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Shortventure 2018
	Wolfiexe Reviews
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A Minimal Adventure (Arzztt)
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This was an enjoyable shortventure mainly based around needle'ish platforming and using a few simple gimmicks here and there to enhance it. The minimalist aesthetic was easy on the eyes, although I preferred the visuals in stage 2 (also my favourite stage in the game). You pull off the VVVVVV style very well, with both the level design and the extra touches such as the title texts and visuals feeling polished. I also particularly liked the stage 3 screens where the single/double jump star gimmicks were used, although on a small note I felt the save sound effect in stage 3 was noticeably louder than everything else. For the most part though the audio was without issues.

The ending did feel very abrupt, and I wished there was some sort of finale to cap it off, be it a boss or perhaps a final stage/tower with the mixed-stage tile style you used in your final screen (which I'm always a fan of). I couldn't really find a way to tie the game to the shortventure theme either, although that didn't detract from my enjoyment.

Ultimately it's a nice little game with some pretty fun segments. I would've liked to have seen more variety in the design of the early stage or perhaps something a bit unusual to make it more memorable in parts. A nice entry though and congratulations on making your first adventure! Hopefully we see more if you're feeling up to it.

Overall - 6/10
Theme - 1/10
Level Design - 8/10
Atmosphere - 5/10
Audio - 7/10

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BlackMist (Lovey01)
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An interesting little game focused primarily on trigger-based platforming. BlackMist has a well-set atmosphere and theme which link well together, and the stages flow into one-another very reasonably. I particularly liked the mini-boss in stage 2 which had some fun attacks, although I'd have liked to perhaps see a custom sprite for the platform to help fit the atmosphere more. There's also some nice attention to detail which I liked, such as The Kid jumping back in the little cutscene near the end of stage 3. I enjoyed the breakable block and machine gun gimmicks, although was sad to see they weren't used very much past the first few instances.

One of my biggest issues was how visually noisy it felt on the first couple of stages. The flashing in the background mixed with the rain effect caused some strain on my eyes, and it particularly impacted me on the mini-boss as trying to read small black bullets mixed in with a noisy rain effect dampened (heh) the experience a little. I'd consider either toning down or removing the flashing in the background, or maybe altering it to something a bit more subtle. I also think some small gimmicks might've gone a long way in making the platforming more enjoyable. The triggers make it feel a bit more alive, but the actual jumps and manoeuvres don't feel too interesting which can result in slightly uninteresting platforming. I also ran into a bug(?) after the final screen where you're navigating the large room with the heart, where I jumped up on the next screen only to instantly die, however next time I tried this it progressed me to the next screen. Not sure what's going on there.

BlackMist has some pretty cool things, and there's definitely lots of potential here. The highlight for me was the mini-boss and some slightly perhaps under-utilized mechanics. You captured the theme and atmosphere fairly well and for a first adventure I think this is a great start. I hope this lights a game-making spark for you!


Overall - 6/10
Theme - 6/10
Level Design - 5/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Audio - 8/10

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Endless Mirage (Tralexium)
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This game easily has some of the best production value out of all the entries in the contest. From the very start, the visuals are a real treat for the eyes, and it really works together well to build a charming little world to adventure in. It doesn't stop there though. Amidst the variety of well-crafted enemies and polished level design, it all just feels really well produced. The screens flow into each other well with good save balance, and the hazards feel creatively managed to make each save a bit different from the last. The ending boss is also a great fight, and I found timing the charge shot for maximum damage to be very rewarding.

I wasn't too sure about the connection with the theme other than the tone shift in the midway point of the game and what the readme tells me, although I would imagine this makes a more clear definition in the finished product. As it is essentially a demo, no doubt there's a large amount of content that didn't make it into this version, and I'm very eager to see the complete game and find out more. Whilst most of the save balance in the game felt perfect I did have a slight gripe with the 3-room block puzzle, where whilst I enjoyed the puzzle itself, making a small mistake in a long'ish puzzle arena made restarting somewhat tedious. I enjoyed the puzzle itself, but thought it felt a tiny bit punishing in contrast to all the previous block puzzles which usually didn't require all of the blocks being used on the switches, and were also much shorter.

