I wanna know my retribution

Creator: aNobodi

Average Rating
7.1 / 10
Average Difficulty
75.5 / 100
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Tags:

Needle (8) Gimmick (5) Special (1) Story (1) Puzzle (1) RNG (1) Sideways_Gravity (1) catJAM (1) IWT (1) Cycle (1)

Screenshots

  • by CanusAntonius
  • by CanusAntonius
  • by aliceNobodi
  • by CanusAntonius
  • by CanusAntonius

Creator's Comments:

aliceNobodi [Creator]
This reminds me of the book "1984" by George Orwell!

No, I haven't read it, but I imagine this is what the book is like.

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[2] Likes
Rating: N/A       Difficulty: N/A
Dec 25, 2021

19 Reviews:

Bob
I wasn't really a huge fan of this one. There's definitely some good ideas, but I felt like most of the levels were designed in such a way as to be more annoying to play than fun. And given the lack of any kind of production value, if the gameplay isn't great then I don't see much redeeming quality.

It seems like this game was heavily inspired by Figure and Morning Dew, though unlike those games it doesn't have much of an identity. Everything is kind of just there. Some levels were better than others: the zero-gravity level had some smart design and I really enjoyed navigating my way through the saves. The couch gimmick was also amusing enough for me to enjoy that stage, even though it was extremely janky with the unnecessarily small hitbox on them. Another positive about this game is the soundtrack - I thought most of the songs were pretty good.

As for the stages that made me unhappy, well, it's most of them. The game in general felt like it dragged on for me and I was waiting for a stage to come along that wasn't just a pastel background with default tiles. When the gimmicks did start coming though, they weren't the best of gimmicks. Particularly, it was Rocket kid that made me question the creator's intentions a little. I'm sure others will have much more to say about that, so all I will say is that it greatly upset me.

Anyway, this isn't a bad game but for me it falls short of other games that attempt to do the same thing in the same style. Give it a go if you're a gimmick needle fan and decide for yourself what you think of it.

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Tagged as: Needle Gimmick
[14] Likes
Rating: 6.0 60       Difficulty: 76 76
Dec 25, 2021
Skuldafn
Didn't like any gimmick except maybe the space gimmick.
5 jumps gimmick is not a bad idea but it was full of fulljumps and annoying jumps like the diagonals/plane+corner screen.
Rocket gimmick was even more tedious than in morning dew, and i don't like what you have to do to clear floor 40 going down for absolutely no reason, after a hard part before it
And the needle was boring

I quit in floor 40

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[11] Likes
Rating: 2.5 25       Difficulty: 80 80
Dec 25, 2021
CanusAntonius
I wanna know my retribution is something I consider to be one of the most perfect reflections of a person's emotions and is a game that I have come to heavily respect upon completion. I will keep in line with other reviews in their mentioning of some questionable design choices at places, but I think these decisions actually help the game's intended purpose. Like emotions, Retribution feels completely raw and unrestricted, and sometimes this may go against the player's enjoyment but in the context of the narrative I feel as if it is necessary. With this said, if you do not care about the game's story then you might not be able to notice the parallels between the game's playability and the overall theme, hence why I think playing this outside of the I Wanna Tourney was necessary to truly appreciate it.

There are many thoughts I have about Retribution specifically that I'd like to share, though know this heavily spoils most surprises in the game.

First, I think the introduction to the game is a truly interesting concept, and both fits into the narrative of the story as well as being cool in general. I mainly refer to the concept of the "Loop" that you can perform. Anyone who's ever had a low point in their life knows that breaking the loop is extremely difficult, and to see this concept included in the game is spectacular.

Second, there is a multitude of segments that I highly enjoyed and thought were some of the coolest things I have done in a needle game. It's a pretty long list because the game has that much cool stuff in my opinion! Room 9 within the Cloud stage is amazing, I absolutely loved this gimmick and how it is used here, also I appreciate the halo the kid has. Room 20 on the second save starts with one of the coolest maneuvers I've ever done, like god damn it's fun to pull off. The bench gimmick took me a while to learn, but it's pretty neat once you get the hang of it. Room 27 is of course a loveable screen with a classic approach, it's one you can present to a fancy dinner and have everyone cheer with their wine glasses at, I even back upped my save there just so I can have a "don't jump" challenge whenever an RNG marathon pops up. The non-gravity segment starting at Room 28 is pretty fucking insane, I absolutely enjoyed it and thought it was awesome. Having to backtrack at the end was actually super fun and probably the only time I've liked a backtrack in a fangame. Room 33 starts one of the simpler "gimmicks" in the game, but it's a really clever idea and I think is executed pretty well. Room 44 has a really neat visual effect, I'm glad it can be appreciated without having to needle. Room 47 brings in these cool floating vine spikes, which I've never done in a fangame before, and I found them pretty fun to pull off. I also really enjoy the inclusion of a final Guy Tower, everyone knows the good games have them as it serves as a nice wrap-up, and it was cool to see how you revisited every stage in it.

