Delicious FruitLatest Reviews
LastTISisLife
For: Nebulous Thoughts
For: Nebulous Thoughts
It was hard, but interesting experience. I didn't heard that many things about this game before getting into, and it ended up way better than i expected. Consistently great needle with addition of mostly soft to understand gimmicks, which is always pleasant, it was also difficult overall, but in a great way mostly. Favourites stage in this game also can be related as my favourites needle stages in general, because general evaluation of this game is above 9,5, but about this aspect i will go talk later
Also what really stands out in this game is atmosphere. Usually, atmosphere in the game creates by visuals and music, and it mostly pronounced pretty obviously, but in this game however i believe maker did layouts of atmosphere somewhat more deeply. Feeling of big world that you are in will haunt you during playthrough, ephemeral and melancholic vibe of everything is magical and it really gots me. I can't really explain how this was done, it's just combination of everything - stages are never that long and it feels like you are guest everywhere, additions of unobvious screen transictions (tag "Trap" comes from here), looping paths and so on, so on. Very beautiful work in that sense
Stage 1 is very strong start for the game and one of my favourites stages of the game. Disappearing water gimmick opens up some new breath in many ways, from interesting paths to breackneck maneuvers. I can't think that i get annoyed at some point, it was smooth, fun and cool, some saves were kinda harsh to understand tho, but it was never across the border of exhausting, which is awesome
Stage 2 was complicated, but fun i'd say. Yeah, it uses some unorthodox methods to give you challenge here, specifically on last save, but i can't say i got confused by them. Overall, very driving platforming with big focus on moving objects and getting through them
Stage 3 was first really hard challenge in the game. Consistent ascend with main gimmick of bounce blocks and abusing movements with them. I liked it overall, even tho visuals didn't really hit me there, platforming itself was never boring. Most of the saves requires some thinking about what you gonna to do, but never too much, and the execution is satisfying
Stage 4 is also very lovely stage. I really like idea about this stage - you granted by very low gravity and you make you path kinda blindly with big usage of refreshers jump. Design of screens is very spacious, the whole vibe is very aerial, and overall this was fantastic. I don't know if i the only one who find staying in this stage really entertaining, but yeah, it was one-of-kind experience - calming stuff, where atmosphere getting really strong, with platforming remaining superb. My favourite stage of the game
Stage 5 is nice pure needle thing with very good and smooth jumps overall. The idea of multi-screen pathing with callbacks to previous ones is main theme here, it was done very properly and i had massive fun overall with this stage
Stage 6 focuces on hard water maneuvers and it was mostly fine. The pathing of each screen is strong - i hardly can tell from first glance how i gonna do it, because screens are fulled with paths and you might be even scared, because all screens are one-saves, but surpisingly everything was very very smooth. Final save has interesting twist, i find it enjoyable, even tho it was kinda out of blue and i don't sure if it fits correctly
Stage 7 is triple jump platform stage. Gimmick is very easy to understand, and it mostly feels like you just playing regular platform needle, but with few details. Main thing is that you can't land on platform - and i think that what hits me in best way; with this addition platforming becomes way more driving and safety in terms of you can't just get on ledge, which saves you from accidents. Nice touch, and with this thing it was nice ride from start to finish, absolutely fun, one of my favourites as well
Stage 8 is water 1 based stuff. It might be foreshadowing that everything where water 1 appears will automatically sucks, but you know. Anyways, yeah this stage starts strongly, but falls in pit with last save. I didn't know why maker decided to do it like this, this save feels absolutely randomly designed and it's so contradicts with flow and philosophy of previous stages, that it's really upsetting me. This save alone dragging game rating by few points. The main problem with this save is how it filled with awkward, straightforward too precise jumps (squished diagonal (!), awkward corner (!!), full vstring drop gate (!!!). And the save is not easy at all, it's 3 screens long thing. Experience was dreadful not only because of annoying jumps, but as i say it's just feels so wrong to being here, so i'm like just asking myself - am i playing on old version? or this was some cameo from different maker? or maybe maker just... fucked up? Tragedy
Stage 9 is what i originally expected to hate most - sideways gravity is red color for me, i hate this gimmick with passion in 90 % of time. Fortunately, here there was that 10 % of something enjoyment. Maker did great job with this gimmick, it's not about precise stuff, but more about having fun with short saves, and the last save is just pure abuse of technical aspect of switches, which i really liked. So yeah i did find this pretty decent, it was nice chill after atrocious ending of previous stage
