[EGD] Review 02: Got Any Demons That Need Exterminating? Introducing... The Gun!

Review by autumnwinter on Sunday, August 6th 2017

Hey, guys! I'm Autumnwinter, and I'm back with another review. It's been about a year since I last reviewed a game, but now I'm back, and I'm gonna review an EGD 11 entry. Since I participated in EGD 11, and know that many entries are still awaiting their promised reviews, I said, "What the heck? I'll do it." The game I've chosen is called Goodbye Horses by Tritertitan. Now, he doesn't really have a lot of games for us Sploderians to play, but I've seen him on the Forums, so he's a pretty well-known member. The reason I chose Goodbye Horses for my review was the way Tritertitan drew me into his game: the story.

Introduction/Story

Goodbye Horses has a very unique story, and it's pretty much unlike anything I've seen in a Sploder game. You play as Ben Rovver, a 19-year old FBI agent. The FBI is trying to hunt down an odd yet vicious serial killer called Jeff the Skinner. Jeff does his job a little differently than you'd think; instead of killing humans, he kills animals (preferably horses, hence the name Goodbye Horses) and leaves the remains to frighten California. The FBI needs Ben sent to another dimension called The Land of Dreams and Nightmares, which has been rumored to hold all of sins of the Bible committed on Earth. The FBI hopes to use that information to track down Jeff and kill/arrest him...? I don't really know. Now it's time again for the First Look Show with Autumnwinter and Ellen DeGeneres! (This should totally be a running gag for me)

The First Look Show

When I first began playing Goodbye Horses, I noticed that the scenery was a blend of graphics and shapes from the creator. I thought to myself, �That�s an interesting way to design a PPG.� There�s more I want to talk about involving the scenery, but I need to save it for the Scenery & Artwork. The first level of Goodbye Horses is visually stunning, but I did have little trouble with the gameplay and level design. For starters, the gameplay is very basic, and there was lack of direction. I did like how Tritertitan created different enemies with different backstories, which adds depth to the story rather than some random Mario game where the only plot is Peach saying �Save me!�

Gameplay

Now this isn�t my favorite part of the review to write, but I�ll try my best. So, somewhere on the Forums, I remember seeing somebody say something to this extent, �Most PPGs these days are basically just �grab the keys.�� I�m sorry to say that this applies to Goodbye Horses as well. Most of Goodbye Horses� levels rely on Ben grabbing keys just to open new areas, and this cycle continues until one of those areas is the exit. I did appreciate that the platforming was quite challenging, and I found myself retrying every level at least once. Two of my favorite parts of the gameplay of Goodbye Horses are The Devil�s Spirit, which serves as a tip guide (however, he doesn�t give tips on the gameplay, just the story from what I recall), and the eyeball you drag around the screen. It�s a cool feature in the game because it helps you easily look around the level, get into hard-to-reach spots, and it definitely fits in the creepy atmosphere Goodbye Horses provides for you.

Level Design

Uh, yeah� I don�t really have much to say about the Level Design as Goodbye Horses is meant to be set up like your run-of-the-mill platformer (mind you, not the platformer creator!). But I will say that I never really experienced any type of difficulty spike in the game, which is good and bad in a way. Good, because the game would then be easier for amateur gamers to complete. And bad, because if the game isn�t too much of a challenge, then players will get bored of the game and quit. �But wait, Autumn, you just said in the previous paragraph that the platforming was challenging!� Yes, I did, but the platforming stayed challenging throughout the game, and the levels didn�t get any milder or more extreme. The final level where you defeat Jeff the Skinner was a very creative idea, and it serves as the outlier level of the game. It was refreshing to see a different style of gameplay (3D) in a Goodbye Horses level, but it stayed true to the regular levels by adding the eyeball. If any you play Undertale, this level should be a breeze for you. It�s a bullet hell level after all!

Scenery & Artwork

I�ll repeat myself: this game�s scenery was a mixture of physics-creator shapes and graphics. It looks nice, but it�s not the best. You would get tired of it about halfway through the game. I will say, though, I�m impressed with the backgrounds of Goodbye Horses. Let�s say� which one looks more appealing? Super Mario Bros. or Super Mario Odyssey (the game, not the EGD game� jeez�)? Definitely Odyssey, because there�s more detail in the background, which creates atmosphere for the game. In this game, the atmosphere is whimsical, creepy, mystical, dreamy, and it applies to the phrase, �Every rose has its thorn.� But one of the main problems with the graphics I have is that Tritertitan uses �that� graphic for Ben Rovver. If you�re an older Sploder member, you�ve definitely seen this graphic, and many others like it. It�s very unoriginal in my opinion, and I�m beginning to wonder if Tritertitan actually made any of Goodbye Horses� graphics. Oh yeah, one more thing. I really love how one of the levels was reminiscent of The Undead Revolution. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but if it was, brownie points!

GOODBYE HORSES: Ratings

Story: 8/10

First Look: 6/10

Gameplay: 7/10

Level Design: 5/10

Scenery & Artwork: 7/10

Grand Score: 6.6/10

Sentence: Between Fair and Good

Final Words

Despite all the negative aspects I�ve added to this review, I really enjoyed playing Goodbye Horses, and although it�s not the perfect game, I think it deserved its place of 19th overall in EGD 11. Yep, I'm gonna recommend you guys play this game. Congratulations, Tritertitan, for making a great game for us to play! Okay, so I guess that�s it. Go have a great day! Autumnwinter out!