Translated from Russian (sorry, my English is bad):
The game does a good job of smoothing over the flaw of the original pvz, where after building up the plants there was nothing to do – here you're constantly busy either spinning the box, rebuilding soldiers (a unit in the game), inflating balloons, etc. The enemies are also varied. And of course, the game is very pleasant stylistically; the horror elements blend well with the leisurely pace of the original pvz.
In short, it's a great game, all the best to the developers :)
This is a good game and I REALLY like how the game looks.
Gameplay is also good, but can be a bit repetitive and the main way of gaining currency(the music box) is weak since you can gain it from killing nightmares and become filthy rich from that alone.
My main strategy is just spamming stars until I have enough taxpayer dollars to summon the entirety of special forces and teddy walls. It was fun.
Okay this game is GREAT!! It is HARD but as soon as you get the hang of it, it's a little bit less complicated.
I LOVED the vibes of this game and I LOVED the mechanics, despite it being short, it was a really fun game, hope to see more of your great work soon :)
So far the project is good. I like the nods to Toys vs. Nightmares that the game has, by a LOT!!
I did find something interesting that not many has noticed, and it is the fact that the balloon does still do damage when half-inflated (I think around more than 10 starshots, but less than 13, but it makes its gimmick about clicking a lot more tolerable because most enemies aren't that tanky). That and that a fully inflated balloon has the same damage as the toy car (both of then can't oneshot a certain enemy at a certain moment)
Below here there are spoilers and my issues with the game!
And with that found fact, I do have to say that I agree with the game's main issue being RNG. Too dependant of RNG for difficulty. Especially with tricycles spawning early while there are enemies behind (I hate them, even if they can be countered by the teddy bears). It is so annoying to deal with and it is easy to lose because of that.
The other issue is that the boss felt underwhelming. I literally won against it with only balloons as damage, I didn't even needed to upgrade the music box. ... Not. even less than that. Just use the soldier and you don't even have to worry about the box, you can let it get destroyed and manage the soldiers (the boss gives in total 90 lights, so you can have up to 10soldiers when its last phase starts)
Just what happens when you don't need to worry about the box
My last issue is that there is not a thing that allows you to remove already placed toys, like what a shovel does to plants in the PvZ games. That would be actually helpful to remove not needed toys (such as teddy bears after a bird ambush). That would also make the toy car more useful because it really looks like it wants to be put behind for maximum efficiency. (Thanks for the keybinds to quickly put toys/upgrade the music box)
Still, a lot of potential in it, and I wish for it to continue, because I love both the vibes and the gameplay being around :0
After further gameplay, I came to notice that the light system is kind of flawed. I mean, you have better chances to win a level and beat the game if you don't upgrade your music box at all and instead prepare your defenses first. I don't know if it has to do with the enemy density, how aggressive the waves can be, or how much light they give after dying, but you really get a lot of light if you focus on defeating the enemies.
Also, giving my opinion about the toys and enemies you have at your disposal:
The star plush: Like the peashooter, it is your first option to defend against enemies, and the most important one because it is one of the only 2 toys that can deal damage to enemies. Cheap and reliable, especially in a game where there is not other attacker that outclasses it. A tier!
The music box: Your main way to generate light, since you don't get any of it passively. All ways to get light requires active action, and the box is not exception. You require to hold your mouse on it to produce light (it doesn't do anything if you don't do anything, duh). It has different soundtracks that plays when you hold the box, which gives ambience to the game. It can be upgraded so it generates light more frequently when hold... Core of the game, but with flawed upgrading system (as mentioned above). Utility tier-
The balloon: FIrst single-use toy you get. Its way to work is that you need to click on it multiples times to inflate it. It has 2 inflation levels depending on how many clicks it has got (half-round and round, the latter doing more damage(. It explode dealing damage in an area (though not sure if it is 3x3). Strong, but not needed nor reliable, because even for its half-round stage you require to click a lot, while its round stage is way too strong for most enemies that planning for it early is quite wasteful otherwise. It also takes time on your cursor that could be used to hold the box or manage your soldier instead. B tier!