Stage 10 is where i'm struggled the most, way more than with even save that almost everyone considers to be hardest (last save of the game). Every save in this stage is very hard, they are all based on same maneuvers as in stage 6 - heavy inclusion of water, but more raw, screens has not that many jumps, but they are all way harder in average. I had solid amount of enjoyment, it's probably the only stage in the game where difficulty prevails over atmosphere, but in great way, since every save is challenging on it's own in unique way and they are filled with stuff you didn't regulary meet in needle
Last stage is final step in the game. Visuals are pretty straightforward, leaving you will pure needle, pushing you to logical conclusion to game. I kinda hate one save here, but not that much as last save of stage 8 - pre-last save, it ends with hard section that includes corner, which is eeeh. Most of the saves are easy tho, but don't fall in this trap - last save will be menacing 4-screens journey. Last save structured pretty interestingly, it didn't contain any really hard jumps, mostly easy and medium range, but complete this in one go is tougher than it seems. It was actually nice paced and i never get bored, even tho i got lucky overall and first tried last screen
After last save there will be short section of... i don't know even know, but you can't die here, it was just final present of the game, to being here slightly more than you should, enjoying last bits of experience, that you can get only here (from what i remember from my experience, Crying Myself to Sleep and Abducted did the same things). And the last jump of this section is cool, you just staying before pit and you are in confusion, but you are still jumping in eventually, because what's the another option - this really got me for some reason, probably one of the best endings to fangame i've ever seen
All in all, this was astonishing. Most of the stages provides unique and interesting challenge. I really hate the fact that last save of stage 8 exists, without this thing, my rating will be way higher and it will probably my favourite needle game overall. Would highly recommend to every experienced needle player
[2] Likes
Also what really stands out in this game is atmosphere. Usually, atmosphere in the game creates by visuals and music, and it mostly pronounced pretty obviously, but in this game however i believe maker did layouts of atmosphere somewhat more deeply. Feeling of big world that you are in will haunt you during playthrough, ephemeral and melancholic vibe of everything is magical and it really gots me. I can't really explain how this was done, it's just combination of everything - stages are never that long and it feels like you are guest everywhere, additions of unobvious screen transictions (tag "Trap" comes from here), looping paths and so on, so on. Very beautiful work in that sense
Stage 1 is very strong start for the game and one of my favourites stages of the game. Disappearing water gimmick opens up some new breath in many ways, from interesting paths to breackneck maneuvers. I can't think that i get annoyed at some point, it was smooth, fun and cool, some saves were kinda harsh to understand tho, but it was never across the border of exhausting, which is awesome
Stage 2 was complicated, but fun i'd say. Yeah, it uses some unorthodox methods to give you challenge here, specifically on last save, but i can't say i got confused by them. Overall, very driving platforming with big focus on moving objects and getting through them
Stage 3 was first really hard challenge in the game. Consistent ascend with main gimmick of bounce blocks and abusing movements with them. I liked it overall, even tho visuals didn't really hit me there, platforming itself was never boring. Most of the saves requires some thinking about what you gonna to do, but never too much, and the execution is satisfying
Stage 4 is also very lovely stage. I really like idea about this stage - you granted by very low gravity and you make you path kinda blindly with big usage of refreshers jump. Design of screens is very spacious, the whole vibe is very aerial, and overall this was fantastic. I don't know if i the only one who find staying in this stage really entertaining, but yeah, it was one-of-kind experience - calming stuff, where atmosphere getting really strong, with platforming remaining superb. My favourite stage of the game
Stage 5 is nice pure needle thing with very good and smooth jumps overall. The idea of multi-screen pathing with callbacks to previous ones is main theme here, it was done very properly and i had massive fun overall with this stage
Stage 6 focuces on hard water maneuvers and it was mostly fine. The pathing of each screen is strong - i hardly can tell from first glance how i gonna do it, because screens are fulled with paths and you might be even scared, because all screens are one-saves, but surpisingly everything was very very smooth. Final save has interesting twist, i find it enjoyable, even tho it was kinda out of blue and i don't sure if it fits correctly
