Shaddow Game

  • Rating: 6.5

Reviews and comments

    Violet CLM 12 Nov 2023, 21:02

    The trap that scripting springs on unsuspecting level makers is suddenly there's no reason to take shortcuts, other than, well, they're easier. The Medivo level pits you against enemies that have been given boss health bars, but there's nothing to ensure you actually fight them instead of skipping them. Text strings politely ask you to go back if you didn't fight them, but that's all. In the Psych level, an invisible coin warp takes you to a TNT pickup and another warp back, instead of a script giving you the TNT ammo directly if you have enough coins. If the levels had no scripts at all, these would be understandable compromises, but because other things are scripted, suddenly these are points worthy of criticism.

    (Similar issues apply to editing tile(set)s—suddenly every drawing made in history is theoretically available, so why settle for a tile that's close enough?)

    Focusing on what the levels do do, though, rather than what they don't: this is pretty all right. Lots of pickups, including the traditional JJ2 thing where individual levels focus on individual ammo types. Trigger crates that aren't too far from their respective (clearly marked) trigger scenery blocks and sometimes do interesting things like sit on top of spikes. Level layouts that go in all directions, not just right, and feature tileset-specific obstacles. For all that the bosses are the most memorable parts of this pack, the levels aren't just window dressing, they're worthwhile (if not amazing) in their own right. Generally a pretty good time, though everything (eyecandy, layout, scripting) could take a bit more polishing.

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    Primpy 6 Nov 2023, 22:57

    7Not recommended:

    Is this level pack creative? Sure!
    Is this level pack good? Ehh…

    Pros:
    - Interesting boss ideas, albeit simple;
    - You can tell that some amount of effort went into making it;
    - Levels are visually distinct from one another and can look pretty nice at times.

    Cons:
    - The level layout is a bit flat, not great but not terrible;
    - Lots of tile errors, inconsistent tile usage;
    - The boss fights are repetitive and become tedious rather quickly;
    - Not Lori-friendly, probably beatable as Lori if you're really good at it;
    - If there are secrets, I couldn't find any;
    - No checkpoints whatsoever.

    While I can't really recommend this level pack, I have to appreciate the effort that went into creating it. These are three original, short to medium-sized levels that try to bring something new to the table, which is very commendable!

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