Third, I do want to quickly mention some of the rougher segments that I think could be troublemakers to folks, since it's always good to list a game's cons too. The save with Catharsis water in the red tower was significantly harder than the rest of them. Room 18 was a huge grind for me and felt completely uncomfortable to pull off. The last gravity flipping screen with wall refreshers was incredibly difficult, I did end up rotating my monitor because it was hard to do even in a normal viewpoint. Rocket Kid I just dislike in general, the movement always felt terrible to me and I can't say I was a big fan of the usage here either, I did end up skipping the one repetitive part after being frustrated for a while. The Guy Tower had a lot of hard parts in it, but the Gravity Flipping one I just despised, and once again I had to skip the Rocket Kid save after completing it but dying due to the awkward transition back to the regular kid.

Finally, I won't say too much about the story behind the game at all, but I can say it makes the game what it is. It's easy to see that just as much as I struggled through the game, the creator struggled to make it. As someone who can never put into words the relationship with my own father, I respect and understand most of what is being told. There's the other aspect as well that I can only somewhat identify with, but definitely congratulations to you for going like a bat out of hell.


Overall, Retribution is a very personal story someone decided to share with us, and I will always appreciate and cherish moments like that. There's a lot going on here, both with the theme and the gameplay itself, and I think it is absolutely worth trying at the very least. It's a difficult game, and fairly long, but if the legendary Barfyace could complete it then surely you can too. And when the game is done and you finally know your retribution, you may not realize the road still continues, so good luck if you wish to travel even further and see the story to its' true conclusion.

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Tagged as: Needle Gimmick Story Puzzle RNG catJAM Cycle
[5] Likes
Rating: 9.0 90       Difficulty: 78 78
Feb 27, 2022
Nearigami
I don't think this game is perfect or even always fun, but it is certainly memorable. As fangames have matured as a medium over the time, there has been a sort of push from a few makers to say something profound. While I think fangames have certainly come a long way in terms of artistic, both in a meta sense and a storytelling sense, it's evident we still have a ways to go.

Retribution is a game that in some ways pushes fangames forward artistically. I've never really seen a project quite like it. It takes inspiration from Wonderful and RandomChaos, while feeling distinct from the both of them. The message and theming of this project are generally more explicitly stated than most fangames, which I find to be to the game's benefit. While I certainly appreciate subtlety, I feel like a lot of fangames go past subtle and into being outright vague. This approach of more direct messaging feels fresh and welcome by comparison, even if at times it feels almost amateurish. Regardless of the execution, one thing you could never criticize this game for is being insincere. This truly does feel like a true reflection of Alice as a person and as a maker. She's a bit of a troll, and a little in your face, but that's what makes her interesting.

In terms of gameplay, most stages are simple saves that often feel crude, and yet have a sort of charm to them. If you allow yourself to let go of expectations, it's surprisingly fun, even on sections that are a bit more weird. It's not my favorite platforming ever. Some areas and saves just don't work for me outright, but most of the game was novel and enjoyable.

I don't think this game is really earth-shattering or even pushes fangames forward much for anyone other than me and a few like-minded people, but it has heart to it in a way that I rarely see expressed in fangames. I'm glad I spent my time playing it.

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[4] Likes
Rating: 7.5 75       Difficulty: 75 75
Mar 4, 2022
FlaviaFlave
This game maintains the mouth feel of a figure like game, but it moves the gameplay in a much different direction that is focused around gimmicks. Each stage has something special so it never gets boring and it feels very purposefully paced. Some of the gimmicks get somewhat rough in places, but each save feels very intentionally made and never feel lazy. Overall, this game is very worth playing and is an experience larger than just the gameplay.

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[3] Likes
Rating: 8.0 80       Difficulty: 81 81
May 6, 2022