Stage 7 is triple jump platform stage. Gimmick is very easy to understand, and it mostly feels like you just playing regular platform needle, but with few details. Main thing is that you can't land on platform - and i think that what hits me in best way; with this addition platforming becomes way more driving and safety in terms of you can't just get on ledge, which saves you from accidents. Nice touch, and with this thing it was nice ride from start to finish, absolutely fun, one of my favourites as well
Stage 8 is water 1 based stuff. It might be foreshadowing that everything where water 1 appears will automatically sucks, but you know. Anyways, yeah this stage starts strongly, but falls in pit with last save. I didn't know why maker decided to do it like this, this save feels absolutely randomly designed and it's so contradicts with flow and philosophy of previous stages, that it's really upsetting me. This save alone dragging game rating by few points. The main problem with this save is how it filled with awkward, straightforward too precise jumps (squished diagonal (!), awkward corner (!!), full vstring drop gate (!!!). And the save is not easy at all, it's 3 screens long thing. Experience was dreadful not only because of annoying jumps, but as i say it's just feels so wrong to being here, so i'm like just asking myself - am i playing on old version? or this was some cameo from different maker? or maybe maker just... fucked up? Tragedy
Stage 9 is what i originally expected to hate most - sideways gravity is red color for me, i hate this gimmick with passion in 90 % of time. Fortunately, here there was that 10 % of something enjoyment. Maker did great job with this gimmick, it's not about precise stuff, but more about having fun with short saves, and the last save is just pure abuse of technical aspect of switches, which i really liked. So yeah i did find this pretty decent, it was nice chill after atrocious ending of previous stage
Stage 10 is where i'm struggled the most, way more than with even save that almost everyone considers to be hardest (last save of the game). Every save in this stage is very hard, they are all based on same maneuvers as in stage 6 - heavy inclusion of water, but more raw, screens has not that many jumps, but they are all way harder in average. I had solid amount of enjoyment, it's probably the only stage in the game where difficulty prevails over atmosphere, but in great way, since every save is challenging on it's own in unique way and they are filled with stuff you didn't regulary meet in needle
Last stage is final step in the game. Visuals are pretty straightforward, leaving you will pure needle, pushing you to logical conclusion to game. I kinda hate one save here, but not that much as last save of stage 8 - pre-last save, it ends with hard section that includes corner, which is eeeh. Most of the saves are easy tho, but don't fall in this trap - last save will be menacing 4-screens journey. Last save structured pretty interestingly, it didn't contain any really hard jumps, mostly easy and medium range, but complete this in one go is tougher than it seems. It was actually nice paced and i never get bored, even tho i got lucky overall and first tried last screen
After last save there will be short section of... i don't know even know, but you can't die here, it was just final present of the game, to being here slightly more than you should, enjoying last bits of experience, that you can get only here (from what i remember from my experience, Crying Myself to Sleep and Abducted did the same things). And the last jump of this section is cool, you just staying before pit and you are in confusion, but you are still jumping in eventually, because what's the another option - this really got me for some reason, probably one of the best endings to fangame i've ever seen
All in all, this was astonishing. Most of the stages provides unique and interesting challenge. I really hate the fact that last save of stage 8 exists, without this thing, my rating will be way higher and it will probably my favourite needle game overall. Would highly recommend to every experienced needle player
Rating: 9.4 94
Difficulty: 82 82
Sep 7, 2023
Kilgour22
For: Abigail
For: Abigail
Good-to-great short needle game with pretty creative jumps.
[1] Like
Rating: 7.0 70
Difficulty: 38 38
Sep 7, 2023
Stitchball
For: I wanna stop feeling insecure by climbing a 5 screens long mountain
[0] Likes
For: I wanna stop feeling insecure by climbing a 5 screens long mountain
[0] Likes
Rating: 5.5 55
Difficulty: 71 71
Sep 7, 2023
Jopagu
For: Jason's Journey
For: Jason's Journey
A cute little gimmick needle game, but not really anything more. The gimmicks are fairly simple, although there's a single complicated one. With one exception, the gimmicks stay fairly basic the whole way through, but I felt like they were used better in the second half. The first half is a forgettable but decent needle game, but the second half has some fun cycle platforming that makes the game worth playing.
The bosses are creative, using the gimmicks from all the preceding stages to create an atypically involved boss fight. However, they are quite lacking in attacks and end up feeling a bit lacking. The second boss is cool at first, but quickly loses its luster as it's all just more of the same.
