Tile 119... Everywhere.

Recreation is a game created by windchimera734

Introduction:

Ohaider everyone, Mash is here today with another review. Today, I'll be reviewing a platformer called Recreation. This game's made by windchimera734, but I'll be calling him Shiftry throughout this review because it's his forum username, and I'm a lot more used to calling him by Shiftry, so yeah. This game is actually a SGD entry, just so you guys know. I've actually played Recreation a while back because I was asked to judge for the SGD. I actually gave this game a pretty high score. Also, this game actually won the first place in the 'Best of Amateurs' category. Recreation really stood out from the rest of the games in that category, but will it stand out in this review as well? I guess we'll find that out by the end of this review.

Review:

Okay so, Recreation is the only platformer that Shiftry has displayed on his profile. So, I don't know if this his his first platformer game or maybe he has an old account with more games or something else. Anyway, I really liked the title of his game. It piqued my interest, it made me want to play it immediately just after hearing the title. Recreation, it sounds like this game's gonna be some sort of puzzle plat with new concepts and other cool new stuff in it. But you know those are just what I think this game has in store, we'll discover if I'm right on that later on in this review. Once you start playing Recreation, you really don't know what to expect. You see yourself put in some bizarre area with almost nothing in it, except for stairs, ramps, blocks, walls, a torch, and other things. It looked too ordinary. Especially because every tile just used the 119 tile, the default tile. It made everything feel pretty plain and ordinary. I was actually thinking that this game would be a bit more colorful, but I guess I'm wrong on that. One really good thing I would like to point out about this game are the signs. I liked what the signs would have written on them. It made the game a lot more enjoyable for me, especially because they were written really well.

Recreation's a pretty fun game to play, at first. Sometimes it is still fun, sometimes it just feels like a chore. It really depends on what was happening during the game. For example, taking cover because a ton of spikes are falling on you can be really fun and frustrating. But, knowing where to go later in the game just feels like a hassle. But, I think that's because I'm directionally challenged. I know how to get lost within seconds, both in real life and while playing games. (I have a difficulty playing games like Skyrim and minecraft solely because of that.) It was in the middle of fun and not-so-fun. As for the difficulty of the game, it was pretty difficult. I was able to get to level 3, but I couldn't get any further than that anymore. I liked how Recreation becomes really difficult depending on all of your actions throughout and if you ever bothered to read the signs. I didn't really like how the difficulty transitioned, it was weird in my opinion. At times, it can be a challenge but sometimes, it can be a tad bit too easy for me. I don't really know, the best way I can describe the difficulty with a word would be 'weird.' But you know, at least Recreation is actually complete-able. It isn't as difficult as a lot of other platformers. The overall gameplay of Recreation was pretty good though. The pace was alright. It could go fast, it could go slow. It basically gave you enough time to think about what you're gonna do next.

The placements of Recreation were very well done. Everything was placed so well. Though at some point, it does feel a bit 'off' for me. I'm not too sure what exactly was off, but I could just feel it somewhere over there. Other than that, I really admired the block placements. The ramps, the stairs, the blocks, those had the best placements in the game. Though this game only had tile 119 throughout the whole game, it was still pleasing to look at because of the way they were all placed there. The puzzles and traps you'd occasionally bump into here and there were very smart as well. The map overall was just a bit tight for me, but it was alright. It enhanced the gameplay, the map didn't bring the game down. There were enough hazards to keep you entertained as well. There were a few enemies throughout the game, but be warned, they were placed in areas where they could damage you a lot. The placements of Recreation is my favorite aspect of this game. It was just splendid. Sure it needed some fixes here and there, but overall it was great.

The game's design, as I've said earlier, is really plain. But I do appreciate what Shiftry did. He took advantage of all the ramp, block, stair tiles, and even the other blocks you could use to make the game look better. At times it would look boring, but majority of the time it looked absolutely wonderful. Though, you might not really be able to take some time and look at it because of the sort of dark lighting effects throughout the game. As for the thumbnail of this game, I think it looked a bit plain, but it made you really curious. The title helped to make the player even more curious. To be honest though, I didn't see a lot of 'recreation' throughout the game. Some of the stuff in the game were new, some were pretty old. The whole game was pretty creative in its own way.

Pros:

-Impressive placements

-Title and thumbnail can easily catch your attention

-Gameplay pace is good

-Recreation was able to take full advantage of almost all the blocks (Just the blocks, not all the enemies, scenery, etc.)in the creator.

-Adequate game length

Cons:

-The transition of the difficulty felt pretty weird and off.

-Design could have been improved.

-Not so addictive to play through

Ratings:

The design could have been improved and I didn't really find Recreation to be too creative.

The placements of this game are really good, but it sort of felt 'off' at times.

I think Recreation is pretty unique in its own little ways, through some stuff present in the game are old. But who can avoid that, right? It's almost impossible to create an absolutely new game with nothing old in it.

This part is pretty much so-so for me.

The difficulty may have transitioned pretty weirdly throughout, but at least Recreation seems pretty beatable for some experienced players.

Conclusion:

I'm actually in awe with Shiftry's platformer making skills. His game making style is pretty impressive, and so is his game. Recreation is a must try for those who want a slight challenge on the platformer and for those who want to play a sploder game that's current, but has this slightly classic feel to it. I enjoyed playing through Recreation, and I believe it really did deserve its SGD win. I'm no pro myself when it comes to game making, but I know for a fact that Shiftry may need some polishing up on his skills here and there. But I do believe he'll be a really successful sploder game maker, earning loads of features in the future. Is Recreation feature worthy? I'd honestly have to say no. It was a really good game, but it wasn't enough to make me want to go and feature it. Anyway, I guess this concludes my review. Thank you guys for reading this, have a great day. (Or night, depending on your timezone.) This is Mash, about to play Persona 3 Portable because I have grown addicted to it.

This review was originally made on: 5/6/14