[quote=][url=store.steampowered.com/curator/36947035-Challenging-Games/][i]Helpful?[/i] Please follow my Curator Page: [b]Challenging Games[/b][/url][/quote]
[h1]Review: 'Hold 10 Seconds'[/h1]
[i]Full Rating and Summary at the Bottom[/i]
'Hold 10 Seconds'; the first release from indie-game developer Blindsoft, is a deceptively difficult and somewhat reaction-based 2D-platformer that provides a unique and greater challenge than you'd think at first glance.
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
The gameplay is simple. You have three major movement options, the jump, the grab and later on, the dash.
You have to use each of these tools to get across and on to platforms to avoid falling off the screen, trying to survive for 10 seconds.
The platforming is mostly reaction-based, you see your next location and you figure out how you're going to get there, feeling like something akin to 'Super Meat Boy'.
This simple, yet fairly effective loop provides an adrenaline-pumping or angering and mostly fun challenge.
Throughout the game, new concepts and challenges are added to keep it fresh. Things like moving platforms, spinning platforms, gravity changes and even some weird 3D rotating platforms.
From what I've seen, the bosses are mostly just regular gameplay, with a lot more intensity thanks to its harder difficulty, a test of the new mechanics you've learned, and the music.
A problem, albeit a somewhat small one, that I have with the movement, is that it can feel out of control from the player sometimes. This is sometimes due to the sort of 'slidey' feel that your character has, although this can be seen as a design decision. Despite this, the controls feel tight most of the time.
[strike]Another problem I have is that, when you die, the game opens the pause screen, rather than just placing you back into the level. This can really slow down the pace of the game, making it feel like a drag trying to get through levels you are finding difficult.[/strike]
**Respawn times have been optimized and made automatic. This makes the game feel a lot better than before. Thank you devs.
[h1]Design[/h1]
The design is themed around a retro aesthetic, with it's CRT monitor border and scan lines and film grain.
A problem I have with the design. There is not a lot of variation present, making it look the same for a lot of the time you play this game. Even just a few color changes would add a lot.
[h1]Fairness/Challenge[/h1]
The game is mostly fair in its difficulty. It does not introduce concepts suddenly, or abruptly, and gives you time to understand how it works.
The difficulty curve is usually fair and lets you get through a few levels to get used to the new concept with the difficulty ramping up each time.
[h1]Conclusion[/h1]
[b][u]Pros[/u][/b]
+ Challenging yet fair
+ Good controls
+ Fun
[b][u]Cons[/u][/b]
- Not much variation in design between each set of levels
- Pause between death screens slows down the pace of the game.
- Alt-tabbing game can freeze it.
Overall, 'Hold 10 Seconds' is a game that provides a deceptively difficult experience that is pretty fun to play and is definitely challenging. Although it does suffer from a few hiccups, and lack of design variation, it is still a good experience. And at only $3 USD, it's worth its price.
[table]
[tr]
[th][b]Factor[/b][/th]
[th][b]Rating[/b][/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][b]Gameplay[/b][/td]
[td]8[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][b]Design[/b][/td]
[td]6[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][b]Fairness/Challenge[/b][/td]
[td]7.5[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][b]Story[/b][/td]
[td]N/A[/td]
[/tr]
[tr]
[td][b]Pure Difficulty[/b][/td]
[td]7.5[/td]
[/tr]
[/table]
[h1]Overall Rating: 7.2/10[/h1]
[i](Excluding difficulty)
------------------------------------------------------
[i]
[b]Rating Explanation[/b]
[b]Gameplay:[/b] how good it feels, and how well each tool is used.
[b]Story:[/b] the quality of the story and it's messages
[b]Design:[/b] style of the game - not directly graphics, and how well the design is done.
[b]Sound/Music:[/b] how well the sound and music fits in, and the quality of them.
[b]Fairness/Challenge:[/b] how fair the game is in terms of difficulty; not artificial difficulty.
[b]Pure Difficulty:[/b] simply how difficult the game is.
[b]Overall:[/b] average of all factors.
[/i]
------------------------------------------------------
[i]This game was reviewed with a key/code provided by the developer for free. Review and opinion is not impacted or changed by this.[/i]