A really great submission though Alex. The effort you've put into the sprite-work in particular is insane, and I had to rank purely on production value, I'd feel pretty comfortable in giving this one first place. Looking forward to the final release!

Overall - 9/10
Theme - 5/10
Level Design - 8/10
Atmosphere - 9/10
Audio - 8/10

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I Don't Wanna Hide When It's Dark Outside (FictioN)
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This is a game which captures the feel of a completely different genre pretty well, given just how different a point-and-click adventure and a precision platformer are. Of course that's only part of the game, but I have to say that one of my favourite parts of this is the overworld map, which was a really sweet way to tie the stages and the world together and made it feel very much like a real adventure game. It's a bit clunky in execution, but it's a charming little touch that I really liked. The platforming also felt fairly simple yet not bland, and suited the feel of the game pretty well. In fact the early stages reminded me very much of older-style adventure games with simple difficulty but elements of uniqueness that make them fun in the first place. This was complemented nicely by simple gimmicks, such as shootable blocks in the Mines stage.

I can see where the theme ties in (in terms of the title at least), although I'm not sure how well it comes across in-game, as it came across as more of a light-hearted adventure without any real element of "fear" that I could notice. I was also hoping for some sort of mini-boss perhaps to end each stage, or even just the final one. Whilst not a necessity, I think for a game of this style it would've fit in very well as a conclusion, or even just a little humourous cutscene to fit with the whimsical nature of the game. There were a couple of rough patches I noticed in the final stage where jumps felt a little bumpy in difficulty, at least compared to the very easy nature of the Mines and the Underwater Area, and I'd also recommend being careful with your screen borders/transitions, where small things such as jumping back up after entering the aforementioned Underwater Area will immediately kill you, which feels a bit jarring.

I'd comment on the audio quality being a little subpar, although given the source material I'm not sure there's anything you could've really done about that, and honestly it kinda adds to the charm of the game anyway so, eh. Overall it's a really sweet beginner shortventure. There's some rough patches here and there which is expected given this is your first game, but it has personality where a lot of games today don't, and that'll make it memorable. Nice job Fiction. I hope this inspires you to keep making games!

Overall - 6/10
Theme - 5/10
Level Design - 6/10
Atmosphere - 5/10
Audio - 7/10

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I Wanna be the Graverobber (Lss)
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Graverobber is a real standout submission. Everything from the humourous story to the inventive level design and the very polished atmosphere and attention to detail makes it a very memorable shortventure. You have a very good ability to create memorable platforming in small spaces, something which I feel isn't easily done. Aside from the normal platforming which was enjoyable, the graves themselves all felt unique and had their own gimmick or design which made them stand out, and I always looked forward to robbing my next grave to see what lied in wait. The jester grave in particular was a standout. I also like the miniboss in the pre-graveyard area, which was a reference I didn't expect to see. The theme was integrated creatively and the background effects made the atmosphere feel that bit more special.

I somewhat struggle to find things I disliked, as it felt like a really well-made small package. I'd generally say I'd have liked to see it go on for longer or perhaps a boss to round things off, but given there were mini-bosses of sorts and the contest requirements in terms of length, it fits the brief pretty perfectly. A couple of the spider segments weren't initially obvious on timing but a couple of deaths later it wouldn't be a problem.

Overall not just a great entry but just a great game on a whole, and one of my top submissions. Awesome stuff Lss! My favourite game of yours.

Overall - 10/10
Theme - 9/10
Level Design - 10/10
Atmosphere - 10/10
Audio - 10/10

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I Wanna Enjoy my Yellow Shoes 2
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Yellow Shoes 2 is a charming adventure that moulds into the Shortventure theme very nicely, starting as a simple and sweet adventure before descending into the dark and spooky depths. One of my favourite parts about the game were the textboxes, and in combination the writing. It was all done in an often humourous and charming way which helped encapsulated the adventure feel. The level design also felt well thought out, particularly to regards to backtracking in certain segments which can very easily feel like a chore, but was managed in a way that made it feel different and/or faster than before. The curse gimmick was interesting, although I felt perhaps a slight increase in time might've alleviated some of the trickier saves, most notably the first red/green vine save. I particularly liked the final stage, which utilized the laser gimmick in fun ways and suited the stage atmosphere very well.