The toy soldier: The only other toy that can deal damage to enemies that is not single-use. It also does the same damage as the star plush, but it has an interesting gimmick that makes it play differently than the star plush... You can select in which lane it can shoot. Not limits and always changeable, though to change which lane you need to click on it, which will buy you time frm you music box, and it goes from top to bottom. It can also shoot behing where it is, which it is usually not useful, but it can help in certain situations. Extremely useful to concentrate firepower into a lane, more noticeable if you have more than 1 and there is a lane with too many enemies for star plush to handle. Also important to clear multiple lanes of enemies at once. Underrated kit and a far better choice than making it just a copy of Split-Pea or Threepeater). S tier!!
The teddy bear: Like the Wall-nut, it can sustain a bunch of damage which all the other toys can't. Aside of that uninteresting aspect and that it can help to block bird ambushes, it does have an interesting gimmick, the fact that it can block tricycles from sweeping one entire lane, serving you time if you couldn't kill the tricycle. It also has an extremely high amount of HP, even being able to tank the boss for 5 seconds. HIgh HP, too niche. B tier!
The toy car: And lastly, the other single-use toy. It works similarly to a lawnmower from PvZ, but you can place it and trigger it by either getting hit by enemies, or by clicking on it. Clearing an entire lane (does the same damage as a totally round balloon). Too lethal and expensive, because, as mentioned in the balloon's point, this does too much damage to most enemies. Also, it is the most expensive toy to place, requiring 20 lights for it, and lastly, it can't attack backwards, so you need to place it at the front of the enemy or prepare for it, which is not usually possible because of its prize. C tier...
Buenas como persona que ha jugado el juego tengo los mismos problemas que la mayoria de comentarios describen, el RNG es molesto, no tengo el tiempo de poco a poco ir preparando una estrategia sin que se vea interrumpida por la enorme oleada de enemigos a los cuales no tengo manera de abatir, recomendaria un par de cosas para que sea manejable:
1_menor spawneo de enemigos: Al menos de inicio hacer que haya una baja tasa de aparicion de enemigos y que eventualmente al ir avanzando vaya subiendo de cantidad, asi uno se puede adaptar al ritmo en el que van apareciendo y no tiene que estar preocupado de que al apenas hacer una mejora de velocidad en la caja de musica o poner siquiera una estrella sin que tengas a 5 enemigos en diferentes columnas o uno detras de otro
2_menor precio para los juguetes: el tiempo que la caja de musica tarda para poder siquiera poder usar un solo juguete es agobiante y termina haciendo que sea dificil siquiera poder poner UNO SOLO sin que la pantalla ya este llena de enemigos por todos lados los cuales no soy capaz de cubrir, recomiendo dos posibles soluciones: O hacen que el tiempo de carga de la caja de musica sea menor asi es mas rapido organizarte para las oleadas, O bajar el precio para que su uso sea mas accesible
en general solo eso, un mejor balanceo de las mecanicas para que sea mas dinamico, el estilo visual es hermoso y muy bien pensado
Ok so i have beaten the game all the way now, and here are things i want to say about it, sorry if its a bit too long
first a couple of possitives (sadly not a lot):
The game is quite fun at first, the design is awesome, the artstyle, the music as well, the music box theme playing when cranking it is actually rather pleasent for the fact that you will be hearing it for 90% of the time, the over all atmosphere is great as well
Now with the negatives (which sadly there is a lot):
the game, it gets stale REAL quick, there is not enough spice to keep the game play loop interesting, and after day 3 its basically all the same because the variety of things is just not there, the the units you have at your disposal:
The star, is literally the only single unit you should use EVER
The music box, you literally never upgrade it past 20
The baloon is garbage, if i boil down all the problems its that, its too expensive, too slow, you should crank the music box instead of charging it, and there are no enemies tanky enough for it to actually be needed
The riflemen (with a notable exception) are also awful, it just isnt worth it to micromanage these guys, expecially if you have more than 1, and youre better off placing two stars than this
The Tedybear has exactly 1 use, and thats when you get a ballerina airdropped by a bird in the middle of the lawn, thats it thats literally it
The car, ive literally used this thing ONCE in my entire playthrough just to see what it does at the end of the stage, it costs 20 STARS, which is just REDICULOUS, and for what it does? it is singlehandedly the worst thing you can spend stars on, even worse than the 30sun music box upgrade
Ok now the enemies:
The hands, an alright chump, pretty good
The heads, actually weaker than the hand because it gives you more stars and it speeding up literally makes no difference
The eyes: the black goo which prevents you from placing down units literally does nothing, and it not touching units and going thru is barely an issue
The ballerinas: are the only actually threatening enemy, they just do too much at the same time, they boost the other enemies, AND they are the tankiest AND they deal the most damage, even then they only pose an actual problem when they get airdropped
The birds, they basically only matter when they airdrop a ballerina as ive stated previously which can be countered by placing down a tedybear
The Tricycles, if you play properly and micromanage well enough by the time they start appearing you have enough firepower to melt them down so they never get the chance to activate ever
Spoilers for the final stage ahead!:
the thing, the bossfight is trivial and a bit underwhelming, it just gives you too much sun and its the ONLY place where riflemen are remotely usable and even then only like 3
End of Spoilers
Nextly, as the previous 3 comments have stated already so i will not be dwelling on it too much, the Rng does sour the game greatly sometimes, i did get pretty lucky most of the time.
