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For: I wanna Walk Out In The Morning Dew
For: I wanna Walk Out In The Morning Dew
This review will be littered with spoilers. Last time I tried to use spoiler tags on this site, they didn't work. So I'm not gonna bother with it, I'm just going to give you this warning here.
I Wanna Walk Out in the Morning Dew is a really special game. I don't know if I can genuinely say that any other fangame ever released is really like this. Sure, it has some standard needle segments, and some with moderate, frequent gimmicks like gravity flipping and the like. It really does a great job of luring in the player to what seems like an above-average artsy needle game, with some interesting but tame gimmicks. But the game only does that; lures in the player. It tries to contain its creativity for just enough time to get the player interested and invested, just for it to completely uncork and spew genius and originality everywhere.
The visuals are immaculate, every stage feels very distinct. It feels like each stage is part of a bigger picture, but what I find that picture is uncertain. As I touched on before, this game is very artistic. Every graphical aspect of the game is unique, feels deliberate, and doesn't overstay its welcome. The visuals serve the gameplay very well, with only one exception being these spotlights that occasionally appear throughout the game and can be a bit painful to look at after extended amounts of time. But thankfully, no segment with the effect is exceptionally long, so it's not too big of a deal. It's just one of those things where I feel like plugging in numbers and messing around some more would've done wonders.
The soundtrack is also incredibly solid. It's what you'd expect of an art-needle game like this. A fair amount of IDM with artists like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, a song or two from various niche indie games, and some other obscure artists who come through with more ambient tracks. That's not to say the soundtrack is without its bangers; tracks like "My God Is The Sun" and "Nimbus" really make the experience all the more intense. I won't go too much more into the soundtrack, I just want to make the point that I find the soundtrack to be very fitting, enjoyable and exciting to experience in-game. A roller coaster of sounds, genres and tones always makes for a special soundtrack.
The gimmicks used in this game are without a doubt the most creative things I've ever seen come out of this community. You have stuff that's relatively simple like very low gravity used for platforming and solving a Minesweeper board, and you also have things like "linekid" where you play as a 3x25 pixel stick and press up/down to spin around spikes and walljump with a minispike immediately above and below the vine.
There are other great mechanics here, but there's always the one that everybody talks about: rocket kid. I didn't dislike this stage as much as most others probably did, but that's not to say I enjoyed playing every save. There are two saves that I believe are simply too hard: "shoot, don't miss" and the chase. Geezer mentioned in his review that Geo likes to take ideas to the extreme, and these are definitely examples of that. While I don't think these segments are bad, I do think they're incredibly demanding of the player. I think something like this is very easy to miss as a maker, because you can get so accustomed to the controls that it feels pretty manageable for you to do things relatively quickly. However for someone who's never played this, it can feel awkward, frustrating and tedious to learn how to do these tight maneuvers in order to squeeze in the final gap with enough time. Do I think these segments are bad because of this? Well, probably not. I think they're a bit overwhelming, to its disadvantage, but I'm glad this stage as a whole is in the game.
There are, without a doubt, some segments I have very complicated feelings on. The two mentioned above are fine examples, but one such segment I feel very torn about is the "carnival minigame." Essentially, you play as rocket kid in a big open room, and you have to build combo by keeping friendly fruit within a circle around you. The goal is to get 3,000 points. At first, I don't think this seems very difficult. But the closer to inch to that goal, the more daunting it becomes. In the current version (as of writing this, v1.3) this proves to be incredibly difficult. The fruit's starting positions are set, but their movement angles are random. The specific angles Geo picked are done to counteract "getting lucky to win." But I honestly feel that you are more required to get lucky to win than in previous updates. I spent two or three hours bashing my head, reaching 2.5k to 2.7k, just to find at the end I can't connect to another fruit to continue my combo. This became frustrating to the point where I reverted to v1.2 just to clear it, and I did it in 20 minutes. Is this because the previous version is too easy? Maybe. However, for something like this, it's much better for it to be a nice little easy distraction from the tough platforming, than for it to be a monumental challenge that feels like it's more up to Lady Luck if you clear.
Aside from these sections listed, and a few odd jumps that feel out of place for difficulty, I do think this game largely feels pretty good to play through. Significant difficulty spikes are few and far between, but they almost always feel satisfying to overcome. Though feeling an occasional necessity to switch versions makes me feel more like a tester than a casual player. I do think this game could do with a couple more updates to tweak some things here and there, but I have a feeling Geo is ending the time he'd like to spend with the game. Though who knows? I'm not him. I'd love to see an update at some point with some changes to make the game a bit easier to power through consistently. I don't want this to come across as a missed mark, though. The game is fantastic as it is, it could just be improved is all.