As mentioned previously, I feel some of the saves in the cursed cave area stung a little in difficulty compared to the rest of the game, which can partly be attributed down to the gimmick introduction and getting used to the timing. I think introducing the gimmick with a couple of easier saves might work nicely, or just lengthening the curse bar a little bit to avoid punishing really small mistakes. I was also a little confused in the large water area, which took me a few moments to understand what exactly I was looking for. Small things such as an indicator of the jellyfish direction or slight nerfs on precision for some saves (such as in the laser area) might also make the gameplay flow smoother.

Overall though this was a really nice shortventure, and just made for a fun play. I also especially enjoyed the end boss, which felt like a fitting boss character given the theme alongside some fun attacks and reasonable difficulty. Good stuff Asza!

Overall - 8/10
Theme - 7/10
Level Design - 8/10
Atmosphere - 7/10
Audio - 9/10

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I Wanna Escape the Mansion (ArthurTheGuy)
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A really charming shortventure. I really like that you did your own voice-acting for this, as it makes the end product very memorable and even gave me a laugh or two with the death sound. The game fit the theme pretty well and despite it only being one stage, it felt pretty enjoyable to travel through and get to grips with the accompanying gimmick, which I found pretty fun to control. The boss utilized the mechanic effectively and felt pretty intense especially towards the end, making for a fun game of picking your time to shoot and reading the multiple different hazards you threw in. The story was also a nice touch, with an interesting plot twist thrown in at the end too.

I would've really liked to see this game elaborated a bit, perhaps with an extra stage or two (maybe finding the mansion or some sort of post-mansion trip down to the grave), just to make the experience last that bit longer. The level design also felt pretty fun although maybe could've been further developed with the gimmick, although given the scope of the project this is moreso something I'd hope for a larger-scale game, maybe powerups that increase the distance you travel with the gun-shot, or maybe utilizing refreshers to make fun recoil-chains. There's a lot of potential for sure.

As far as I can tell this is your first adventure game, and it's a great start! I hope it gave you a creative spark to try some more adventurey stuff in the future, because this game had a lot of charm and simple enjoyment that just makes adventures fun for me, and I'd like more stuff of this style from you. Nice job Arthur!

Overall - 7/10
Theme - 8/10
Level Design - 7/10
Atmosphere - 8/10
Audio - 9/10

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I Wanna Get Freedom (Neos)
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Get Freedom was a nice little surprise. In terms of atmosphere, I think you nailed it. The two stages in this game both feel relatively short but the variety between the screens and the production value makes them stand out and be that bit more memorable. The game on a whole felt very easy, which of course isn't a bad thing given the brief. It also felt very adventurey and I appreciate that you focused on making it feel like a little world you were travelling through, and not just a series of screens with no cohesiveness. I particularly liked your music choice for the house stage, which builds up a very eerie atmosphere.

Whilst I did enjoy both bosses (and I understand the second one wasn't finished), I think if the attacks came out a little bit faster it would be a little more fun, as it takes quite a while for an attack to actually begin. This means that by the time you've killed the boss, only about 3 attacks have actually happened which is a shame, because the boss arena and production value on the attacks seems well thought out so it's a shame not to see more of it. I also wasn't sure what exactly The Kid was afraid of, relating to the theme of "Fear". Perhaps a short introduction cutscene or intro might set the theme better rather than just being dropped straight in. As a sidenote, I wish the happy end music played on the GG screen, although it's a minor gripe.

This was a very short but charmingly fun adventure, and feels like a big step up from your submission last year. I hope you keep making games and improving as I'd love to see what you'd make given a larger timeframe and scope. Keep it up Neos!

