File: Don't Look Back.swf-(2.59 MB, Game)
[_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)16:22 No.1985074
Marked for deletion (old).
>> [_] ~Number One Baka~ 05/27/13(Mon)16:34 No.1985082
oh god not this
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)16:37 No.1985083
2deep4me
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)16:58 No.1985097
Heh heh heh. I remember when pretty much all my games were like this and were on audio tape.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:14 No.1985105
Writing a full review right now, keep it bumped for a bit, okay?
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:35 No.1985119
Pretty good game from the guy who made vvvvvv. Platforming is fine and it's a bit tricky to
figure out certain situations. Shouldn't take more than 20 minutes at most to get through.
Some parts are very trial by error which I don't care for in games, but other parts are very well
put together. Bit of a heavy handed "story", but that's fine.
Music fits but it's nothing special. Graphics were probably a throw back to Pitfall.
All in all worth a playthrough.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:41 No.1985123
Before you read this, just assume one thing with me: Artists, first and foremost, are supposed to
entertain. There are countless ways of going about entertaining someone, but regardless, they are
all methods to achieve the goal of entertaining the person viewing, listening, or otherwise
perceiving the art.
There's nothing inherently wrong about making "artsy" games. Experimentation is what drives
culture forward, and if you're willing and able to deal with deep themes and concepts then you've
nothing to lose by doing so. Will quite clearly went into this game. Ability, however, is
painfully lacking. This game is not fun, not enlightening, and not made with any amount of care;
let's take a look at why.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:43 No.1985125
We'll begin with addressing the aesthetics of the game. It evokes comparison to the graphical
fidelity of the ZX Spectrum or Atari 2600; blocky characters have little detail, and the user is
forced to fill in most of the blanks here. The monochrome colour scheme, even on the vanity
plates, is also of note. I'd like to point out that, despite emulating the graphical capabilities
of computers from a certain era, the game uses a palette that would fall outside the technical
boundaries of those actual systems. That's mostly a side note, though.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:44 No.1985127
The cliche of monochrome palettes is such an old one; you can tell that almost any given piece of
visual art is trying to hard if it's used. This game, naturally, makes sure to deliver upon this
visual promise. The monochrome doesn't do anything to serve the game itself, just to artificially
alter the mood; it's kind of reprehensible, if anything. It shows no creativity, just the milking
of an old technique.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:45 No.1985128
The sound fails to mimic the art as well. We're given the drawl of violins and cellos to
accompany the crisp sound of footsteps through tall grass; the only sound that really evokes a
retro feeling is the thump of your character being killed. Now, considering the overwhelmingly
retro presentation of the graphics, shouldn't the music accompany it to some extent? Once again,
this displays the creator's tendency to use tropes to manipulate the audience's mood without
giving them any reason to have that mood; it's artificial and it shows a lack of talent.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:45 No.1985130
After all, no sound is sadder than a violin, right? Except for the harsh drone of white noise,
the soft coo of a sine wave, or the empty drone of a square wave, all of which a game of the
poorly-emulated era would have possessed. The artist, despite given so many choices, only used
one appropriate sound: thump. The creator completely failed in holding the game together with any
aesthetic thread, instead opting to use an eclectic collection of colours, sounds, and effects,
and the game suffers for it. Perhaps if there was some sort of significance to what appears to be
a failure, I might look this by, but there isn't. It's not a product of artistic endeavour, it's
a product of nothing but laziness and lack of creativity.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:46 No.1985131
Let's look at the gameplay as well, because no game review is complete without a look at the
actual game. Allow me to begin by saying the titular gimmick isn't employed until well past the
half-way point, which is kind of silly. It's like opening up a game called Crazy Co-op and being
forced to play solo until the last level. That's mostly topical, though; the gameplay fails in
much more dramatic ways than that simple idiosyncrasy. While aesthetically the game fails to
capture the retro look it strove for, it did in one small way do well: pointless difficulty.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:47 No.1985132
The platforming segment midway through the game comes to mind: the player is taunted both with
platforms that crumble beneath their feet and platforms that simply poof away without warning.
There's some sort of rhythm to the platforming, but it's not the good kind, it's the kind where
you're required to get everything down to the microsecond and undergo harsh and boring
trial-and-error tasks. The platforming really has no place in this game at all, other than
padding out the length and frustrating the player. The platforming, however, is not the player's
only worry.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:48 No.1985133
The combat in this game is painful and obnoxious; once the player picks up a gun, things take yet
another turn for the worse. The Megaman-style 2d shooter combat is made horrible by many aspects.
