[h1]Price throws me for a loop, the length of the game and lack of SFX stuns me even harder[/h1]
I have the honor of being the first review of this game, so I'll try to be as critical as possible
I'll preface this review by saying the price tag is a steal, and not in a good way. I got this game in a giveaway, so for me, this wasn't a detriment for trying the game, but for $7 USD, the buyer expects a certain level of quality and polish, especially when it's targeted for up to 6 friends. The bad points surface upon starting the game.
To talk about art and music, first I gotta talk about the studio. Hoodie Games is a legit mobile game developer, looking at their website, and most of their games they make are based on other popular ones, which is not a bad thing (this one resembles chained together, for example). The "mobile game" art style (or look, however you want to call it) seeps through, and I immediately felt it when the main menu didn't have a 'quit game' button. The art in itself is not bad, and I don't have prejudice against mobile games, being a phone gamer as well, but the lack of a soundtrack (the only BGM is the wind) and other SFX for jumping, walking, dying, and getting checkpoints combined leaves an empty void. There is a lack of feedback for the player to know what's happening, and it makes the game feel soulless.
Now, the platforming controls. I've dealt with "sliding" or "floaty" controls before (kinda like N++, where movement is not instant, and there's momentum, friction, etc.), however this game doesn't execute them that well. Speaking of controls and platforming, there are some key aspects missing: For starters, there is no coyote (or ghost) jump (AKA the small window of time you can jump even when the character is not grounded), there's also no shadow under the character, so there's no input on where you're gonna land thanks to the camera (more on this later), and third, the platforming is a bit repetitive, and there's a small variety of obstacles the player gets thrown.
Next, let's speak of the camera. Oh god, the camera. It's a basic 3D camera that you can rotate by holding right click and zoom in & out with the scroll wheel (this is never explained in the controls, I figured it out in my frustration with the camera). What makes it so bad is the design choice of the camera being affected by obstacles and not doing anything to counteract it. If a hammer swings behind you, the camera zooms in and then out. Additionally, the lack of shadow under the character makes it difficult to gauge both distance and height at the same time, you have to check those manually by moving the camera but, you guessed it, it's never explained.
Finally, the length of the game is extremely short, which comes around to the price tag being high for the length. There are 3 zones, which I can describe by colors (grey, purple, and gold), and their respective time to beat gets shorter, thanks to getting accustomed to the controls. All zones combined make for ~15 mins of playtime (considering you will fall around 5 times feeling the game out).
I feel like I have a version of the game that is not completed. It pains me to say I don't recommend this game, because it looks like it could be genuine fun (playing with 6 people tied together sounds like a tricky but cool challenge). I feel that extending the game (either by adding maps or making the only level bigger), dealing with the camera issues caused by obstacles, introducing SFX for user feedback, and adding key features to make the platforming feel natural would turn this game around. The fun factor is there, but everything else is fighting against it.