Overall - 7/10
Theme - 4/10
Level Design - 6/10
Atmosphere - 9/10
Audio - 8/10

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I Wanna Go Trick-or-Treating (Cosmoing)
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What this game lacks in length it makes up for in charm and humour, and the theme/gimmick is implemented very comfortably. I enjoyed how the primary gimmick was used here minus one slight complaint which I'll cover in the boss section, and it complemented the level design nicely. The humour in this game given the rushed ending adds charm despite the game evidently not being complete. I actually got the "bad end" immediately after starting without realising and thought that was all there was to the game, which thankfully wasn't the case. The boss in particular was a highlight, which felt pretty well designed with no attacks being too sudden or awkward to react to, and the arena again playing well around the fear gimmick.

A complaint I have with the boss is that if you missed a shot, it felt like you had no other choice but to reset as you wouldn't have the damage to finish it off. Perhaps if there was some form of restoring your candy in the boss arena this would be alleviated (or maybe there was and I just missed it, if so then shucks). I didn't have this issue elsewhere, although the screen before the boss felt a bit trickier or more precise than the rest of the stage which caused a bit of a difficulty bump.

Overall thought I had a fun time with this. It's a shame the game is as short as it is, but it makes for a fun little Halloween adventure for those of us who don't want to go out trick-or-treating ourselves. Fun stuff Cosmo! I hope if you make more games it keeps this sense of humour because it makes for a more memorable adventure.

Overall - 7/10
Theme - 8/10
Level Design - 7/10
Atmosphere - 8/10
Audio - 7/10

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I Wanna Play Kiduija (Mattin)
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Mattin delivers an amazing adventure game yet again. This is one of a couple entries which replicates the survival-horror atmosphere that I really enjoy, and searching around this giant mansion looking for keys, powerups and other items makes for a fun time. This is further complemented by the menu system, something I'm glad to see in this style of game. The level design in particularly felt really solid and well thought-out all the way through, and there were no weird difficulty bumps or questionable saves. There werwe also a variety of bosses, each completely different visually and conceptually but all equally creative and engaging to play. The final boss in particular is a stand-out, and whilst I'd have like to have seen perhaps more attacks in the shooty phase or just have that phase last a little less time, it made for a really intense finale. The production value was very impressive too, from the parallax background effects to the clean and slick tilesets, it's just all-around a great production.

As mentioned earlier, I'd have liked to have seem the final boss have a few more attacks in the shooty phase, perhaps an series of enrage attacks. I liked how in the Brain boss one of the attacks "enraged" upon breaking the glass, and it's something I wish was in all of the bosses as it makes the fights more intense and exciting. It's not a major thing though, and one of the small things I can really pick out. I did get a tiny bit lost at the end when looking where to put the 2 items, as I hadn't noticed that segment was examinable.

From small things like the well-designed flow of the environment and the attention to detail on sound effects, to the creative level design and fun boss variety, Kiduija makes for a really memorable adventure game. Great stuff as always Mattin!

Overall - 10/10
Theme - 9/10
Level Design - 10/10
Atmosphere - 10/10
Audio - 9/10

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I Wanna Return From Silent Hill (Smartkin)
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Return From Silent Hill has a lot of potential for sure. As you mention in parts, the game does feel like a demo of a much large and grandiose project which would be a very memorable game. In the short form it's currently in, it lacks that polish and enjoyment that would come at a later date. I really liked the concept of a Resident Evil/Silent Hill-style fangame. The little touches like the inventory & flavour text, atmosphere of the starting area and the variety of sound effects are all nice features. In addition, the map looks very promising and sets the scene for quite the adventure.

As established, the game is on the shorter side of things which made the experience go by very quickly. There unfortunately wasn't a great deal of gameplay to be had. I was a little confused upon entering the "Insane" state, as it started to feel like even upon getting hit over and over I wasn't losing any HP, meaning I could just plough on ahead without regard for the enemies or hazards. I also got slightly confused on the boss in terms of when I could damage it and when his armour/shield/whatever would be up, although I found a good opening in the end. The Mario tie-in to the story was an interesting touch, although I was more hooked in the initial segment in the spooky town, which I'd hope reappears later in the game.