Dont get me wrong however, i do genuinely believe this game has a lot of potential, it just needs ironing out a bit, i hope there will be some improvements, if you however decide to finish this project at this point, i understand
I do love the foundation of this game, especially as it pays homage to PvZ and Toys VS Nightmares. I liked the art style, the aesthetic, and the mechanics involved. There is just a few problems present...
As others previously said, the wave spawns can be a bit atrocious in the early game, especially when you don't have enough to cover a lot of the lanes. Not only that, there is no way to know what your toys can do initally, since you're preoccupied in handling the music box.
The later enemy types can be a bit difficult to counter in the early game, due to the first issue present. The enemy with the music playing is not only deadly as it boosts the other enemies, but it is tanky as heck. The bicycle enemies can be a bit annoying to deal with if you don't have enough firepower to plow through the hordes of enemies in one lane, killing your setup immediately, which is a huge difficulty spike.
I did played both PvZ and PvZ2 Reflourished, so I have some knowledge on how to counter these issues. However, the way they spawn the zombies in those games is based on a set amount per each wave and some waves are pre-determined with what zombies to put. The random part in there is the lane positions. However, they also avoid heavily congesting multiple zombies of a single wave into one lane, so that it's doable.
That said, I kinda wish this game is expanded upon. Hopefully to see more in the future.
Yeah, I do unfortunately have to echo the sentiments of the previous two comments when it comes to the RNG: from level 2 onwards, it is not uncommon to start a level and be promptly greeted with waves that you literally do not have the resources to contend with. I would recommend a bit of an easing when it comes to initial monster spawning (including the occasions where you see them spawned on top of each other) and perhaps an adjustment of the game's economy so people can more easily access the means to make tactical plays.
With all that said, I love the concept and aesthetics and I do genuinely want to see an update happen so I have an excuse to revisit the game. And kudos for building this over the course of a semester: whatever my gripes, I do have to afford some respect for that. 👍
Okay the foundation of this game is like actually awesome! What I've played so far is like incredibly fun but uh... the rng is crazy. I only beat the first 2 levels and think I'm just gonna wait for an update or something now. Level 3 feels practically impossible, and with how long levels take (in typical PVZ fashion), I'd rather not fuck around and find out. For 2 minor critiques:
- I wish the game had like small descriptions for each toy telling you what they do
- I found it annoying how I couldn't put a plant back if I accidentally clicked on it and didn't want to place it
OTHER THAN THAT THIS IS COOL, KEEP IT UP!!! I wouldn't be surprised if this was inspired by Toys VS Nightmares, and boy did you do an amazing job taking that game and... making it good and also stand-out from the primary inspiration (Plants VS Zombies). I love all of the unique little extra spices you add onto the PVZ formula, like all the point-and-click interactive elements (with the solider and balloon) and how you get sun (or whatever it's called here) when killing enemies. It really feels like you're trying to develop on PVZ's gameplay concepts instead of just copying it, even if this could still be argued as derivative either way by some.
