Sprite Sequence Chapter 1

Sprite Sequence Chapter 1 is a demo/intro chapter for an abandoned series of 2D retro platformers slapped together with the godawful GameMaker Studio construction kit from Yoyogames. The game features arguably charming line drawn art and features gameplay fairly standard for most puzzle platformers. The puzzles are fairly ambiguous and rely as much on chance as skill trying to work out how to solve them... some breadcrumbs from the developer might have been nice. This results in a less than satisfying experience. So too does the asset/template flip nature of the game. Resolution and controls are locked, and while the line art is "nice", it's hardly giving us the visuals of games like Halo Infinite or Far Cry 6. GameMaker Studio is a very poor quality game construction kit, and unsurprisingly results in products that have little to no value as games, especially when compared to the work of professional developers who create genuine products for gamers. Using a video game construction kit requires little to no talent or skill as a game developer. Very often, GameMaker Studio is used to make shovelware and lazy cash grabs, although in this case the game is completely free. The game is free because it's experimental, the developer wanted to see if abandoning established, functional, acceptable game design doctrine for an untested and unqualified approach would be viable. Given the developer then immediately abandoned the series, well, I guess that answers that question. While this is free (which is the only acceptable way to propose such a questionable design decision), it's incomplete, abandoned and unsatisfying. I can't recommend it.