14 Reviews:
Jdx83
Rating includes the hard mode needle that's unlocked after beating the avoidance hitless.
[0] Likes
Rating: 7.8 78
Difficulty: 62 62
Nov 3, 2019
Mrzwanzig
The needle in this game is pretty good, but I haven't got much to say about it, and it's fairly short and simple. The avoidance is very interesting though, featuring several attacks that strike a perfect balance between feeling unique and still being simple enough to be understood immediately. The exception is the second to last attack, which like Wolfi I thought was a bit of a chaotic mess, and is the reason I didn't end up going for the hitless run to unlock the hard mode needle. Overall a great time, definitely recommended.
[0] Likes
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 51 51
Oct 28, 2019
Onynekyu
Review based on normal clear (Needle & Avoidance)
[0] Likes
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 55 55
May 18, 2018
iraqlobster01
Pretty good game. Hope mole makes more games in the future.
Platforming:
Normal platforming is not too difficult; it is around 7 screens long and slowly gets harder as you progress. Most of the platforming consists of unique jumps surrounded by the typical jump you might see in any other needle game. I would say the creator strikes a nice balance between uniqueness and simplicity, which improves the experience and makes the needle more fun to play. Some saves later in the game deviate slightly from the established difficulty curve and the uniqueness of the needle in general declines at times, so I couldn't say it was "perfect" needle. It was pretty damn close.
The hard needle is the same length and uses the same screens but with buffed jumps. Once again, the balance between uniqueness and simplicity is struck well and the increased difficulty offers an additional challenge. The variations in difficulty do stand out more here, which made some saves more frustrating than others, but once again it did not take away any enjoyment I had with the game.
Avoidance:
The avoidance utilizes the infinite jump gimmick and gives you 3 lives (if you want to unlock hard more, clear the avoidance without getting hit) . It is around 3 minutes long (I might be overestimating but I'm too lazy to check again) and is 100 percent RNG. The sophistication seen in the needle transfers itself over to the avoidance, as the creator makes the projectiles do pretty unorthodox things while remaining fair and somewhat easy to read. Additionally, the avoidance does some other unconventional things with some attacks seen later in the fight, as the laser attacks are something I had not seen before playing this. Balancing is a bit off, as the hard attacks are somewhat scattered in the fight. Other than that, good fight.
In terms of the actual attacks, you'll usually be dodging in the middle or edges of the screen. The first few attacks are simple enough to dodge and are easy to get consistent at. The boss slightly picks up around the 1 minute mark with some decently difficult to read curving that comes from the center of the screen. Once that attack ends, the first laser attack (which is in the screenshot above) starts and lasts around 30 seconds. After that, the boss slightly picks up in difficulty with an "K3 earthlike" attack, a bouncing attack, another laser attack (which was the hardest for me due to how fast the lasers shoot, you've gotta be quick if you wanna avoid getting hit), 45 seconds of rng from each angle of the screen, and the final attack. The final attack will probably be the hardest for most players if you don't know where to dodge; I found that the lower left corner was good enough for me. In terms of flaws, the 2nd laser attack was pretty tedious due to how fast the lasers actually shoot. I felt like I had no time to react before I got hit.
Aesthetics:
The game looked great. The graphics were reminiscent of IWST Meltdown and I definitely felt as if I was back playing that game while playing this. Nice unintentional nostalgia. The music picks were also great. No complaints overall.
Wrap-up.
Great game. Make more of them Mole. I really enjoyed this one and hope you do decide to in the future.
moleYo
[0] Likes
Platforming:
Normal platforming is not too difficult; it is around 7 screens long and slowly gets harder as you progress. Most of the platforming consists of unique jumps surrounded by the typical jump you might see in any other needle game. I would say the creator strikes a nice balance between uniqueness and simplicity, which improves the experience and makes the needle more fun to play. Some saves later in the game deviate slightly from the established difficulty curve and the uniqueness of the needle in general declines at times, so I couldn't say it was "perfect" needle. It was pretty damn close.
The hard needle is the same length and uses the same screens but with buffed jumps. Once again, the balance between uniqueness and simplicity is struck well and the increased difficulty offers an additional challenge. The variations in difficulty do stand out more here, which made some saves more frustrating than others, but once again it did not take away any enjoyment I had with the game.
Avoidance:
The avoidance utilizes the infinite jump gimmick and gives you 3 lives (if you want to unlock hard more, clear the avoidance without getting hit) . It is around 3 minutes long (I might be overestimating but I'm too lazy to check again) and is 100 percent RNG. The sophistication seen in the needle transfers itself over to the avoidance, as the creator makes the projectiles do pretty unorthodox things while remaining fair and somewhat easy to read. Additionally, the avoidance does some other unconventional things with some attacks seen later in the fight, as the laser attacks are something I had not seen before playing this. Balancing is a bit off, as the hard attacks are somewhat scattered in the fight. Other than that, good fight.
In terms of the actual attacks, you'll usually be dodging in the middle or edges of the screen. The first few attacks are simple enough to dodge and are easy to get consistent at. The boss slightly picks up around the 1 minute mark with some decently difficult to read curving that comes from the center of the screen. Once that attack ends, the first laser attack (which is in the screenshot above) starts and lasts around 30 seconds. After that, the boss slightly picks up in difficulty with an "K3 earthlike" attack, a bouncing attack, another laser attack (which was the hardest for me due to how fast the lasers shoot, you've gotta be quick if you wanna avoid getting hit), 45 seconds of rng from each angle of the screen, and the final attack. The final attack will probably be the hardest for most players if you don't know where to dodge; I found that the lower left corner was good enough for me. In terms of flaws, the 2nd laser attack was pretty tedious due to how fast the lasers actually shoot. I felt like I had no time to react before I got hit.
Aesthetics:
The game looked great. The graphics were reminiscent of IWST Meltdown and I definitely felt as if I was back playing that game while playing this. Nice unintentional nostalgia. The music picks were also great. No complaints overall.
Wrap-up.
Great game. Make more of them Mole. I really enjoyed this one and hope you do decide to in the future.
moleYo
Rating: 8.5 85
Difficulty: 60 60
Sep 9, 2017