Oh and the art, GOD THE ART!!!!! I love mixed media and it's used amazingly here! The bitcrushed real photos mixed with the cute-sy sprites of the toys really are an amazing contrast, and add to this game's horror. Speaking of, the atmosphere of this game actually had me terrified, which I found surprising. The sound design and the game's use of like darkness and stuff, plus all horror the art style brings, make for a REALLY creepy little game. I especially like how long it takes to game over, with the nightmare creatures having to go ALLL the way to the end of the screen despite having already past your defences. It was SO tense, I didn't know what was going to happen!! Thank God there are no jumpscares though. Not just because their cheap but because they would've gotten me SO good, thank you for your mercy I guess lol.
I really hope you update this game to have the difficulty of things be fairer and less rng-reliant because I REALLY want to play more. You have like something AMAZING on your hands here!!! Though I do understand if you don't want to though, since this is a student project and all. Either way, can't wait to see what you do next!
i love the art and designs but the game is unplayable thanks to the rng on the enemy spawns. i promise i tried several times but sometimes id get some decently normal spawns and other times i get 3 heads on all three lanes when ive barely been able to crank out 5 lights :.)
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Hi!!!!Cool game!!!!!!!!
Hushyk тогда на русском расскажи а то непонятно и ещё геймплей игры очень похож на Toys vs Nightmares такая старая игра со времен флеша
PLEEEEASE
I NEED MORE OF THISSSS
WHAT IS THE LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOREE?!?!?!?!?!
*game theory intro plays*
Translated from Russian (sorry, my English is bad):
The game does a good job of smoothing over the flaw of the original pvz, where after building up the plants there was nothing to do – here you're constantly busy either spinning the box, rebuilding soldiers (a unit in the game), inflating balloons, etc. The enemies are also varied. And of course, the game is very pleasant stylistically; the horror elements blend well with the leisurely pace of the original pvz.
In short, it's a great game, all the best to the developers :)
This is a good game and I REALLY like how the game looks.
Gameplay is also good, but can be a bit repetitive and the main way of gaining currency(the music box) is weak since you can gain it from killing nightmares and become filthy rich from that alone.
My main strategy is just spamming stars until I have enough taxpayer dollars to summon the entirety of special forces and teddy walls. It was fun.
Okay this game is GREAT!! It is HARD but as soon as you get the hang of it, it's a little bit less complicated.
I LOVED the vibes of this game and I LOVED the mechanics, despite it being short, it was a really fun game, hope to see more of your great work soon :)
This game needs a steam version :D
So far the project is good. I like the nods to Toys vs. Nightmares that the game has, by a LOT!!
I did find something interesting that not many has noticed, and it is the fact that the balloon does still do damage when half-inflated (I think around more than 10 starshots, but less than 13, but it makes its gimmick about clicking a lot more tolerable because most enemies aren't that tanky). That and that a fully inflated balloon has the same damage as the toy car (both of then can't oneshot a certain enemy at a certain moment)
Below here there are spoilers and my issues with the game!
And with that found fact, I do have to say that I agree with the game's main issue being RNG. Too dependant of RNG for difficulty. Especially with tricycles spawning early while there are enemies behind (I hate them, even if they can be countered by the teddy bears). It is so annoying to deal with and it is easy to lose because of that.
The other issue is that the boss felt underwhelming. I literally won against it with only balloons as damage, I didn't even needed to upgrade the music box.
... Not. even less than that. Just use the soldier and you don't even have to worry about the box, you can let it get destroyed and manage the soldiers (the boss gives in total 90 lights, so you can have up to 10 soldiers when its last phase starts)
My last issue is that there is not a thing that allows you to remove already placed toys, like what a shovel does to plants in the PvZ games. That would be actually helpful to remove not needed toys (such as teddy bears after a bird ambush). That would also make the toy car more useful because it really looks like it wants to be put behind for maximum efficiency. (Thanks for the keybinds to quickly put toys/upgrade the music box)
Still, a lot of potential in it, and I wish for it to continue, because I love both the vibes and the gameplay being around :0
After further gameplay, I came to notice that the light system is kind of flawed. I mean, you have better chances to win a level and beat the game if you don't upgrade your music box at all and instead prepare your defenses first. I don't know if it has to do with the enemy density, how aggressive the waves can be, or how much light they give after dying, but you really get a lot of light if you focus on defeating the enemies.
