Latest Reviews
Zambrini
For: I Wanna Defeat the Discord Makers: FM Side
[0] Likes
For: I Wanna Defeat the Discord Makers: FM Side
[0] Likes
Rating: 7.4 74
Difficulty: 65 65
Apr 26, 2022
CanusAntonius
For: I Wanna be the AIW
For: I Wanna be the AIW
A pretty solid game that I think accomplished what it sets out to do, it very much feels like Tethys-Like Needle and all the aspects that come with it, and in my eyes is actually better.
One thing that I think sticks out to me from both games is the randomness of everything going on, blocks and spikes just go places, and then you make a path for the player later on. There's an entire sense of madness that I think holds a specific atmosphere to it. This game does have some uncomfortable jumps, but I think it's done in a way that mimics some of the inspiration, I very much think most Tethys-Likes have similar jumps as well. There are always weird sixteen pixels, drops, leaps across the room, some creepy F-jump where you're right under the block, this game feels to be adhering to the source extremely well by including all of these.
I also feel the need to mention that this has the best sprite work of any fangame like it, both stages have animated tiles and spikes, and neither ever get distracting or obnoxious. They also appropriately help set the mood of the game with their mystifying feel, and alongside the backgrounds, they feel like a perfect match. I do wish though that during the second stage the background was a bit brighter so I could see what it was, but that's not too big a deal. I will mention though that the exclusion of a spotlight would probably be best for any future works similar to this, as I think the visuals and music are all that a game like this needs to create mood, trust in them and you'll realize the atmosphere is already good enough to not need a simple gimmick like that. Finally, the music also sounds good for what it is, it felt strange and made me uncomfortable, and did so without sounding like a 100 Halloween Songs soundtrack.
Overall, I think this has platforming that's better than Tethys, and some of the best visuals possible, so I definitely recommend it. If the spotlight was yeeted, I think it would be pretty damn good.
[2] Likes
One thing that I think sticks out to me from both games is the randomness of everything going on, blocks and spikes just go places, and then you make a path for the player later on. There's an entire sense of madness that I think holds a specific atmosphere to it. This game does have some uncomfortable jumps, but I think it's done in a way that mimics some of the inspiration, I very much think most Tethys-Likes have similar jumps as well. There are always weird sixteen pixels, drops, leaps across the room, some creepy F-jump where you're right under the block, this game feels to be adhering to the source extremely well by including all of these.
I also feel the need to mention that this has the best sprite work of any fangame like it, both stages have animated tiles and spikes, and neither ever get distracting or obnoxious. They also appropriately help set the mood of the game with their mystifying feel, and alongside the backgrounds, they feel like a perfect match. I do wish though that during the second stage the background was a bit brighter so I could see what it was, but that's not too big a deal. I will mention though that the exclusion of a spotlight would probably be best for any future works similar to this, as I think the visuals and music are all that a game like this needs to create mood, trust in them and you'll realize the atmosphere is already good enough to not need a simple gimmick like that. Finally, the music also sounds good for what it is, it felt strange and made me uncomfortable, and did so without sounding like a 100 Halloween Songs soundtrack.
Overall, I think this has platforming that's better than Tethys, and some of the best visuals possible, so I definitely recommend it. If the spotlight was yeeted, I think it would be pretty damn good.
Rating: 7.5 75
Difficulty: 60 60
Apr 26, 2022
Gizmo
For: I Wanna be the AIW
For: I Wanna be the AIW
I am not familiar with dopamine needle (or needle styles at all) so I cannot comment on how well the game tries to imitate that style. However, the needle is still good, but as others have already said, the precision required for jumps varies wildly. Some are long jumps/drops, others are 16px squeezes. Saves are short (at least in Easy mode) so losing to these precise jumps was fortunately not too punishing, but still a little annoying at times. I particularly had frustration where you start the save surrounded by 8 cherries, but this could just be player rust on my part.
The visuals and music were quite good, however I feel that using a spotlight was a peculiar choice. The intention was probably to add some moodiness to the atmosphere, but personally I felt that the aesthetics would have been more impactful without the spotlight. More importantly, there were several drop jumps that essentially required the player to go in blind because you can't see all the way down from the top -- again, since the saves are short, it's not too bad here, but may be something to watch out for in future development.