I'm thoroughly looking forward to the finished product Smart because it looks like you're aiming pretty high with this, and whilst not in a near-complete state quite yet, it's hooked me enough to want to play more. My primary feedback for the finished product would be to perhaps find a gimmick or two to add more layers to the platforming, and maybe play to the strengths of the Silent Hill/Resident Evil type games with a couple puzzles and some eerie moments!

Overall - 7/10
Theme - 6/10
Level Design - 6/10
Atmosphere - 7/10
Audio - 8/10

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I Wanna Travel the Night (RandomErik)
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This might be my favourite game from you Erik. Just about everything felt very fun in design, from the wide variety of enemies to the changing environments and appropriate gimmicks, it all felt like a very cohesive adventure that didn't have a dull moment. I can always appreciate a good old text-to-speech story too, which was a great way to start the story. The flow of the game is particularly great with how mini-bosses are incorporated into the stages, breaking up the platforming and bosses in a perfect way. Each boss feels completely different too, and has their own unique design (which by the way you did a superb job with) and the same applies to the enemy design too. Having said that, my favourite boss may have been the stage 4 boss which felt like a departure from your usual style, and having a visually different boss that flowed different from most of the others made it stand out that bit more. My favourite stage visually was actually the pyramid, partly because it felt like a departure from the dark and somewhat gloomy environments I was used to and was a nice contrast and change of pace. There was also a trap in this stage (and an upside-down reference) that I loved.

I don't really have many things I disliked here. I felt that the electric eel lasers in stage 3 could've been a bit brighter, alongside some of the other darker elements across the game (mainly in stage 3). There was also a hiccup in the last screen of stage 4 where I was dying to some sort of invisible spike, although I think you've been made aware of this already. I would've liked to have seen the final stage go on for a bit longer, but I can assume this was down to time constraints. I'd love to see the text-to-speech plot make a return at the end of the game too, maybe after the final boss.

Just overall a really great game, and like I said, potentially my favourite Erik game. Level design, bosses, charm and even small attention to detail like The Kid's face sprite changing when you're pushing a block, all make it an extremely memorable entry. Awesome stuff!

Overall - 9/10
Theme - 7/10
Level Design - 9/10
Atmosphere - 9/10
Audio - 10/10

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Kid Story (KingSlendy)
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Definitely one of the most unique entries in this years Shortventure contest. I liked the spooky old-school adventure vibe you have going here, which reminded me of a lot of my favourite horror games. Little touches like the flavour text on objects (the Piano text mixed with the sprite made me laugh) and the library puzzle were good, and visually it looked nice, flowing together pretty well from room to room with enough variety to keep me interested. The achievements were also a fun touch, although I had to consult other judges in regards to finding a few of them which bordered on galaxy brain levels.

There are a fair few things I think could be improved upon to make this stand out even more. One thing that immediately came to mind would be an inventory system to see what you've collected, which feels like a staple feature in this sort of game. I also think some hazards would go a long way in making the game feel more engaging. Even though it isn't a typical IWBTG platformer, there's still lots of potential to create moving hazards or dangers for the player to avoid and navigate through such as perhaps ghosts firing bullets, floating spirits or fire bursts from the fireplaces. Also some ambient yet noticeable music would make the atmosphere a little more intense and also exciting for the player, as lack of music all game long felt like a negative here. Maybe the odd eerie sound effect here and there would go a long way too.

Overall I appreciate that you did something different here, and I think it has a lot of potential. The spooky atmosphere and story make the along with the genre-shift make it quite a memorable entry, and definitely one of the most experimental submissions we've received. I'd love to see it worked on a little further and see the finished result. Cool stuff Slendy!

Overall - 6/10
Theme - 6/10
Level Design - 3/10
Atmosphere - 9/10
Audio - 7/10


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Phobophobia (Haegoe)
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The highlight of Phobophobia for me was definitely the bosses, which both have a variety of fun attacks and have a spooky sort-of theme attached to them, particularly the first (although the music definitely helps). The platforming also some fun parts here and there, where I was initially intrigued by the falling platforming gimmick as I found it added to the spooky factor and could've been used interestingly, perhaps in a puzzlish way. The music/sound effects also contributed fairly well to the atmosphere which I liked.