Also, giving my opinion about the toys and enemies you have at your disposal:
Buenas como persona que ha jugado el juego tengo los mismos problemas que la mayoria de comentarios describen, el RNG es molesto, no tengo el tiempo de poco a poco ir preparando una estrategia sin que se vea interrumpida por la enorme oleada de enemigos a los cuales no tengo manera de abatir, recomendaria un par de cosas para que sea manejable:
1_menor spawneo de enemigos: Al menos de inicio hacer que haya una baja tasa de aparicion de enemigos y que eventualmente al ir avanzando vaya subiendo de cantidad, asi uno se puede adaptar al ritmo en el que van apareciendo y no tiene que estar preocupado de que al apenas hacer una mejora de velocidad en la caja de musica o poner siquiera una estrella sin que tengas a 5 enemigos en diferentes columnas o uno detras de otro
2_menor precio para los juguetes: el tiempo que la caja de musica tarda para poder siquiera poder usar un solo juguete es agobiante y termina haciendo que sea dificil siquiera poder poner UNO SOLO sin que la pantalla ya este llena de enemigos por todos lados los cuales no soy capaz de cubrir, recomiendo dos posibles soluciones: O hacen que el tiempo de carga de la caja de musica sea menor asi es mas rapido organizarte para las oleadas, O bajar el precio para que su uso sea mas accesible
en general solo eso, un mejor balanceo de las mecanicas para que sea mas dinamico, el estilo visual es hermoso y muy bien pensado
pvz neighbourhood defense hard mode levels if they were their own stand alone game and were somehow even more rng dependant
Ok so i have beaten the game all the way now, and here are things i want to say about it, sorry if its a bit too long
first a couple of possitives (sadly not a lot):
The game is quite fun at first, the design is awesome, the artstyle, the music as well, the music box theme playing when cranking it is actually rather pleasent for the fact that you will be hearing it for 90% of the time, the over all atmosphere is great as well
Now with the negatives (which sadly there is a lot):
the game, it gets stale REAL quick, there is not enough spice to keep the game play loop interesting, and after day 3 its basically all the same because the variety of things is just not there, the the units you have at your disposal:
The star, is literally the only single unit you should use EVER
The music box, you literally never upgrade it past 20
The baloon is garbage, if i boil down all the problems its that,
its too expensive, too slow, you should crank the music box instead of charging it, and there are no enemies tanky enough for it to actually be needed
The riflemen (with a notable exception) are also awful, it just isnt worth it to micromanage these guys, expecially if you have more than 1, and youre better off placing two stars than this
The Tedybear has exactly 1 use, and thats when you get a ballerina airdropped by a bird in the middle of the lawn, thats it thats literally it
The car, ive literally used this thing ONCE in my entire playthrough just to see what it does at the end of the stage, it costs 20 STARS, which is just REDICULOUS, and for what it does? it is singlehandedly the worst thing you can spend stars on, even worse than the 30sun music box upgrade
Ok now the enemies:
The hands, an alright chump, pretty good
The heads, actually weaker than the hand because it gives you more stars and it speeding up literally makes no difference
The eyes: the black goo which prevents you from placing down units literally does nothing, and it not touching units and going thru is barely an issue
The ballerinas: are the only actually threatening enemy, they just do too much at the same time, they boost the other enemies, AND they are the tankiest AND they deal the most damage, even then they only pose an actual problem when they get airdropped
The birds, they basically only matter when they airdrop a ballerina as ive stated previously which can be countered by placing down a tedybear
The Tricycles, if you play properly and micromanage well enough by the time they start appearing you have enough firepower to melt them down so they never get the chance to activate ever
Spoilers for the final stage ahead!:
the thing, the bossfight is trivial and a bit underwhelming, it just gives you too much sun and its the ONLY place where riflemen are remotely usable and even then only like 3
End of Spoilers
Nextly, as the previous 3 comments have stated already so i will not be dwelling on it too much, the Rng does sour the game greatly sometimes, i did get pretty lucky most of the time.