I talked a lot about specific segments, and I could talk a lot about others, but I pretty much just wanted to get my general thoughts out and talk about some particular issues I have with the game. Overall, I would highly recommend this game to anyone who is interested in gimmicks and needle. If you do not enjoy gimmicks, avoid this game like the plague; it was not made for you, and you will not enjoy it in the slightest.
I Wanna Walk Out in the Morning Dew is a really special game. I don't know if I can genuinely say that any other fangame ever released is really like this. Sure, it has some standard needle segments, and some with moderate, frequent gimmicks like gravity flipping and the like. It really does a great job of luring in the player to what seems like an above-average artsy needle game, with some interesting but tame gimmicks. But the game only does that; lures in the player. It tries to contain its creativity for just enough time to get the player interested and invested, just for it to completely uncork and spew genius and originality everywhere.
The visuals are immaculate, every stage feels very distinct. It feels like each stage is part of a bigger picture, but what I find that picture is uncertain. As I touched on before, this game is very artistic. Every graphical aspect of the game is unique, feels deliberate, and doesn't overstay its welcome. The visuals serve the gameplay very well, with only one exception being these spotlights that occasionally appear throughout the game and can be a bit painful to look at after extended amounts of time. But thankfully, no segment with the effect is exceptionally long, so it's not too big of a deal. It's just one of those things where I feel like plugging in numbers and messing around some more would've done wonders.
The soundtrack is also incredibly solid. It's what you'd expect of an art-needle game like this. A fair amount of IDM with artists like Aphex Twin and Squarepusher, a song or two from various niche indie games, and some other obscure artists who come through with more ambient tracks. That's not to say the soundtrack is without its bangers; tracks like "My God Is The Sun" and "Nimbus" really make the experience all the more intense. I won't go too much more into the soundtrack, I just want to make the point that I find the soundtrack to be very fitting, enjoyable and exciting to experience in-game. A roller coaster of sounds, genres and tones always makes for a special soundtrack.
The gimmicks used in this game are without a doubt the most creative things I've ever seen come out of this community. You have stuff that's relatively simple like very low gravity used for platforming and solving a Minesweeper board, and you also have things like "linekid" where you play as a 3x25 pixel stick and press up/down to spin around spikes and walljump with a minispike immediately above and below the vine.
There are other great mechanics here, but there's always the one that everybody talks about: rocket kid. I didn't dislike this stage as much as most others probably did, but that's not to say I enjoyed playing every save. There are two saves that I believe are simply too hard: "shoot, don't miss" and the chase. Geezer mentioned in his review that Geo likes to take ideas to the extreme, and these are definitely examples of that. While I don't think these segments are bad, I do think they're incredibly demanding of the player. I think something like this is very easy to miss as a maker, because you can get so accustomed to the controls that it feels pretty manageable for you to do things relatively quickly. However for someone who's never played this, it can feel awkward, frustrating and tedious to learn how to do these tight maneuvers in order to squeeze in the final gap with enough time. Do I think these segments are bad because of this? Well, probably not. I think they're a bit overwhelming, to its disadvantage, but I'm glad this stage as a whole is in the game.
There are, without a doubt, some segments I have very complicated feelings on. The two mentioned above are fine examples, but one such segment I feel very torn about is the "carnival minigame." Essentially, you play as rocket kid in a big open room, and you have to build combo by keeping friendly fruit within a circle around you. The goal is to get 3,000 points. At first, I don't think this seems very difficult. But the closer to inch to that goal, the more daunting it becomes. In the current version (as of writing this, v1.3) this proves to be incredibly difficult. The fruit's starting positions are set, but their movement angles are random. The specific angles Geo picked are done to counteract "getting lucky to win." But I honestly feel that you are more required to get lucky to win than in previous updates. I spent two or three hours bashing my head, reaching 2.5k to 2.7k, just to find at the end I can't connect to another fruit to continue my combo. This became frustrating to the point where I reverted to v1.2 just to clear it, and I did it in 20 minutes. Is this because the previous version is too easy? Maybe. However, for something like this, it's much better for it to be a nice little easy distraction from the tough platforming, than for it to be a monumental challenge that feels like it's more up to Lady Luck if you clear.
