Okay, good game except for a couple of things. Make some of the enemies easier to kill, make sutre that enemies don't come out from the edges and get a free hit and please, in the second stage, don't make the evil blocks activate their electricity all the time, not only is it frustrating, it's actually very visually jarring and I have to pause to rub my eyes
Reviews for "Hardventure Into The Duat"
Morbidware responds:
Hi! Good point with enemies coming out from the edges, I'm going to fix it!
The control scheme is really weird, I don't really get how it works. Every time I try to move just a little bit I end up bouncing around in the air for like three seconds. There seem to be a bunch of different game mechanics at work, and it was hard to try to read them all. Don't get me wrong, I love manuals, but I think what would be better is if mechanics were introduced during play.
Also, the game froze when I died. At least, I think I died; it's hard to figure out what's going on in the game.
Superb
~Graphics~
The graphics in this game are absolutely phenomenal. Everything stands out from the other objects in the game, so the player will never have to worry about a stupid death due to blending environments. The fluidity of the movements and the easily identifiable damaging surfaces further add to the game-enhancing visual stimulus. I cannot think of a single way that the graphics in this game could be improved. 10/10
~Gameplay/Controls~
The gameplay in this title is top-notch. The idea is simple, but the harsh environmental hazards and minor mistakes that the player can make when dealing with quick, rapid-fire movement switches make the gameplay interesting and fresh. This game is proof that a game can be captivating and, at times, enamouring despite a guise of simplicity. The controls are responsive and not once during my play did I ever feel like I was punished due to a defective control scheme. Upon death, the player also has to option to revive once per game, but must sacrifice all of his money to do so. This works well when the player is still upgrading various attributes, but once everything desired has been bought it essentially becomes a free extra life. This could be intentional, but it feels kind of out-of-place with the rest of the game screaming "hardcore roguelike". Now, onto the upgrade system. Once a player dies he may choose to spend collected gold on upgrades divided into three shops. The "Hero" upgrades are simple, straightforward upgrades that directly enhance the abilities of the playable character. The "A.O.D" shop is filled with upgrades to a potion-esque substance that will randomly float onto the screen during the gameplay. The upgrades follow a logical pattern and get better with each purchase. The last shop, the "World Shop' shop is filled with effect-purchases that the player can find at the beginning of some levels. These effects are placed inside a bird vase and are completely randomized, allowing the player to see what effect is inside only after opening it. This final shop/upgrade system is completely broken. The player can purchase these in order he wishes, allowing for a player who purchases only the "Key of Life" upgrade to possibly have a greater chance of succeeding than someone who has purchased everything. While the rate at which the vases holding these effects show up increases as more effects are bought, the increase in likelihood to get an effect that is basically worthless more than offsets this. A player should not have a better chance of winning by selectively purchasing some upgrades than by purchasing everything. Either the entire system needs to be reworked or the player should be able to "turn off" the possibility for self-selected effects to appear. With that out of the way, I feel as though the brilliance in design for the rest of the game can win some points back from this horribly imbalanced system. 7.75/10
~Audio~
The soundtrack for this is absolutely great and fitting. Throughout my play of the game, I never once felt as though the music got repetitive. The sounds that occur from various interactions through the game make logical sense and aren't grating on the ears. It's a little disappointing that the sound for damage is the same for all sources though, as it makes determining the source of some hits a challenge. I'm not an audiophile though, so take my stance on this with a grain of salt. 9/10
~Overall~
The game is absolutely fantastic in nearly every respect. Aside from the questionable upgrade system and disappointing lack of sound variety for the damage received there's not a whole lot to be said that won't be included in the "extra" section. It's rare for me to change my opinion so drastically on a game from initial player, but this title managed to achieve this. I thought that this would be another mind-numbingly boring game, but it's pride in its difficulty and unique design decisions manged to set it apart as a stand-out title. The pros can more than makeup for the cons and as such, I just can't feel justified giving it anything lower than a 9. 9/10
~Extra~
Anything said here will have no effect on the review score, and will be discussing various areas ranging from medals to little things in the game. The highscore system in the game appears to be glitched. I had a run with well over 1 million points on the counter, but the "run points" tally at the end only showed around 16k. It's a little disappointing, but I only got that high while doing my (failed) attempt at a 100-hit combo. Also, in its current state the "untouchable" achievement is basically impossible unless the player can get incredibly lucky. There are far too many fire obstacles in the late-game to avoid taking damage. This might be fixable by allowing the player to select only the "shamrock" effect, depending on the frequency that it would appear. Other than that, fantastic job, Morbidware. This is a great game, and I will definitely keep trying to beat the game on hard mode. I hope you take what I have said into consideration, and keep up the great work. Please forgive me for any missed words/ and/or spelling/grammatical errors as I'm a little tired and don't exactly feel like proof-reading this entire thing :P.
-WonderTheHedgehog
Morbidware responds:
Hi there, I'm truly amazed, you made one hell of a deep analysis, can't thank you enough.
Love.
Awesome graphics and interesting mechanics, but even after buying everything from the shop, I can't finish medium mode. I think you made it too hard, I mean, I should be almost "invincible" with all the upgrades bought, and it's not what I see.
its too hard