The shooting delay is almost always deadly, making for some incredibly frustrating situations
where the only deciding factor in your survival is luck. Furthermore, the jumping controls are
inept. When enemies gain projectiles, you'll be forced to prepare for frustration as they prove
impossible to dodge. These enemies were, naturally, only defeated by pure luck.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:49 No.1985135
The player lacks any control over the situation; the only option on almost any screen is to guess
at what might be effective and hope to God you're right. If not, that's okay; you're thrust
straight back in without a moment's rest, again and again. The combat suffers from game-breaking
bugs as well. Shots often go straight through spiders, and overlapping hitboxes lead to
encounters with multiple-hitpoint enemies being more frustrating than they ought to be. The
gameplay, on the whole, fails miserably.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:50 No.1985136
So, what is the redeeming factor? I've been left asking the same question. It looks bad, sounds
stupid, and plays awfully; there's really nothing good about it. I'm left with no greater
understanding of the world, no improved outlook, I wasn't even offered a momentary diversion from
the harsh reality of life. I was offered a shitty, frustrating game that attempts to be artsy but
fails horribly and makes any other attempts at meaningful vidya look bad by proxy.
I give it a 3/10. Below mediocre, but not quite truly terrible. I quite like Distractionware's
other work, I'm surprised this came out so bad.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)17:53 No.1985140
>>1985123
>>1985125
>>1985127
>>1985128
>>1985130
>>1985131
>>1985132
>>1985133
>>1985135
>>1985136
These are all the same review, if you're going to waste the time reading it.
>lel u mad
>Why don't YOU try making something better?
>tl;dr
>Stop having dissenting opinions!
>Stop not liking things!
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)18:05 No.1985151
>>1985140
I got three words for you son.
Orpheus and Eurydice
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)18:07 No.1985154
>>1985123
>>1985125
>>1985127
>>1985128
>>1985130
>>1985131
>>1985132
>>1985133
>>1985135
>>1985136
I read all of this and came to a conclusion; you're a motherfucking idiot.
It's not that I like the game a ton either.
You're just a fucking idiot. The points you bring up do not and should not matter. Some don't
even make sense like the shooting delay. Oh dear, guns aren't instant? Sorry. It's not you having
a lack of luck if you don't learn how to cope with the in-game mechanics, it's you being an inept
gamer.
And honestly if you think that this game leaves you "guessing what to do" you're just a damn
potato. This game makes you guess on MAYBE one or two parts, and it's easy for anyone with
critical thinking skills equivalent to that of a 6 year-old to figure out.
1/10 for making me respond.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)18:13 No.1985160
>>1985151
HOLY FUCK THANK YOU I KNEW IT WAS A GREEK MYTH BUT COULD NOT FOR THE LIFE OF ME REMEMBER THE NAME
JESUS FUCK THAT HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME FOR YEARS NOW
Also the guy who made this game is a pretentious shitlord.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)18:51 No.1985221
Somehow, I knew that this would be infuriating and ultimately unsatisfying.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)19:23 No.1985248
i just wasted a chunk of my life
at least i finally ate some food
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)19:25 No.1985250
>>1985248
it's my fault though because as soon as i saw the pixelated dude i knew this was going to be one
of "those games"
replaying to myself
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)19:30 No.1985252
crycrycrycrycrycry, you are already dead
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)20:13 No.1985292
>>1985130
Actually, that combination was something I rather liked about the game.
>> [_] Super FAAAAG 05/27/13(Mon)20:18 No.1985296
The ending...I need explanation!!!
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)20:20 No.1985297
>>1985296
It was all a weird Greek punishment. This actually resembles that game.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)20:32 No.1985304
>>1985128
>>1985130
I think string instruments are fitting given Orpheus' affinity with the Lyre.
Just because it isn't what you would do doesn't mean it's lazy.
>>1985131
It's true that before the point in which you encounter ghost girlfriend you can still turn
around, but the multiple cliffs create points of not being able to "go back" throughout the
entire game. The title also has to do with the way the game ends. Not that this really needs
defending since if we go by your criteria of what makes a good name any Super Mario Brothers game
that only features one brother is a failure, Baldur's Gate doesn't involve the city of Baldur's
Gate until later in the story (and Baldur's Gate 2 doesn't at all) so it's a failure and Tetris
isn't even a word, nor does it invoke any aspect of gameplay so it's a failure.
You didn't write a review of this game, you tried to veil your distaste for it under a pretense
of intellectualism.
>> [_] Anonymous 05/27/13(Mon)20:36 No.1985308
>>1985296
The protagonist, in his grief, imagined the whole thing. By looking back during the game itself
you lose, but at the end he perhaps decides to look forward in his life instead of indulging in
rescue fantasies
