Ericho's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[SHIFT]

So it begins

It is great to see where this popular game series all started! This was great to play because everything you did was really casual and got you prepared for what happened next. In case nobody could figure out what was going on in the level with the upside text, it says to use "Shift". You should of course figure that out already from the title and all. Also, those pointed edges are dangerous no matter what side you touch them. I really liked the music in this and it reminded me of "The Pink Panther".

The only thing I did not like was how it seemed to take long to get into the door once you had to. You guys really have come far with the game. Every one of them gets complicated so this looks easy in comparison. It still has plenty of levels and mind puzzles to keep you on your toes to beat the level. It is amazing how much detail you can put into something with just black and white.

[Mysterious Rings]

Wow!

This is a game I simply can not hate because it has a great soundtrack and is well made. The biggest problem is that this has to be one of the hardest games I have ever played! I really wish you had put a walkthrough with this. It would have been so much more convienient because I can not even advance to the second level! The best part of this was how fast paced it was and there was just so much going on. Well, maybe not that much, but it sure seemed like it.

I guess my only suggestion will be that you make the game simpler to play! I have tried the first level like five times and you would think that would be easy! The layout of it is still nice and I doubt I could ever be motivated to get the whole thing through. At least the background is good and fits the macabre gameplay. For anyone who's an expert on puzzle games, check this out for a challenge!

[The Unfair Platformer]

Hard, but fun

Challenges are nice and this is just great to play because you have no idea what is going to happen next. There's a great use of reverse psychology. Or maybe it's more of the "I Know You Know I Know" thing. Anyway, here is how you get as far as I did. The first thing you do is go on the blocks and do not go under the thing that says you should trust the boxes, because that literally falls on you. There is a hill which you can not jump off because an invisible block is above it (granted, that doesn't kill you).

Fall off the hill and then jump over the gap. The first two blocks on the gap will vanish when you try to jump on them. Do not go onto the hill top after the two blocks in mid air as there is a trap that will kill you. The checkpoint is actually real, so use it. Do not touch the blocks in the middle as spikes will come out and same thing for the single block at the end.

[Black Thing]

Weird, but good

It is always great to find new and unique games on this website or the entire Internet. This had a real haunting feeling to it, especially with the music. While I did not find it that scary, this was definitley worth playing for how original it was! Normally, you would have to maybe look for a light or something if you wanted to know what was in the darkness. Actually, this stuff wasn't in the darkness at all, it was in the light! It was amazing how fluidly the mucus moved through everything.

I do not think those spike things can be defeated, so always look out for them. It's too bad you did not use a submission you or someone else made! I wish I knew where this fantastic music came from. The theme is a very gothic one and sometimes you don't even need to splurt out your blots. Those have to be the darkest stars I've ever seen.

[Night of Million Zombies]

Different for a zombie game

I did not count the number of zombies that appeared in this, but I would not be surprised if it was about a million. The coolest thing was how this was simply never ending and well, that was about all there was. It was extremely fast paced, but it can be annoying with how you have to keep up with them. It is amazing how you managed to have over 50 medals and all of them are exactly 5 points! Granted, I was only able to get one so far. At least it has zombies, which is always good.

This is very fast-paced, so if you intend to get various medals, be sure to keep yourself on your toes. Honestly, you would have to play this for hours to get every single medal. I imagine it would be like that for any game with over fifty medals. I kind of wish there had been more of an actual story in this. It's still great to play!

ThomSip responds:

Thanks for your reply. I'm glad you liked it :)

[Submachine 05: the root]

Good atmosphere

In the Submachine series, this is one of your most complicated chapters yet. It is hard to really love or hate, because it is quite hard to even advance! Well, I was never a fan of point and click adventure games anyway, but at least you got a lot of things right. In case anyone's wondering, I think you simply click on the wheels to get ahead to the actual game. The best thing about this is how well it is detailed as well as how nice the music is. It really does create a spooky place for itself.

You do not rely on a lot of flashy affects to intimidate your players. You manage to use the negative space to create tension. What I did not like was how there were so many things around, but only a couple of them were clickable. I like how you used the "root" title to show where it all began. Not a big fan, but nice for a look.

[Blackbeard's Island]

Nice and simple

This was a really fun game because it was just so simple to get ahead in it! There still managed to be a lot of twists and turns that went along the way. I noticed there was this coin in the foreground. I could not tell if it was something I was supposed to shoot at, or if it was signifying that I had done something. In case anyone wants to know, it's the former. I love the little clanky sounds the cannonballs make when they go away. Kind of makes you wonder where you get colored cannonballs from anyway?

Another cool thing was how you heard more funny sounds when the game was over. There were these little +100 words that popped up to show what you had earned. It's a very straightforward game and it's hard not to love. There are still many things you put in, like how some of the cannonballs have powerups, but only for a brief time. Be sure to get those when you first see them.

[infect. evolve. repeat. 2]

Nice game

I am glad I was able to understand this game a lot more than the previous one. While I have yet to review it, I have in fact played it (and shall review it eventually). The best thing about this was how you could keep on replicating over and over. It had a simple layout to it. I do not know much about biology, so if everything here is completely wrong, I would not even notice it. The hardest part about it was definitley when I had to get rid of those white blood cells.

It was hard for me to even figure out how, as the ones I did get were pretty much by accident. The choice of music was nice as it gives a good creepy atmosphere. It would have been cool if the two viruses would have joined forces or something! While not the most detailed, the graphics are actually good. As it takes place in the bloodstream, it makes sense it moves fluidly.

[Raider: Episode 2]

Congrats for Daily 5th, I guess

I was kind of confused by this game at first. I thought it was going to be a game where you controlled a spaceship given the opening cut scene but it was quite different. I probably would have liked it more if it was a game like that, but this was still good. The really cool thing was how good the graphics were. It had a wonderful feeling of classic pixellated games. Parts of it were hard, especially the part in the tutorial where you used the Shift+A combination.

I did not understand how that even made a difference! Luckily, I could just start all over. It was nice with how you allowed the player to try again after falling on the ground. Granted, you still lost health by being exposed to the spikes, but there's been worse. You REALLY have to work with jumps on this as without them you're dead. Not the most elaborate, but still well detailed.

[Tetris Labs]

Really neat game!

This was good fun to play because it was such an original concept! I must not have been paying attention to the title, because I was a bit surprised by the Tetris blocks. I knew that music was familiar. This was an amazing game because you really created the level yourself and it sure is more of a puzzle game than an action game. It was amazing how there was so much space in every level for you to go around and explore. The main character himself is really well done as he moves around well.

It's just so random, with having to collect a flower in a metal room for whatever reason! It was just fun to plop around after thinking of how to solve each level. I guess you could have made it a bit smaller, but it still has a good amount of detail. It certainly lives up to what you say in the author comments. I like how petite everything is.