pedrotheemo's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[Codeine Cowboys [v2]]

Devolver recently made a funny game called "Devolver Bootleg" where you can play a bootleg version of Hotline Miami, but this game is actually that game is disguise. Man I love this game so much, however let's start with the negatives:

Grenades are weird, they're not useless but you rarely feel like using them, but when you do the enemies just kinda stand there waiting for impact, also, if you go unarmed, everytime you punch you move foward a bit, if you keep punching you move faster and the enemies literally stop what they're doing to see you magnificent speed running skills.

How ever, you can actually use these flaws in your favor, kinda like melee, just like in pacman theres some pallets that gives you special powers, so the game now has 2 ways to play, speedrun mode where you go unarmed and keep attacking and choosing the right pallets at the right time, or actually challenging mode, where you chose a gun and have to use the it, moving carefully, taking out the enemies and using the pallets just in time time to prevent yourself from dying.

With that out of the way lets talk about the good aspects of this game, the guns are all well made and unique, I like the shotgun since im bad at aiming but the bullet spread just looks so cool and they kinda spread out and slow down after you shoot... Or that's at least that's what I remember.

The music selection is perfect and thanks to this game I've added those songs in my own playlists, and the references are so on point that it fits the game like a glove.

I like the aesthetic of this game, is not a terrible hangover kinda deal but like a fever dream you have after taking too many painkillers, the pastel pallet also adds to that feeling and the musics comes in to really sell that idea.

I am so glad that you guys putted this game back to the website, the few days I wanted to play it but I couldn't find the game was hellish, I'm so glad that I can play it again over and over.

So yeah, if you want a short and extremely fun experience, check it out! It is a must play to any Hotline Miami fans aswell.

MoeAnguish responds:

Thanks for your kind words, glad you enjoyed the game!

[Homecoming]

I wasn't expecting such a bittersweet tale when I clicked on this game, the tile isn't enough to tell what's waiting for you, and I like that, honestly, I just thought that the girl from the thumbnail was cute and wanted to see more, I think this makes all of the revelations much impact full, everything caught me so off-guard very hard that I found it almost impossible not to feel related to it, even as a cis person.

The visuals might seem simplistic at first but theres so much thought poured into every scene, the design sort of looks like a children's book, it makes sense becaus it'sa family story, but the subject matter is much more serious, it adds a lot for the anxious tone it's going for, and in a way it does ending up looking like a actual graphic novel, but that's not all, thankfully the devs took notice that this is a videogame and added a very beautiful animation on some scenes, they're great when they do something simplistic and amazing when it goes for something more abstract.

The music is breathtaking, enchanting the emotional dread thats felt throughout the story, with a deep and sad undertone to keep you engaged with the story, there's a sincere feeling of nostalgia in it too, a desire to keep things as they used to, which also supports the narrative.

The ending was also unexpected, it ends on a open note that I'll leave you with a taste of wanting more, specially if you felt emontional attach to the story, it will leave you heartbroken, and I love it. This is why I love this game, I feel that this is the closet I'll ever get to really feel how it is to be trans in today's society, I don't think it would work if the writer didn't put herself in a vulnerable spot and opening up like that, and im very thankful for that.

The only bad part about this is not even in the game, it has to be some of the reviews that are so detach to the piece they're criticizing in the first place, it just nails the message of this game home, the simple fact that this is a slice of life from a trans person's point of view drives them insane.

Please keep making games and writing stories, comments like those only proves that we need more stuff like this.

Bleak-Creep responds:

Thank you so much! I don’t have anything quite like this planned for the near future, but I definitely love pursuing taboo kinds of subjects like this, even when it hurts. Writing is therapy to me.