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Review Summary
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[ + + + - - ] :: ENJOYMENT
[ + + + - - ] :: CREATIVITY
[ + + + + - ] :: PRESENTATION
Antigolf sees you play as a golf hole who is fed up with being the target. You must dodge all sorts of golf balls in a bullet hell that constantly throws new challenges at you! This game is a great demonstration of how to apply VFX in an indie game.
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Rubric / How I Measure The Score
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[ + - - - - ] 1 - Missing
[ + + - - - ] 2 - Somewhat Present
[ + + + - - ] 3 - Present
[ + + + + - ] 4 - Well Done
[ + + + + + ] 5 - Outstanding
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Detailed Review
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[ + + + + - ] :: ENJOYMENT
I love that you have the difficulty ramp up every few seconds by introducing new mechanics! During my second playthrough I was surprised that the difficulty level didn't reset! At first I thought it was a great bug feature, but I wished I could have started over and seen what happens at the 2 minute mark. I may never know.
Because of that, I was unmotivated to play it beyond the second and third playthrough. It seemed impossible to get a better time at a higher difficulty. Otherwise I would have given you 4 stars (assuming there really was more waiting for me after the 2 minute mark).
I think in order to achieve 5 stars you'd have to make the game more non-linear. That could be accomplished by changing the terrain (maybe uneven ground, or areas of faster/slower movement), or by having resources or powerups to collect. Something that gives me more motivation to play longer.
Edit: I saw both Enjoyment and Creativity as being 3.5 stars. I decided to put an extra star here rather than let the half-stars go to waste. Hope you don't mind! :)
[ + + + - -] :: CREATIVITY
Reversing the role between a golf player and a golf ball is definitely an original idea! I love how you had the ball narrate their perspective. It worked well as a bullet hell game.
I think a 4 or 5 star rating would require another leap in creativity. As it stands, it boils down to a bullet hell. What other twists could you add? Maybe there could be a society of golf balls who live underground and coordinate their revenge against the golf players? Maybe it's a bullet hell BUT you can knock the bullets back? Just some ideas.
[ + + + + - ] :: PRESENTATION
I was leaning towards giving 3 stars for this, but how could I? You had camera shakes! You had particle collisions! You had trailing effects! You did a great job! That, and you also gave the ball a voice. It definitely enhances the experience! There was a sound for everything. Loved the music too!
I can't give it 5 stars because what you did has been done before in the same contexts. None of the effects stood out to me as groundbreaking or unique. Perhaps you could enhance certain moments with a scrolling in-game cutscene like what they do at bowling alleys? Just an example: maybe you could create more intensity for a collision between 2 homing balls by creating an animated graphic of your hole doing a matrix-style jump as the two balls come crashing together.
You still did a great job! This was definitely your strongest point.