As Kurath has said, this game feels like quite the failure in terms of "adventure", the areas are super disjointed, and the story might as well not exist. The bosses are just plopped in, without even warranting a mention from the protagonist. While the game is a serviceable needle game, I feel like it doesn't really feel like the adventure game it claims to be.
Overall, certainly worth playing for fans of gimmick needle, particularly cycles. There's some really cool stuff with the lasers and the flipping spikes. The momentum kid is the one novel gimmick, and while maybe controversial, I thought it was awesome. The game is a bit of a let down if you're expecting an adventure, but otherwise it's a recommendation, though not one without caveats.
[1] Like
The bosses are creative, using the gimmicks from all the preceding stages to create an atypically involved boss fight. However, they are quite lacking in attacks and end up feeling a bit lacking. The second boss is cool at first, but quickly loses its luster as it's all just more of the same.
As Kurath has said, this game feels like quite the failure in terms of "adventure", the areas are super disjointed, and the story might as well not exist. The bosses are just plopped in, without even warranting a mention from the protagonist. While the game is a serviceable needle game, I feel like it doesn't really feel like the adventure game it claims to be.
Overall, certainly worth playing for fans of gimmick needle, particularly cycles. There's some really cool stuff with the lasers and the flipping spikes. The momentum kid is the one novel gimmick, and while maybe controversial, I thought it was awesome. The game is a bit of a let down if you're expecting an adventure, but otherwise it's a recommendation, though not one without caveats.
Rating: 7.6 76
Difficulty: 50 50
Sep 7, 2023
Aetius
For: I wanna be the Eggy2!「Remake」
For: I wanna be the Eggy2!「Remake」
very fun trap game that i think all should play
rip they need to fix link
[0] Likes
rip they need to fix link
Rating: 6.9 69
Difficulty: 44 44
Sep 7, 2023
PlutoTheThing
For: I'm bored 2
For: I'm bored 2
I wasn't very big on this one, while some things are cool it ended up feeling like a pretty basic game as far as gameplay was concerned, there's some creativity and humor to it but a lot of it just didn't click with me personally. The bosses were often just boring and a lot of the platforming was just so forgettable to me, with not many points of interest. It's far from a horrible experience but I wouldn't say I walked away with positive feelings.
[0] Likes
Rating: 4.7 47
Difficulty: 36 36
Sep 7, 2023
wakusei
For: I wanna be the Engine ねころんEdition
For: I wanna be the Engine ねころんEdition
MY FAVORITE GM8 ENGINE.
there's nothing fancy about this engine, it's perfect for making an adventure game, and the trigger system is easy to use
because it's so old, I made a lot of new changes to it and I fixed a lot of bugs, I've released it on the wiki under the name ISK Engine
as for the Nekoron font, I've packed it into my engine, so you can download and install it directly
there's nothing fancy about this engine, it's perfect for making an adventure game, and the trigger system is easy to use
because it's so old, I made a lot of new changes to it and I fixed a lot of bugs, I've released it on the wiki under the name ISK Engine
as for the Nekoron font, I've packed it into my engine, so you can download and install it directly
Tagged as: Engine
[1] Like
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: N/A
Sep 7, 2023
PlutoTheThing
For: April is the Cruelest Month
For: April is the Cruelest Month
It's really not too hard to understand why I like this game on a bare-bones, fundamental level. It's a Figure-like, and you can see from my highest rated games that I quite like figure, along with a lot of other games Marc also likes that could have possibly influenced this game. The game has lots of cool jumps with gimmicks ranging from basic stuff to more complex and unique ideas that are used in some of the most creative ways I've seen, with great atmosphere and music. The gameplay is about as suited to my tastes as it gets, I like literally every single save. April Is The Cruelest Month is a very brilliantly designed game, but my feelings towards it are a bit more complicated than just, I like the needle. They extend to the core gameplay and theming of the game, which is hard to explain, but I will do my best.
