Monday, January 25, 2016

Plein - Pixelday Preview (Skill)

As the developer clarified, "I'm a musician, not a game developer" so I definitely did not set high standards for the game this time round (not like my standards are too high in the Under Judgement section anyway). However, I believe everyone could learn a thing or two from a "low-quality game" as he/she puts it.

General:

Design (2/5 walls) - I couldn't really tell where the walls were, it could've been intentional but I believe that could have been implemented better. Will explain later on.

Audio (4.5/5 songs) - I really applaud the audio, I thought it fit well and got me really hyped up about it. However, I'm sure the transitions from song to song could be better, especially for a musician.

Mechanics (2/5 windmills) - Pretty simple mechanics all round, nothing too unique but hard nonetheless.

Art (3.5/5 colors) - I believe that the world of Plein could be more coherent.

Emoview:

How'd I die? (1/5 deaths) - This was the most frustrating part for me because I could never properly tell when I died. Not only were the flashing lights too far apart for me to tell what were walls but I also sometimes couldn't tell if the wall was vertical or horizontal.

Transitions (2/5 teleports) - By transitions I mean both the music and the level. The music part wasn't too bad but done properly would make a lovely difference. However, the level transitions made a huge difference for me. It was sudden and sometimes unexpected because there wasn't an end level teleport to be seen before I was suddenly in a whole different environment. Worse of all I could tell that I was due to the hypnotic art style.

Le Art (3.5/5 blocks) - Elaborating on what I mean by coherent: The world follows quite a smooth flashing colors style with a smooth looking character. The windmill however felt poorly drawn in comparison. Also, compared to the character, the walls look simply done as well.

Groovy (5/5 would download) - I loved the soundtrack and how it managed to pump up the spirit in such a hard and painful game. Once transitioned properly, the audio would be all around wonderful!

Verdict:

I really hope the developer doesn't take too much offence from this harsh review but I believe it serves a great purpose to all the developer out there. We sometimes learn more from the bad games than we ever will from the good ones.

Epilepsy warning! Totally groovy music awaits~ : Plein - Pixelday Preview

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