[Silver Award] Make America Great Again By Futuremillionare - Independent Review

Review by spinachie on Friday, June 24th 2016
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Make America Great Again is at its core a parody. However, Futuremillionare has added a certain touch that allows it stand to out from others of its kind; something that makes the game strong in its own right. This is the secret of making a good parody: you must be able to create something that can stand on its own two feet. Even if its political messages were to be stripped out, Make America Great Again would still be a well-designed and incredibly enjoyable game.


Perhaps the strongest element of the game�s design is its hearty sense of humour, which appears consistently throughout. Particularly interesting are Trump�s quips, which range from (accurately) nonsensical to mocking, add a dash of hilarity to every part of the Make America Great Again. In fact, the dialogue has such a profound effect on the player that dying is usually a funny experience as opposed to an annoying one. However, the game takes this one step further by using these humorous observations in order to provide hints about what the player needs to do. In this regard Futuremillionare shows a certain mastery in the field of writing; the information he provides is neither blatantly obvious nor overly subtle and it never interferes with the dialogue�s tone. The result makes Make America Great Again highly engaging as it fairly rewards attentive players and punishes ignorant ones.


The level design is also particularly noteworthy, featuring several unique gimmicks that are combined to create interesting challenges for the player. The most intriguing examples of this arise from Futuremillionare�s clever use of the shooter engine, which turns its various glitches into mechanics. Because of this, Make America Great Again contains a variety of original and enjoyable puzzles. The level design is also used to subtly guide players, meaning that the game has no need for a condescending tutorial. Objects are arranged in such a way that the path of progression is always clear and health refill points are placed so that players always have just enough health for the challenges ahead. On top of this, the level�s chambered layout makes progress feel real and, when combined with the game�s solid difficulty curve, builds interest throughout the experience and gives it a satisfying conclusion. In short, you will want to play Make America Great Again through to the very end.


The game is also incredibly strong aesthetically. Futuremillionare has populated the entire level with just enough decor to make it interesting without disrupting the gameplay. These decorations also do a wonderful job of contributing to the overall humorous feel, with familiar icons and images being used to comedic effect. The game also uses sound to its advantage, featuring a persistent humming that ebbs and flows as the player traverses the map, adding a bit of tension to certain areas. These touches are all minor, but when combined they are used to reinforce an already strong experience.


Make America Great Again isn�t without fault however. Though the game subtly clues players in to the locations of most traps, the ones that aren�t signposted feel incredibly cheap when you fall into them. Many of them are also inescapable, which wouldn�t be a problem if it weren�t for the fact that they don�t kill you instantly, meaning that players are forced to waste time while they wait to die. Additionally some areas feature enemies that have a chance to paralyse you, meaning that on (admittedly rare) occasion a player can die unexpectedly due to nothing other than poor luck. These complaints are all minor though and do little to detract from the overall experience that Make America Great Again has to offer.


The Verdict:


Make America Great Again is a parody that puts fun before satire and is better off as a result. Definitely feature worthy.


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