Other than the bosses, I didn't find the theme tie-in to be very engaging, and the platforming I feel would've enhanced the theme moreso if the disappearing block gimmick used early on was utilized more, which unfortunately wasn't the case. Some of the saves felt a bit uninspired and corridor-heavy, which led to it not being terribly memorable. I understand there was a bit of a time rush (and by the way I liked the troll in stage 2), but it would've been nice to see more variety in platforming, perhaps some deviance from the normal layouts or corridor-format you're used to. I think one of the main issues I had is it didn't feel terribly adventurey, and moreso just needle with the odd trigger or moving objects. A well utilized gimmick or two would go a long way I think!

It was a pleasant little game that I think could be polished up to a much more memorable game. The bosses supported it a great deal and I assume is where the bulk of the time went, but other than the bosses I didn't really get an adventure-vibe from it, which I know you can pull off well given some of your other games.

Overall - 5/10
Theme - 5/10
Level Design - 5/10
Atmosphere - 6/10
Audio - 7/10

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Return to Vibrance (Lumi)
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Very likely the most visually unique shortventure submission. Return to Vibrance has a crazy atmosphere with the otherworldy visuals and surreal sprites used to create the many hazards that are scattered around the game. I found the variety of these hazards very interesting, and they were mostly combined well to make for some fun platforming. I particularly liked the timing-based gimmicks in the second stage, such as the mixture of skull blocks, lollipops and aimed eyes, although one particular save did sting in difficulty a little. The bosses made for some fun and exotic challenges, and felt right at home visually. I also appreciate the inclusion of autofire which made shooting in the bosses much more managable and carefree. Oh, and audio-wise the stage 2 song was a very nice choice.

I did have a couple of difficulty bumps here and there, the first of which was on the very first save of the game which felt like a heavy introduction to the gimmicks before it cools down on the next few saves. There were also a couple of segments where I wasn't certain on where to go, and upon going into a screen transition I died, only to realise I had to go a different way. I think perhaps this could be more clear, perhaps by sealing off the false transitions. Also, whilst I enjoyed both bosses, the end phase of the second boss felt poorly managed. The third attack felt designed to have you damaging on the right hand side, but transitioning into the final phase on the right would serve as an instant death. I actually ended up godmoding through the final attack as it felt a bit too much of a clown fiesta for me, although with refinement it'll make for a very fitting end boss.

Overall though this was a really surprising game with a very unique atmosphere not seen in many other games. It reminded me of Dopamine's aesthetic style with a colourful wacky twist. Very nice stuff Lumi! I hope you keep making stuff.

Overall - 7/10
Theme - 7/10
Level Design - 7/10
Atmosphere - 10/10
Audio - 7/10

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Under the Stairs (WetWookie)
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Under the Stairs is easily one of my favourite submissions purely down to how memorable it is. Not sure I've played a fangame that quite goes to the themes this one does. It reminded me somewhat of The Cardinal House, with exploring the home and finding items to use in previously-found places, avoiding hazards along the way. I loved the atmosphere in particular, and the music changing to something new after you find a new key item or open a new room make the sense of progression feel smooth. Special shout-out to the music record scene which took me on a rollercoaster of emotions on both ends of the spectrum.

I did get a little stuck in a couple places, one being after getting the Cup of Oil. Perhaps a tagline or short description in the inventory for each items would be a nice touch to subtly hint at its usage, or even just to add some flavour text. Also some spikes in the bottle room seemed to be just barely floating off the ground, which looked a bit odd, although I'm not sure if this was a visual choice or just a grid-snapping oversight. I was also hoping for some sort of continuation upon the "ending", and whilst the easter-egg-of-sorts additions were cool, I hoped for either a mini-boss, escape or maybe just a little cutscene to end the journey off, as I feel it'd be a perfect way to finish this little adventure.

Overall a very memorable game. It's sort of exactly what I expected from you, although without any of the stuff that I expected. Great submission Wookie!

Overall - 9/10
Theme - 10/10
Level Design - 7/10
Atmosphere - 9/10
Audio - 10/10