So Close Yet So Far.

Realm of Ice is a game created by vpopsiclev

Introduction:

Ohaider. I'm here again with another review. I'm going to review the game Realm of Ice by vpopsiclev. I don't know vpopsiclev too well, but I do know that he has a featured platformer game. To be honest I really like that game. Hopefully this game would be as impressive. The title of the games seems very intriguing. It makes me wonder what could be in this game, what kind of challenges and puzzles are in store for me? I'm not even sure if this is a puzzle game, since I haven't played it yet. But from the title to the thumbnail, it gives me the impression that it's a really challenging puzzle game. I guess we'll have to find out if I'm right or not.

Review:

I guess I was right. Realm of Ice is a challenging puzzle game. The goal is to simply escape the realm because Dora the 'amazing' explorer already took the shining shimmering ice crystal ahead of you, she even set up traps just for you. Thanks a lot, Dora the 'amazing' explorer. At the beginning of the game, you're simply given a whip and the rest is up to you to find out. Realm of Ice doesn't seem like a fast paced game, so you'll have time to be able to think before making your next move. It isn't too difficult to discover what to do and where to go at first, but the game slowly becomes more difficult when you go further into the game. While playing, I couldn't see any ice at all. I guess the blue tiles used for the game could represent ice though.

I learned something while playing through this game. Do not, I repeat, do NOT waste ANY powerup/s you pick up. I've replayed this game numerous times because I kept running out of grenades to use. To be honest, I'm not that good when it comes to challenging games, especially if there are a lot of puzzles, traps and stuff like that. But, I keep coming back to try this game again and again, even if I know that I'm not ever gonna win anyway. So, if you were to ask me if Realm of Ice is difficult and addictive, I'd definitely say yes. This game is really, really difficult yet addicting. If it wasn't that addicting, I would have just given up. I don't know what it is, but Realm of Ice just has some sort of pull. You can't just give up and let go of the game that easily. It'll take a while till you actually give up.

I like how this game looks simple yet complex. It's simple in a sense, yet it's also very complicated. I can't really explain it any further than that. Anyway, I think the placements of this game is pretty impressive. There are adequate powerups placed around the map. You just had to be careful so you wouldn't waste any. The grenades given to the player near the starting point of the game is an exact amount for the weakblocks and the doors, wasting one could lead to fatal results. Well, not too fatal. You'd just be trapped in there. There wasn't much enemies, I think the only enemies in the game were the ninjas used for puzzles and traps. But, there was enough hazards scattered throughout the game in my honest opinion, and I don't really think that there was a need for that much enemies in this type of puzzle game anyway. Overall, placements are very good.

The design of Realm of Ice is pretty simple. Simple but presentable. But to be honest, I'm not content with just that. I'm really picky and my standards are pretty high in terms of design. A presentable design is good, but I want more than just that. I'd want to see an outstanding design. Vpopsiclev could've improved the design of his game a lot more. But, a game's design isn't everything. I'd rather have design sacrificed for gameplay than the other way around, not all fancy-looking games are good games, and not all good games look fancy. Well to sum it up, the game design of Realm of Ice is pretty average.

One thing I really appreciate about this game are the puzzles and traps.Simply outstanding, to be honest. I really became immersed in solving all of those perplexing puzzles that I got to throughout the game. Some are old puzzles, some are new, but they way vpopsiclev made all the puzzles so consistent was excellent. I also liked that there were traps that just came out of the blue, those were very unexpected twists that vpopsiclev added into his game. I think puzzles and traps are the strongest point in this game. But, I would have really liked it more if there were actually puzzles that use those ice blocks so it could actually relate a bit more to the title. It wouldn't be as excellent as it is without them.

Pros:

-Excellent puzzles and traps

-Addictive

-Very good placements

Cons:

-Design is lacking

-A tad bit too difficult

-Boring storyline

Ratings:

Creativity in terms of design is average, but creativity in terms of puzzles and traps is very good.

Placements are very good. I'm impressed.

Some of the puzzles and traps were quite original, while some were used. Though there were some used puzzles, vpopsiclev did an excellent job in applying those used puzzles to his game.

Realm of Ice is a really addicting game, no doubt.

The game needs to be a bit easier, in my opinion.

Conclusion:

Feature worthy? Close, but no, not yet. Sorry, Realm of Ice maybe a really impressive game, but it still needs bit more work before I could say that it's a feature worthy game. But, it came close. If you work hard enough and have enough determination, I'm certain that you'll get more features in no time, vpopsiclev. I'd like to see more of your future work.