[EGD] Glad I'm In The Present

Flashback is a game created by epicorange789

What’s up everyone this is ya boy Troyio here for my fourth official review. The last one was just a joke and was not meant to be taken seriously lol. I’ll be reviewing Flashback by EpicOrange789, who placed third in the Arcade category for EGD 7.

Intro

The Retro Arcade Maker is a somewhat controversial creator. Some users of Sploder love its qualities and abilities to create story driven games. Others despise the creator as it just doesn’t come across as complex enough to be memorable. I’ve had much success with the creator and the list of people who are in the same boat as me is very short. Creating an Arcade game that has the elements of an RPG, unique sequences, but most importantly, addictiveness that keeps us playing for stage after stage, is VERY hard. With Flashback placing high in the Arcade category I was hoping to see the list of talented Arcade makers get a little longer. Let’s close our eyes and Flashback to what EpicO has given us!

Review

Commenting on the thumbnail is sort of pointless for this creator in my opinion. Most thumbnails look similar therefore Flashback’s didn’t stand out. I will not hold that against the game. But what I will hold against the game is its storyline. EpicO deemed that this game definitely relied on the multiple flashbacks the war ridden character has experienced. The description and beginning sequences did grasp my interest a tiny bit but nothing overly amazing. Luckily, it had room to grow and develop for something memorable. I was ready to see what this game had in store.

Let’s begin on maybe the hardest part to make, which is the puzzles. The lack of glitches and items that are really made to create elaborate puzzles definitely stress game makers who would like to add mental flares to their games. I am glad to say that EpicO created some nice puzzles for Flashback. I loved how he made backtracking possible in this creator and his use of birds. I would have loved to see some flower link puzzles that would strain my brain but I was still pleased with what I saw. Most of them were original with small inspirations visible in areas. Great work.

The more I review the more I realize why the list of great Arcade makers is so short. Almost every aspect of it is quite difficult to make your own and flourish. EpicO did not do the greatest job of making the scenery his own. It came across repetitive and did not have that creative flare. The sky colors were positives as they helped form whatever atmosphere he was trying to accomplish. Flashback’s war and peace scenes easily split from each other and allowed the story to flow easier and make more sense. Not the best job but better than most.

Now onto the biggest part of Flashback, the gameplay. It started off pretty terrible. Boredom overcame me and I didn’t have the fear of being killed especially in dangerous situations. EpicO failed in putting himself as a person playing his game instead of being the creator. He assumed way too much. The very first stage is a prime example. Most smart players would simply avoid the giant beast but in Flashback you must kill him unknowingly that if you do not, you will have to restart the level. That is a rookie mistake and I am surprised EpicO had multiple occasions of doing this.

Other than the rookie mistakes EpicO portrayed, the fighting sequences were up and down. Some of them were fun for the heck of killing things but still lacked in creativity. Others were bland and required repeating yourself against predictable enemies. I will also mention the birds. THE bleep BIRDS. But seriously, this was another mistake. Flashback had numerous bird annoyances that really killed the game. I do not know if EpicO did this on purpose to create a higher difficulty level but I sure hope not. These flying feather-covered devils distracted the game player from the main purpose of the stages.

Flashback featured traps to go along with the soaring devils. I’m not a fan of traps but I always play with an open mind even if I have the urge to rip my laptop in half. Some of his traps just made me sit back and say, “Why?” Certain spots for traps are acceptable also if they do not kill the player too quickly. Flashback featured the beginning of the levels halfway into the game that would make you fall directly into lava. Again, EpicO did not test this as an ordinary player but as the game’s maker.

I believe I have covered every aspect of this game. Flashback had its pros but it also had its cons. I did not see a great effort put into this game or maybe I was just looking in the wrong places. EpicO is on the line somewhere near being on the list of great Arcade makers but I wouldn’t put him in there quite yet. He had rookie mistakes that go for almost every creator and they almost killed the game completely. The puzzles and storyline were Flashback’s saving grace and the fact that it placed third in its category remains questionable.

Ratings

Creativity: 7.5/10 (Original concepts with slight inspirations)

Effort: 4/10 (It was short and slightly sweet)

Gameplay: 2.5/10 (Had good moments but mistakes drove it downward)

Scenery: 4.5/10 (Slightly below average)

Fun: 5/10 (Some parts were good but some… not so much)

Overall: 23.5/50

Feature Worthy? Even with the above average Arcade games getting featured, I would not call this one feature worthy. But the fact that it placed third in its EGD category almost automatically calls for a feature.

Conclusion

I came into this review hoping to add another game maker to my list. It seems that Flashback failed to do this. There were just too many mistakes and annoyances to make it enjoyable. EpicO did successfully develop a neat story with new and creative puzzles but he has much work to do. I hope he can take from this review and make his next Arcade games much better. I hope to see him on my list soon!