[Editor App] I Could Do A Cheesy Name Pun Here, But It Might Intrude The Review

Intrude is a game created by ppphantasm

Welcome Sploder. This is my review which I used for my editor application on Sploder. I had to write a review on a game I thought should be featured, but wasn't (Although I have since featured it so now it is :D) and this was my review. It was on Intrude, which is by Ppphantasm (Dramatic noise)

Ppphantasm is a fairly old user, joining in 2012. He holds 3 featured games, which were also made in 2012. However, he took a break and returned a few months then. He has made two games since, but seems to be have been forgotten. I don�t exactly remember Ppphantasm�s 2012 games, although I can remember that I played them back then. One past game of his I do remember though is Tick, which I felt had some very cleverly done puzzles and was an enjoyable experience, despite having a super difficulty level which brung the game down slightly. Hopefully, with Intrude Ppphantasm will solve that issue, yet still have the creativity that made Tick enjoyable.

And does Ppphantasm succeed with that?

Yes. Yes he does. Straight away with Intrude I was confronted with a puzzle. Initially, I spent some time working out what to do, but eventually I got there, and it was worth it. After the first few minutes spent trying to work out what to do the game then begins, and it�s something you don�t want to miss out on�

Immediately you are flung into battle, doing what you can to collect the crystals and survive. Intrude is jam-packed with action and adrenaline. Every time I died, I wanted to try the game again. Every time I died, I could see what I did wrong and revise my technique for the next run. Every time I died, the game didn�t feel tedious or frustrating getting back to where I was. Ppphantasm has done a brilliant job immersing the player in the game, with the simplicity of the game keeping the player hooked. Good job Ppphantasm!

One thing I enjoyed about Tick was the clever puzzles. The puzzles in Intrude though, well, there weren�t many. The puzzle I saw throughout Intrude was the opening section. This puzzle however, was fairly clever. It�s probably been done before, and the style has certainly been done before, but I haven�t seen it quite down like this. You�ll have to play the game to see what I mean. However, once you start piling up the attempts at Intrude, it can begin to become a slight chore to do. It�s not exactly perfect from the puzzle aspect, but Intrude still contains a fairly good puzzle.

Previously I described the gameplay to Intrude as simple. There aren�t any groundbreaking concepts, there aren�t any incredibly hard to execute sequences, it�s just straightforward action. If you�re looking for something complex and groundbreaking, then this isn�t for you. But sometimes, less is more. I feel that if Intrude had been overcomplicated it would�ve lost some of its charm and appeal to me. Sometimes, a game needs to be complex, other times, simplicity is key. And with Intrude, simplicity is definitely key, and Ppphantasm nailed it with Intrude.

Another simple side to Intrude is the scenery. There is nothing particularly fancy about the game visually. Ppphantasm just stuck to a very simple visual style with Intrude. It looked coherent and it worked well with the simple action style. Like the gameplay, there was no need to overcomplicate the scenery, but some artwork here and there would�ve been nice to see as long as it didn�t intrude the experience (See what I did there :D). It�s not a massive complaint though, if the game looked awkward and ugly though, then it would be a very different story�

Placement, placement, placement. For me, enemies were placed fairly well. There were lots of enemies, so you had to be fairly tactical when it came to combat. Enemies were placed perfectly to allow for you to be tactical about it. If you ran out into a frenzy you�d be pretty dead but the first key (Which I shall talk about in a bit), so you didn�t really have a choice. The map was layed out well and everything else seemed to be placed generally fine. One minor gripe I have though is the placement of health. There was plenty health, but there wasn�t quite enough to get you through the game. There needed to be one or two small healths after getting the two keys that had none (The red key had a bit), along with a little more after the three games, I found myself drained of health.

One thing I particularly enjoyed about Intrude was the open map. You needed to go near enough everywhere to progress, but the map was open, with there being multiple routes for you to take. This for me gave the game a bit of life and allows for the player to go at their own pace almost. Every time I played the game I was constantly changing what routes I would take first and I enjoyed being able to mix it up a little bit each time. While I was doing the same thing, I was still able to make the journey my own in a way, even in the second half after you had all three keys. There could�ve been a bit more of an exploration element to the open map, but I still felt this concept was fairly well executed.

Intrude was fairly repetitive to be fair. After the first puzzle and the adrenaline rush that is the pusher section after that puzzle, the gameplay doesn�t really change much. However, does it feel monotonous? Surprisingly not. Infact, I didn�t particularly want the gameplay to change that much because it was fairly enjoyable. The game didn�t feel like it was dragging on either. Infact, in my best run I had been playing for about 10 minutes, but it felt like half that time. The saying goes �Time flies when you�re having fun,� and that certainly applies to Intrude. Well done Ppphantasm.

Pros:

Fun gameplay, simple yet effective, immersive, open map

Cons:

Not overly creative, looked slightly pale, not much variety

Ratings:

Action: 9/10

Addictiveness: 9/10

Difficulty: 8/10 (Could�ve been slightly toned down, but it�s not too bad)

Scenery: 7/10

Puzzles and Traps: 7/10 (What was there was good, but there wasn�t enough there)

Placement: 8.5/10

Lag: 9/10 (10 = No lag, 0 = lots of lag)

Gameplay: 8.5/10

Length: 10/10

Overall: 8.5/10

Feature worthy: Yes

While it is not a perfect game, the issues are only very minor and Ppphantasm sure does a great job with Intrude. It�s a fairly simple idea that may put some people off slightly, but if you can get over that, you�re in for a blast. If you love action games, then I strongly advise you to play this, you�ll love it like I did. Thanks for reading! :D