So, the structure of a Figure-like is similar to a floor game, and this game does parallel the floor numbers that represent something, and they also are not in order. This in my opinion is actually integral to the overall feel the game gives, because there's a level of ambiguity towards what's coming next, and how far along you are. The game is deliberately very inconsistent, there are floors which are just one screen, but many can be multiple screens or a big area, the lack of clarity of how far along you are really does add to how you feel, especially because the difficulty balance is all over the place. I think the game keeping it's cards close to it's chest and not letting you really prepare for what comes is not just interesting to experience, it also ties into life itself, which for me makes the themes hit all the harder. You can't be prepared to get knocked down by some random obstacle out of nowhere, it just happens, and you have to live through it even if you don't think you can. It's in that aspect where I think the difficulty is actually instrumental to this game, because it's about heavy stuff, and if it was just a pleasant romp with zero struggles, you wouldn't feel it as much, and it wouldn't resonate as much. You spend a lot of time with most of the floors in April, you really get to take in the visuals, the audio, and the jumps. You have fun while doing it, but it does stick to you, and it is challenging.
I'm not really someone who cares about story, at least in most situations. There are instances where I do but in fangames, it just seems silly to care about, and the story of April does not impact my review at all, but it definitely impacts how I feel about it. The game is very personal, to the point where I think it's a bit odd for someone like me to try to tie it all into how I feel, because it's not about me, but ultimately while the game is a reflection of the person who made it, there are things that someone like me can take away from it which are relatable. I planned to write a lot about it, but I realized I can't really do my emotions justice, I never really have been able to. It's impossible for me to verbalize why I feel how I do, or what makes me even feel how I do. When thinking about how the game made me feel I did start crying, there's something about this game that makes me very fearful and anxious, and in my mind I know what it is, but I don't think it would make sense to anyone else. At the bare minimum, the end of the game does leave off on a somewhat positive note, which is maybe something I should think about more, but it's very easy to become addicted to the things that make you feel the worst.
Ultimately I don't really have any complaints about April. It's not perfect I guess, but there's not really any way I would care to improve it, it's perfect for my taste in other words. I really do think this is one of the most profound needle experiences of all time and something well worth playing, it's a contender for my favorite needle game and it's probably the only time that I will get this emotional over something in a silly precision platformer. Great work.
[3] Likes
So, the structure of a Figure-like is similar to a floor game, and this game does parallel the floor numbers that represent something, and they also are not in order. This in my opinion is actually integral to the overall feel the game gives, because there's a level of ambiguity towards what's coming next, and how far along you are. The game is deliberately very inconsistent, there are floors which are just one screen, but many can be multiple screens or a big area, the lack of clarity of how far along you are really does add to how you feel, especially because the difficulty balance is all over the place. I think the game keeping it's cards close to it's chest and not letting you really prepare for what comes is not just interesting to experience, it also ties into life itself, which for me makes the themes hit all the harder. You can't be prepared to get knocked down by some random obstacle out of nowhere, it just happens, and you have to live through it even if you don't think you can. It's in that aspect where I think the difficulty is actually instrumental to this game, because it's about heavy stuff, and if it was just a pleasant romp with zero struggles, you wouldn't feel it as much, and it wouldn't resonate as much. You spend a lot of time with most of the floors in April, you really get to take in the visuals, the audio, and the jumps. You have fun while doing it, but it does stick to you, and it is challenging.
I'm not really someone who cares about story, at least in most situations. There are instances where I do but in fangames, it just seems silly to care about, and the story of April does not impact my review at all, but it definitely impacts how I feel about it. The game is very personal, to the point where I think it's a bit odd for someone like me to try to tie it all into how I feel, because it's not about me, but ultimately while the game is a reflection of the person who made it, there are things that someone like me can take away from it which are relatable. I planned to write a lot about it, but I realized I can't really do my emotions justice, I never really have been able to. It's impossible for me to verbalize why I feel how I do, or what makes me even feel how I do. When thinking about how the game made me feel I did start crying, there's something about this game that makes me very fearful and anxious, and in my mind I know what it is, but I don't think it would make sense to anyone else. At the bare minimum, the end of the game does leave off on a somewhat positive note, which is maybe something I should think about more, but it's very easy to become addicted to the things that make you feel the worst.
Ultimately I don't really have any complaints about April. It's not perfect I guess, but there's not really any way I would care to improve it, it's perfect for my taste in other words. I really do think this is one of the most profound needle experiences of all time and something well worth playing, it's a contender for my favorite needle game and it's probably the only time that I will get this emotional over something in a silly precision platformer. Great work.
Rating: 10.0 100
Difficulty: 82 82
Sep 7, 2023