Overall I think this is a solid first game with great aesthetics, but maybe needs some work on balancing. Being a jtool map compilation, this game feels like an exploration of ideas at times, as the creator is getting their feet wet, but again: for a first game, there's nothing wrong with that. I look forward to what phgQED will release in the future.
[2] Likes
The visuals and music were quite good, however I feel that using a spotlight was a peculiar choice. The intention was probably to add some moodiness to the atmosphere, but personally I felt that the aesthetics would have been more impactful without the spotlight. More importantly, there were several drop jumps that essentially required the player to go in blind because you can't see all the way down from the top -- again, since the saves are short, it's not too bad here, but may be something to watch out for in future development.
Overall I think this is a solid first game with great aesthetics, but maybe needs some work on balancing. Being a jtool map compilation, this game feels like an exploration of ideas at times, as the creator is getting their feet wet, but again: for a first game, there's nothing wrong with that. I look forward to what phgQED will release in the future.
Rating: 7.5 75
Difficulty: 50 50
Apr 26, 2022
shign
For: I Wanna Go To The Otherside
For: I Wanna Go To The Otherside
Very good needleventure game with a focus on triggers and moving shits. Needle is the very strong point of the game, I really liked the first 3 stages despite usually not liking moving killers. Stage 4 is very different, also quite good even if a bit more flawed. Bosses however, are very whatever/mediocre, I particualry disliked the bee one because it really felt RNG dependent.
[0] Likes
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 60 60
Apr 26, 2022
shign
For: I Wanna be the AIW
For: I Wanna be the AIW
Review based on easy mode, I have no idea if it's the intended difficulty.
Decent game with a strong emphasis on visuals. Gameplay is kinda ok with a few bruh jumps here and there, nothing outstanding but nothing too annoying (except one that is totally stupid). The spotlight effect looks cool but it sometimes hide where you need to land which can be very annoying.
[2] Likes
Decent game with a strong emphasis on visuals. Gameplay is kinda ok with a few bruh jumps here and there, nothing outstanding but nothing too annoying (except one that is totally stupid). The spotlight effect looks cool but it sometimes hide where you need to land which can be very annoying.
Rating: 6.7 67
Difficulty: 55 55
Apr 26, 2022
Cutiefruity
For: I Wanna Maker
For: I Wanna Maker
this game has inspired more people to be evil than any other in the community
[1] Like
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: N/A
Apr 26, 2022
Kilgour22
For: I wanna walk through solstice
For: I wanna walk through solstice
Solstice is pretty decent. Starting from maybe 50 difficulty platforming and ending at 65-70, there's a fair amount of vanilla, if somewhat creative, needle.
The biggest problem with the game is the prehistoric engine. It's terrible, from poor collision detection (creating an inordinate amount of 16-pixel landings that shouldn't exist) to that awful 1-frame movement bug on respawn. It makes the game harder and more unpleasant than it ought to be, which is a shame. On a good engine, I would drop the difficulty by a few points and probably give it a 6.5-7.0 rating; however, I can't be lenient, not in this day and age of high-quality engines to choose from.
In light of the bad engine, I don't think I can recommend people play through the game—unless you're truly desperate for some fairly challenging, yet still reasonable, needle. It's pretty short, at least.
Cleartime and deaths: 21:00, 332
The biggest problem with the game is the prehistoric engine. It's terrible, from poor collision detection (creating an inordinate amount of 16-pixel landings that shouldn't exist) to that awful 1-frame movement bug on respawn. It makes the game harder and more unpleasant than it ought to be, which is a shame. On a good engine, I would drop the difficulty by a few points and probably give it a 6.5-7.0 rating; however, I can't be lenient, not in this day and age of high-quality engines to choose from.
In light of the bad engine, I don't think I can recommend people play through the game—unless you're truly desperate for some fairly challenging, yet still reasonable, needle. It's pretty short, at least.
Cleartime and deaths: 21:00, 332
Tagged as: Needle
[3] Likes
Rating: 5.0 50
Difficulty: 65 65
Apr 26, 2022