu at the end of the first playthrough are not quite enough, maybe "PLAY" only happens to first start the game, and after that it's replaced with something else like "CONTINUE" or "KEEP TRYING" I'm just suggesting to make it a little more obvious the game isn't just over and reset, because, there are games that do actually glitch after you've beat them once.
SOUND - I didn't notice any BGM or SFX, these could be good triggers, like your initial menu music after the 1st playthrough becomes slightly distorted and so forth. They add a lot to the music, your game would essentially want 3 versions of whatever music you get, each being slightly more distorted to reflect the current game conditions.
Overall it's a fun and challenging game. At first it was so easy that I just kind of laughed wondering why you could even bother to jump in mid-air, BUT, I quickly realized this game is pretty deceptive, and has some very difficult challenges. It could use a lot of polish and more variety in block sprites, and just a lot more story, but I like it, and look forward to more!
flop21 responds:
Thanks for the feedback! The two portraits at the end are spoonfulls (left) and myself (right). As this game was created for a jam i chose to focus on core gameplay opposed to story elements and left story to a spinoff of sorts (which i intend to be the main entry in the series) which i am currently developing. I didnt have access to custom music within the timeframe and im not a big fan of using preexisting royalty free music so i opted to go audioless. I'm going to explore new collider shapes since you were right in saying the bottom is rounded. I have a lot of feedback from this release and I intend to release a patch in the coming days that fixes various gameplay issues and helps the player realize there is ng+ content.
Hmmm nice work.
I think you nailed a consistent visual tone of "spooky mansion", and kept with in a consistent color pallet.
I do feel the jumps are a little too high, like there is no visual narritve cue that makes the high jump feel natural, but a single screen of exposition explaining some kind of ability or training would help.
Also the jumps are too forgiving at times, like the first long hall puzzle where you can hop back up mid track is kind, but if your going to test player's skill, commit to making the struggle real.
I liked the mid aid jump if you fall off a platform, and I honestly think that make for a very interesting mechanic in the right setting.
I know this is from a jam but the lack sound or music was a detractor, so I recommend checking out this music resource:
https://www.newgrounds.com/wiki/creator-resources/music-and-audio-resources/royalty-free-music
Overall, I like the design, the name is clever, and I hope to see more from you.
Thank you for making this.
Edit:Follow up PMed
flop21 responds:
Thanks for the feedback, I need to do more thinking on the high jump issue but id like to ask if you quit after reaching the end once or continued when the main menu became glitchy. I ask this because the game is very forgiving in the first run but becomes VERY difficult in the last of three runs.