Dont get me wrong however, i do genuinely believe this game has a lot of potential, it just needs ironing out a bit, i hope there will be some improvements, if you however decide to finish this project at this point, i understand
Never the less thank you and good luck.
Are yall planning on making a mobile port anytime soon?
I do love the foundation of this game, especially as it pays homage to PvZ and Toys VS Nightmares. I liked the art style, the aesthetic, and the mechanics involved. There is just a few problems present...
As others previously said, the wave spawns can be a bit atrocious in the early game, especially when you don't have enough to cover a lot of the lanes. Not only that, there is no way to know what your toys can do initally, since you're preoccupied in handling the music box.
The later enemy types can be a bit difficult to counter in the early game, due to the first issue present. The enemy with the music playing is not only deadly as it boosts the other enemies, but it is tanky as heck. The bicycle enemies can be a bit annoying to deal with if you don't have enough firepower to plow through the hordes of enemies in one lane, killing your setup immediately, which is a huge difficulty spike.
I did played both PvZ and PvZ2 Reflourished, so I have some knowledge on how to counter these issues. However, the way they spawn the zombies in those games is based on a set amount per each wave and some waves are pre-determined with what zombies to put. The random part in there is the lane positions. However, they also avoid heavily congesting multiple zombies of a single wave into one lane, so that it's doable.
That said, I kinda wish this game is expanded upon. Hopefully to see more in the future.
Yeah, I do unfortunately have to echo the sentiments of the previous two comments when it comes to the RNG: from level 2 onwards, it is not uncommon to start a level and be promptly greeted with waves that you literally do not have the resources to contend with. I would recommend a bit of an easing when it comes to initial monster spawning (including the occasions where you see them spawned on top of each other) and perhaps an adjustment of the game's economy so people can more easily access the means to make tactical plays.
With all that said, I love the concept and aesthetics and I do genuinely want to see an update happen so I have an excuse to revisit the game. And kudos for building this over the course of a semester: whatever my gripes, I do have to afford some respect for that. 👍
Okay the foundation of this game is like actually awesome! What I've played so far is like incredibly fun but uh... the rng is crazy. I only beat the first 2 levels and think I'm just gonna wait for an update or something now. Level 3 feels practically impossible, and with how long levels take (in typical PVZ fashion), I'd rather not fuck around and find out. For 2 minor critiques:
- I wish the game had like small descriptions for each toy telling you what they do
- I found it annoying how I couldn't put a plant back if I accidentally clicked on it and didn't want to place it
OTHER THAN THAT THIS IS COOL, KEEP IT UP!!! I wouldn't be surprised if this was inspired by Toys VS Nightmares, and boy did you do an amazing job taking that game and... making it good and also stand-out from the primary inspiration (Plants VS Zombies). I love all of the unique little extra spices you add onto the PVZ formula, like all the point-and-click interactive elements (with the solider and balloon) and how you get sun (or whatever it's called here) when killing enemies. It really feels like you're trying to develop on PVZ's gameplay concepts instead of just copying it, even if this could still be argued as derivative either way by some.
Oh and the art, GOD THE ART!!!!! I love mixed media and it's used amazingly here! The bitcrushed real photos mixed with the cute-sy sprites of the toys really are an amazing contrast, and add to this game's horror. Speaking of, the atmosphere of this game actually had me terrified, which I found surprising. The sound design and the game's use of like darkness and stuff, plus all horror the art style brings, make for a REALLY creepy little game. I especially like how long it takes to game over, with the nightmare creatures having to go ALLL the way to the end of the screen despite having already past your defences. It was SO tense, I didn't know what was going to happen!! Thank God there are no jumpscares though. Not just because their cheap but because they would've gotten me SO good, thank you for your mercy I guess lol.
I really hope you update this game to have the difficulty of things be fairer and less rng-reliant because I REALLY want to play more. You have like something AMAZING on your hands here!!! Though I do understand if you don't want to though, since this is a student project and all. Either way, can't wait to see what you do next!
i love the art and designs but the game is unplayable thanks to the rng on the enemy spawns. i promise i tried several times but sometimes id get some decently normal spawns and other times i get 3 heads on all three lanes when ive barely been able to crank out 5 lights :.)