[#3] It Really Does Follow..

It Follows is a game created by youngcaliman

Introduction

It is no secret that Youngcaliman is a very talented game maker. One of his latest games, It Follows, has achieved an incredible 2,300 views and has an average 4-star rating. I believe there is an excellent reason for this. Youngcaliman has a reputation for creating astounding games that capture and hold the interest of anyone that plays them. If Follows is no exception.

Review

The whole game was created around the aspect of rescuing the scientist. This one task leads you through a multitude of levels and challenges. It has a large amount of relatively simple puzzles, which help increase the intensity of the game, and enjoyment from users. Those puzzles are accompanied by well-placed hazards which contribute to maintaining a user's interest in the game. No game is fun if it is all puzzles and no action! Even though this easy trap to fall into while creating a game, Youngcaliman has found a pleasing balance of puzzles and action. This allows the game to flow. Youngcaliman has further challenged himself by including a complex storyline in It Follows, which further contributes to the effect of the overall experience of the game. The levels are laid out in such a fashion that forces the user to go one way, leading the user into direct combat, which adds to the difficulty of the game.

When using the 'rescue the scientist' game mode on the creator, it is important to incorporate three things smoothly into the game, keeping an equal balance of each. The first is puzzles. Puzzles make the game more challenging, and add a mental challenge to the game. The second is the storyline. A bland, rescue the scientist game mode is tedious, as you only have one main detail about the mission. Youngcaliman has incorporated a storyline into the game, including a backstory about the scientist. This allows the user to connect to the game itself, and especially the characters in the game. This also means that as we follow the game, the users may react differently to different aspects of the game, as they know the scientist. The third is a good amount of action. If there is too little action, the user will begin to think the game is stale. If there is too much, the game becomes too complicated, and the user will eventually get bored trying the same section over and over again. As mentioned previously in the first paragraph, I believe Youngcaliman has found the perfect mix of these three things, which is a tough thing to achieve. Although I had already mentioned some of this in the first paragraph, I wanted to clarify to all of the review readers that this is a genuinely hard Department to succeed in, but Youngcaliman has triumphed in it.

I usually reserve the third paragraph for cons in the game, and where I would suggest improvements, however, in It Follows, I have had some difficulty doing just that. After both watching a full walkthrough, and playing the game myself, I have only been able to find a few minor improvements to the game. One of the issues some people (including me) have with the game is the difficulty of it. The game is pretty tough, and not many people have been able to complete it. Although the most of it is somewhat standard, as you progress into the final sections of the game, it does turn into a level 10 difficulty game. When paq celebrates beating it, you know it is a little too complicated. Another is that the game sometimes relies on the scientist being is distinct positions at certain times. I don't think this was one of the game's strongest aspects, as it sometimes takes a significant amount of time to complete this. Despite these few minor nags, the rest of the game was pretty much con-less.

Pros

-A great mix of action, puzzle, and storyline

-Youngcaliman included a backstory for the scientist

-An enormous amount of effort has gone into every aspect of the game

Cons

-The difficulty is too high for my liking.

-Sometimes the scientist doesn't want to go where he should, which causes annoyance

Overall Score

Conclusion

It Follows is a great game, that has had a lot of time and effort put into it. Youngcaliman has undoubtedly spent a large amount of time on it, from the backstory to the puzzles. I believe that is the amount of views it has got, especially from the mind of such a talented creator as Youngcaliman. Even if It Follows has not got five stars on its rating, it does get five stars from me!