Postby HeroLinik » Fri Aug 12, 2016 4:15 pm
I know this already has a review, but what's stopping me from making my own?
To all intents and purposes, this level is pretty basic, but it still has some potential. It's very well decorated with the seaweed and the coral, giving out the underwater vibe, and the decorations inside the tiles I also liked as well, as well as the lovely music, which provides some ambience. But when we cut to the gameplay, the level falls short. It's basically just a red coin hunt followed by a boss battle, and the red coin hunt is pretty bland because the stage is too linear and thus feels incredibly easy, and also boring because of the lack of challenge and also its large length when compared to the second half, and the discrepancy between the two is thus a giveaway that the second half is too short and needs some lengthening. The boss battle, on the other hand, is a bit weird because you only have a limited supply of Grab Blocks, and when you run out the boss becomes unbeatable, so it's advised you put them on a generator to prevent this. What's just as bad is the fact that while there are powerups in the first half, there are none in the second half, leading up to the boss, so it's more painful trying to redo the fight than it is first time around. The only real redeeming factor this level has to offer is the dark room where the player has to use a light to proceed. It's a good gimmick, but sadly underused, and if the player goes too high then they can see the bottom of the tileset. It should also be mentioned that the player doesn't need the light because the Bloopers are friendly, and therefore the gimmick doesn't really have any real use and was only shoehorned in as a last-minute afterthought to make the level good. Also, one of your music files is also missing, and it kills the atmosphere of the second section.
If anything, I would make your level longer so it's more fun to play. Especially, work on the second half, because it's too short in comparison to the first, and add some hazards so the light gimmick actually needs to be used. In its current state, this level gets a 3.6/10 from me. It's got some good potential, but it seems to have gone to waste.