Aside from these sections listed, and a few odd jumps that feel out of place for difficulty, I do think this game largely feels pretty good to play through. Significant difficulty spikes are few and far between, but they almost always feel satisfying to overcome. Though feeling an occasional necessity to switch versions makes me feel more like a tester than a casual player. I do think this game could do with a couple more updates to tweak some things here and there, but I have a feeling Geo is ending the time he'd like to spend with the game. Though who knows? I'm not him. I'd love to see an update at some point with some changes to make the game a bit easier to power through consistently. I don't want this to come across as a missed mark, though. The game is fantastic as it is, it could just be improved is all.
I talked a lot about specific segments, and I could talk a lot about others, but I pretty much just wanted to get my general thoughts out and talk about some particular issues I have with the game. Overall, I would highly recommend this game to anyone who is interested in gimmicks and needle. If you do not enjoy gimmicks, avoid this game like the plague; it was not made for you, and you will not enjoy it in the slightest.
Tagged as: Fangame
[9] Likes
Rating: 9.4 94
Difficulty: 90 90
May 19, 2020
GaspacoZanis
For: I wanna Love vacation
For: I wanna Love vacation
To understand better what is this avoidance about, I am going to explain this avoidance, getting quickly through the whole avoidance with my commentary, using Ramirus's clear video (and at some point 龍之介 video too) as a reference, because why not?
Basically this avoidance is composed from 5 differently styled phases, which intersect flawlessly with each other. The first one is actually the hardest one and the one, which requires the most of learning. Normally, the first phase ends when colour of tileset changes from blue to orange. However, I would even divide this phase in two sub-phases, everything up to this point is sub-phase 1 – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=15[/url]. It is just 15 seconds long, but can take a lot of time just to learn it properly. It took me around 20-40 minutes if I recall correctly. The reason for that is several patterns which changes so fast with each other, that it takes times to understand what is actually going on. It can also feel a little bit tiring to learn it. Yet I didn't feel that it is annoying or anything. It just takes time. The second phase, on the other hand, can seem a little bit easier, even though I felt on some attacks being unfair, at first. I really thought that this star attack – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=22[/url] – requires using one-frames or two-frames to be consistent on them. Well, you can just go further right and then slowly going left, should be fine. The bigger problem was with this attack – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=29[/url] – and just because it is very confusing. You have to read RNG, you have to aim the walls correctly and then you have to aim another line properly, so that you can go down. Still, it is bearable. After that is small RNG and very cool transition to the next phase. Just be aware that you do not stand at the very wall, otherwise it is going to be an unpleasant surprise. I think I first got to the next phase when I had been playing for an hour or so.
The next phase is entirely pattern-based and is not very hard, once you understand it. You just have to take proper savespots and jump in the right moment. I randomly passed it from third or fourth attempt, but then suddenly I couldn't understand it at all. Using Ramirus strats wasn't the bad idea. The trouble was to understand timings, especially, this part – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=43[/url] – but mainly it depends on how much you are playing on it. After some time you will get used to it, and it won't be much of a problem, to be honest. The only real issue was to properly align for the first gap, but it still isn't so precise.
The third phase starts with changing colors to the firsts set, but now having two girls from previous phases both in one room. I cleared within 5-8 attempts. The only problem was to perform this pattern – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=51[/url] . However, I actually used different strategy for it. I highly recommend to do this way it, as 龍之介 does it, since it makes everything much easier – [url]https://youtu.be/NyheFP8Q340?t=51[/url] . I think I did the end of the pattern very approximately, and I think I was close enough to die, yet I I somehow managed to get through it. After that I first tried the whole avoidance (not blind playthrough though) , but I am still going through it. After that tricky pattern you have to move in a particular way, just look what is the path on videos. The only problem, I guess, can be this random – [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeS6sKs_bPs&feature=youtu.be&t=52[/url] – so be careful with it. After that colors change and starts the fourth phase.
The fourth phase follows the way as second phase – it is entirely pattern. Therefore it can be easily done if you remember correct strats. I used 龍之介 strats, and they somehow worked for me. The phase looks hectic, in a good way. You have to avoid everything very carefully, since I guess you can die very easily on this phase. Just do not rush, otherwise you will bump into the wall of fruits. The only pattern, from which I was very scared was the last pattern before the final phase, i.e, this – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=72[/url].
The finale change colors entirely to some purplish color. It is also fully pattern, I guess? The main idea is to jump as less as possible, only when really necessary. The real scary part is this – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=72[/url] – , I thought I did it wrong, but somehow I didn't die on it, even though when I was first saw it, I thought that it is quite precise. Just be sure not to fail the very end of it. Pretty much it.
