[b]jade order[/b] is a hitman go-like. always happy to play one of these, but this has as many issues as things going for it. there's some fluff serving as 'story', a few screens before the first level and a couple after the last, but replaying the level plays the cutscene every time and it also shows tutorial screens for each retry. would be annoying even if these messages weren't available anytime from the pause menu, but they are.
[b]50 levels[/b] divided into 5 packs, everything unlocks one by one. it's basically killing enough enemies from behind or the sides to light a beacon, then leaving the level through it. [b]undo works from a fail state[/b], which is always excellent news, though you have to wait for the death animation to finish and it can't be held to take back multiple steps. [b]no level reset hotkey/icon[/b] is not great either, have to go to the pause menu to retry.
no need to kill everything, but there are [b]optional collectibles[/b] and a similarly [b]optional move limit[/b], which can be exceeded but the counter stops at 99 even though you can keep playing. completion, loot and the move limit make up the [b]rating system for each level[/b], and much like in [i]hitman go[/i], they [b]can be completed during individual attempts[/b]. mostly because they cancel each other out anyway, obeying the move limit isn't possible if you also want to grab the coin.
basic completion is not that hard for the most part, there were only a few levels in the second half that took a while. coins I gave up on after 30-odd levels and didn't bother with the move limit after the first pack, partly due to the controls (see below).
the usual variety of stationary and mobile enemies, worth noting that gaps don't stop them from killing you if they can do so by stepping next to them. a neat thing is enemies bumping into each other bounce back and if you're sandwiched between them, you come out unscathed.
besides moving around, there are a few [b]blessings/abilities to use[/b], mostly unlocked with new level packs. pick up green macguffins (or kill enemies carrying them) and use them to single out a nearby foe to move while everybody else stays put (i.e. skip a turn), or teleport to an adjacent tile (there are also regular portals that don't use resources). paralyzing enemies is also an option, they can be anywhere on the level and attacked from any direction while stunned. and the last one simply lets you kill anybody anywhere but uses two greenies.
both keyboard and mouse work for controls, no rebinds or alternatives and [b]controls don't feel great[/b]. while I'd expect to play something like this with keys, it's not advised here. you see, [b]arrows only move the cursor, not the character, then have to press space to move there[/b]. why? simply clicking a valid tile actually moves the guy, much better. except [b]the delay between arriving on a tile and movement options appearing is noticable enough to be annoying[/b], going for all medals is a lot more tedious like this. what's worse, [b]no direct hotkeys for blessings[/b]. a simple 1-2-3-4 would work just fine, but have to press shift, then click one or mess around further with arrows and space.
[b]the game looks and sounds great[/b], though there's very little difference between the locations and [b]sometimes scenery blocks important stuff[/b] (e.g. a spark on the bottom of level 4-1), but [b]♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ the (lack of) settings are horrible[/b]. a couple of languages are available but [b]no exit button[/b], only alt+f4 works in full screen, and the autosave message says [i]'don't turn off the console'[/i], so instead of a lazy mobile port we got a lazy console port. so much better...
there are resolution options and windowed mode, but they all have to be cycled through one by one and resolution changes instantly. the game first starts in a window and instead of choosing a resolution from a list and clicking a full screen toggle or pressing alt+tab, [b]I had to go through a million resolution options until I found my native one in full screen[/b]. but wait, there's more. [b]the audio setting (singular) is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ joke:[/b] [i]'enable or disable all sounds and music'[/i], on/off. thanks... level numbers are only on the pause screen and settings aren't available while playing a level, of course. progress is lazily stored in the registry.
yet again a developer with excellent pixel art skills and a good concept (lifted from another game), [b]there's even a demo[/b] and the price wouldn't be too bad either, but [b]until some basic functionality gets patched in, it's not something to recommend[/b]. contacted the dev a couple weeks ago with some general feedback, so they had plenty of time to add a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ exit button and whatnot. alas...
