Nice game, great Zelda like feel to it, somewhat buggy movement here and there causing lot's of do-overs. Also I'm stuck have every golden thingy (pressume seed) but the guy in the house just keeps saying it's waiting. really don't know where to go anymore and only need to defeat the owl. but every location is done already and can't go back to the beginning dungeon because it's blocked by the purple thingy.
Reviews for "Seedling"
great game but i have some bugs to report unless they are part of the game in wich case you are nuts.
in a chest piece that was next to water i picked it and then fall into the water so it dint make the register of the piece also when i revisited the lava dungeon searching for more pieces there was a boulder blocking my way and there was no other way out so im stuck other than that it was a great game so far but it sucks that i have to start over cuz of that
The game was good, with some slight issues as others have said, like loose controls on making some platforming sections more difficult.
SPOLIERS
My main complaint is that I realized about halfway in where the story was headed, but I don't think there was a true pacifist way to complete the game. Can't get the red key without killing the Shieldspire nor can you get to the last chamber without killing the Owl. The first two dungeons also have one room each you have to clear to unlock the door. Other than that, there isn't a reason to kill most of the bosses. They don't give you anything, and you can exit the dungeons after getting chests and items. I killed the first four bosses without realizing i didn't have to, but after I did, I tried to avoid it. I failed though, because once you enter a boss fight, there's no way out, since it reloads you in the fight if you die.
With some minor changes (way to get the red key, change how those two rooms open in the first two dungeons, add a way to just to run past the owl, reload just outside the boss room if you die) one could complete the game without a single kill, but that wouldn't be immediately obvious because Zelda is so ingrained in the player psyche, most people will kill all or most everything before they see they missed a cool way to play and they'll want to play it again.
In all honesty this game has some severe gameplay issues.
In combat, whenever you attack, there's no temporary invulnerability, you can get knocked around and die within the blink of an eye, which is incredibly frustrating. Not that that adds any difficulty, because you instantly respawn wherever you entered the room, removing any fear of death and thus all difficulty.
I also don't think the art style fits the game well, the game looks like a homage to older games like zelda (which it blatantly states in the tags) but those stories never had this much in-game dialog.
A sort of "The Binding of Isaac" style would've fit better in my opinion, but that's completely subjective and the art that's there, is quite visually pleasing, and I also can't complain about the music.
All in all the game had a great story, nice art and great music, but because the gameplay was so unchallenging I felt no reason to keep playing.
4/5
I really enjoyed the game. It's nicely laid out and the levels are very well designed. But themes go beyond coding or level design, making them easily the hardest part about making a game.
Don't get me wrong, the theme get's across fine to me, but it feels forced, without much behind it that would actually give it /meaning/. More dialogue between the watcher and you would be a nice start, and maybe not having all the boss killings be required, or more importantly, in /self-defense/.
But back to the substance of the game, the items and their uses in each level was nicely done, bosses were simple enough to be beaten by everyone, even if some logic is ignored in a couple (tentacle boss, the light. Why would severing the ends of the limbs kill it, and why is "The Light" and aggressive and slow group of ball-shooting bugs?). Seriously though, the one thing that I really dislike was the Watchers judgement on the Seedling being so one-sided. Why not just give him the dumb seed in the very first place, anyways? And of course, killing the giant lava monster throwing rocks at you while you're trapped with him in a room is murder...
Basically, more variability to how the story can go, be sure to maintain logic in the characters' dialogue, and keep up the gameplay design, although badder bosses and more character durability would be appreciated. Thank you for your contribution, and have a nice day.
ConnorUllmann responds:
Well, I wouldn't say that the boss killings are in self-defense--remember, they're "Creatures," not people. You are poking around in the dungeons, actively trying to find them/their items, and that's why you're attacked. As the man in the forest says, "the other seven remain in their place, safely out of our hair!" basically meaning that "we stay where we are supposed to be, and they won't cause us any trouble." You break that and end up killing them as a result, and that's why it's "murder."
As for the Watcher not giving the seed in the first place, he didn't do that because he's supposed to be an "observer." He sometimes does a little bit (like drop the sky rock over the first dungeon), but it's only during extreme circumstances, in this case being that you'd killed a Creature of the Relic. Also, he mentions that he thought this would stop you, but it didn't. At this point, he ends up finally confronting you and, being an observer, this is very much out of character for him.
I'm glad you enjoyed the game, and I hope that sheds a little light on why I had things happen the way they did :)