When we know what the gameplay is about, I will talk a little bit about visuals, song itself and other aspects. Surprisingly, this avodance has absolutely amazing visuals, similar to other マリマリオ games. I adore how he managed to use GIF files so aesthetically well. They fit excellent there with also such an amazing soundtrack! And every attack match with the visuals, I didn't have feeling that attacks are alienated from song, it is part of it. The thing which I like the most in author's style is that he uses, seamingly, standart attack sets (different stars, hearts and etc.), but they look amazing, despite that. It takes time to learn, but it is a pleasure to perform everything. Of course, I can say that RNG could be more fair, and that it is donwside of avoidance, but I think it is OK. I guess there could be found problems, but they are minor, to be honest.
Also I want to bring out one detail. I think it isn't coincidence that it is already second avoidance of マリマリオ, where I managed to beat the big part of avoidance within one attempt. Previous time it happened with I wanna be the lapis lazuli, now with this game. I think creator tried to make the accent on difficulty at the start, and tried to make ending possible to first try if you know what to expect or if you have a good amount of skill. And, personally, I think it is better than putting instagib at the very end of the avoidance.
I cleared avoidance under 2 hours ([url]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/479930956187172865/712006636646170734/Clear.jpg[/url]), while I expected for avoidance to take around 4 hours. And I think if I didn't first try most of the avoidance, then probably it would take somewhere around this. Thus, i can say in the conclusion, that I can recommend this avoidance to anyone. However, knowing how much people don't like grinding stuff, I would say, that it is better to be played if you have a huge motivation in beating this because of different reasons, whether they are connected to the soundtrack, visuals, gameplay or anything else. The other option is to play for those who are more experienced in avoidances. Patterns are precise enough to get on nerves beginner players and RNG isn't free at all. I think it shouldn't take for upper-average player to beat it under 5 hours in a non-blind playthrough, and definitelly, in my opinion, under 10 hours for average or slightly under-average player. Despite any possible critics or downside, it was a great experience for me, and I hope that it can be appreciated by anyone else too! Highly recommended!
P.S. My difficulty rating is very approximate, take that into consideration!
Edit: I forgot to mention that on second orange phase I used いのす strategy. It is very convenient and easy to understand. Here is a video of it - [url]https://youtu.be/VImmFifS5MU?t=62[/url]
Basically this avoidance is composed from 5 differently styled phases, which intersect flawlessly with each other. The first one is actually the hardest one and the one, which requires the most of learning. Normally, the first phase ends when colour of tileset changes from blue to orange. However, I would even divide this phase in two sub-phases, everything up to this point is sub-phase 1 – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=15[/url]. It is just 15 seconds long, but can take a lot of time just to learn it properly. It took me around 20-40 minutes if I recall correctly. The reason for that is several patterns which changes so fast with each other, that it takes times to understand what is actually going on. It can also feel a little bit tiring to learn it. Yet I didn't feel that it is annoying or anything. It just takes time. The second phase, on the other hand, can seem a little bit easier, even though I felt on some attacks being unfair, at first. I really thought that this star attack – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=22[/url] – requires using one-frames or two-frames to be consistent on them. Well, you can just go further right and then slowly going left, should be fine. The bigger problem was with this attack – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=29[/url] – and just because it is very confusing. You have to read RNG, you have to aim the walls correctly and then you have to aim another line properly, so that you can go down. Still, it is bearable. After that is small RNG and very cool transition to the next phase. Just be aware that you do not stand at the very wall, otherwise it is going to be an unpleasant surprise. I think I first got to the next phase when I had been playing for an hour or so.
The next phase is entirely pattern-based and is not very hard, once you understand it. You just have to take proper savespots and jump in the right moment. I randomly passed it from third or fourth attempt, but then suddenly I couldn't understand it at all. Using Ramirus strats wasn't the bad idea. The trouble was to understand timings, especially, this part – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=43[/url] – but mainly it depends on how much you are playing on it. After some time you will get used to it, and it won't be much of a problem, to be honest. The only real issue was to properly align for the first gap, but it still isn't so precise.
The third phase starts with changing colors to the firsts set, but now having two girls from previous phases both in one room. I cleared within 5-8 attempts. The only problem was to perform this pattern – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=51[/url] . However, I actually used different strategy for it. I highly recommend to do this way it, as 龍之介 does it, since it makes everything much easier – [url]https://youtu.be/NyheFP8Q340?t=51[/url] . I think I did the end of the pattern very approximately, and I think I was close enough to die, yet I I somehow managed to get through it. After that I first tried the whole avoidance (not blind playthrough though) , but I am still going through it. After that tricky pattern you have to move in a particular way, just look what is the path on videos. The only problem, I guess, can be this random – [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeS6sKs_bPs&feature=youtu.be&t=52[/url] – so be careful with it. After that colors change and starts the fourth phase.
The fourth phase follows the way as second phase – it is entirely pattern. Therefore it can be easily done if you remember correct strats. I used 龍之介 strats, and they somehow worked for me. The phase looks hectic, in a good way. You have to avoid everything very carefully, since I guess you can die very easily on this phase. Just do not rush, otherwise you will bump into the wall of fruits. The only pattern, from which I was very scared was the last pattern before the final phase, i.e, this – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=72[/url].
The finale change colors entirely to some purplish color. It is also fully pattern, I guess? The main idea is to jump as less as possible, only when really necessary. The real scary part is this – [url]https://youtu.be/zeS6sKs_bPs?t=72[/url] – , I thought I did it wrong, but somehow I didn't die on it, even though when I was first saw it, I thought that it is quite precise. Just be sure not to fail the very end of it. Pretty much it.
When we know what the gameplay is about, I will talk a little bit about visuals, song itself and other aspects. Surprisingly, this avodance has absolutely amazing visuals, similar to other マリマリオ games. I adore how he managed to use GIF files so aesthetically well. They fit excellent there with also such an amazing soundtrack! And every attack match with the visuals, I didn't have feeling that attacks are alienated from song, it is part of it. The thing which I like the most in author's style is that he uses, seamingly, standart attack sets (different stars, hearts and etc.), but they look amazing, despite that. It takes time to learn, but it is a pleasure to perform everything. Of course, I can say that RNG could be more fair, and that it is donwside of avoidance, but I think it is OK. I guess there could be found problems, but they are minor, to be honest.
Also I want to bring out one detail. I think it isn't coincidence that it is already second avoidance of マリマリオ, where I managed to beat the big part of avoidance within one attempt. Previous time it happened with I wanna be the lapis lazuli, now with this game. I think creator tried to make the accent on difficulty at the start, and tried to make ending possible to first try if you know what to expect or if you have a good amount of skill. And, personally, I think it is better than putting instagib at the very end of the avoidance.
I cleared avoidance under 2 hours ([url]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/479930956187172865/712006636646170734/Clear.jpg[/url]), while I expected for avoidance to take around 4 hours. And I think if I didn't first try most of the avoidance, then probably it would take somewhere around this. Thus, i can say in the conclusion, that I can recommend this avoidance to anyone. However, knowing how much people don't like grinding stuff, I would say, that it is better to be played if you have a huge motivation in beating this because of different reasons, whether they are connected to the soundtrack, visuals, gameplay or anything else. The other option is to play for those who are more experienced in avoidances. Patterns are precise enough to get on nerves beginner players and RNG isn't free at all. I think it shouldn't take for upper-average player to beat it under 5 hours in a non-blind playthrough, and definitelly, in my opinion, under 10 hours for average or slightly under-average player. Despite any possible critics or downside, it was a great experience for me, and I hope that it can be appreciated by anyone else too! Highly recommended!
P.S. My difficulty rating is very approximate, take that into consideration!
Edit: I forgot to mention that on second orange phase I used いのす strategy. It is very convenient and easy to understand. Here is a video of it - [url]https://youtu.be/VImmFifS5MU?t=62[/url]
Tagged as: Avoidance
[2] Likes
Rating: 9.4 94
Difficulty: 62 62
May 19, 2020
theTics
For: I wanna be the Drill
Meant to be a practice game for the beginners. There are 6 options of difficulty, but the only difference between them is the number of saves. Saves in very easy mode are overabundant and placed inproperly. Most of all, it is quite shabby and lacks of quality contents as a practice tool.
For some reason, it seems that there are always some people, in any platforming games that provide user editor, making a poor 'practice game' that nobody will actually use it as a practice tool. I used to make one when I was young, too.
[1] Like
For: I wanna be the Drill
Meant to be a practice game for the beginners. There are 6 options of difficulty, but the only difference between them is the number of saves. Saves in very easy mode are overabundant and placed inproperly. Most of all, it is quite shabby and lacks of quality contents as a practice tool.
For some reason, it seems that there are always some people, in any platforming games that provide user editor, making a poor 'practice game' that nobody will actually use it as a practice tool. I used to make one when I was young, too.
Rating: 3.5 35
Difficulty: 32 32
May 19, 2020