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The Daily Click ::. Downloads ::. Review Review: Lollipops
When you hear about a game called Lollipop, what do you suppose it'll be about? That's right, bludgeoning tiny creatures to death. And yes, it is with a lollipop. So I suppose it gives cause for its name. It's an original little game, I'll give it that. And in a world where the path to success invariably is seen as following the standard form 3A, you really can't ask for much more. But it's kind of... Not enough of it. I am not saying I woke up today expecting to see candy used as a blunt weapon, but that is also the only thing that stands out about it, honestly. Then, when you have seen it for the first time, and taken the six seconds to get over the shock, you have dozens upon dozens of generic arcade levels to look forward to. Really, it kind of makes it worse in a sense. It sets you up for a crazy world video game platforming world where the most dangerous weapon there is also polka flavoured. And then, the same repeating gameplay loop for hours on end. You walk. You jump. You smash baddies with your eponymous lollipop. The gameplay really doesn't ask much from the engine, but evidently it's asking for too much. Figuring out what will happen when you press JUMP while in the middle of the game is an enigma, one I'd leave to the people who solved the Rosetta Stone. Yes, it's going to be a jump, but I can never truly rely on how high or if Orith will be arbitrarily knocked from the air before gravity has put on its trousers. Really, I keep feeling like I should apologize to the game for breaking it. But the gameplay never broke down enough that it got in the way of me progressing, or at least see how it could be enjoyable. The bugginess did add to the challenge, but challenge doesn't have to be a bad thing. At least if it's manageable. But the thing is, even if it was to function as intended, a lot of its ideas are left as an exercise to the imagination on how they fit into a single cohesive vision. Did you know that you could warp from one side of the field to another? I didn't, until I was well into the second world. I then forgot about it until I inadvertently warped and ran straight into a monster's fire and died without even realizing what has happened. It's not something I'd complain about. It's just that I never even considered that it might be the case. The levels are not designed to require or hint at that feature. In fact, the only clue I can recall is that of the sides being solid, since the baddies explode in a cluster of stars when smashed into them. Oh, the graphics. The graphics mixes retro palettes with minimalist effort. It's not bad. It's unpolished. The artist knew what he wanted to draw, but that's all that can be said about it. But on top of that sort of basic aesthetic, the game has these cool special effects, such as exploding stars and custom fades. And it's got some neat animations as well, which I suppose is possible since the sprites are so basic. All of this ends up with an odd feeling. The game polishes itself only in the flashiest way. Almost like pulling all the decorations for your Christmas tree, only the Christmas tree is barren. In this game you play as Orith. You must rescue Orith's mom, who is called... Orith's mom. But hey, at least the place where the dragoon keeps her got a name. It's called Chargootz Tower. Yeah, it's about rescuing a lady from a dragon. You see what I mean about genericness? The story is expositioned through a sort of animatic cutscene through the narrator. You see the mother, and the tower. But not the dragon. Rather than the regular minimalist pixel sprites of the main game, the cutscene employs a sort of freeform MSPaint artwork. I didn't even know MSPaint was still around! I must admit, I got only to the second world before I quit. Didn't even make it to the boss. Maybe I will play more later. What I can say is that I didn't really get what the worlds were supposed to be. In the first world, it was raining gold nuggets. In the second, it was blue instead of yellow, and the tiles looked significantly better. But what kind of land am I travelling from, and where am I passing? Why does Orith have to kill everything in her way to pass through? Does the bubble that carries her forward has something against goomba copycats? Don't think I didn't notice the bubble that sweeps you up at the end of the level. It's just one pixel thick and white in colour, but I saw it. At first I thought she just sort of leapt up in a weird way, but no, seems she is bubble riding when she has run out of things to exterminate. I should note here that I only use the headings of these reviews as a loose suggestion. I do not intend to segment my review into convenient sections when what I want to convey is the holistic experience. But there is one thing that I need to bring up. What this game does well, really the reason I stayed with it for so long, is the music. The game's story is told through auditory channels. You know what kind of person Orith is, and the kind of journey she is on, from the soundtrack. Honestly, I should be much more confused than I was about the candy weapons, and the mystery bubbles, and why there is raining nuggets. But with the soundtrack behind me, it all made sense... To the extent it is possible, at least. It's chippy. Kind of composed from digital sounds. It does go well with the classical arcade gameplay and the minimalist pixel art to create the retro feel the author is going for. Creating something like that, and making it sound good, is harder than it looks. Or sounds. The point is that the beeping noises your computer makes is not intended as an instrument. If you manage to not make it sound terrible, then credit is due. I am too young to have memories of arcade machines sucking up my allowance, but even I half-expected the INSERT COIN text to flash up whenever I lost a life. If that was to happen, I honestly think I would stick to reading a good book instead. Which is not to say I wouldn't ever touch it again, but if you have seen one level you kind of have seen them all... I guess? Like I said, I didn't manage to finish it, but whenever the game did introduce a new feature, like an enemy or that fire that just downright kills you, it makes the most of it before you see something new again. There are bosses, but even the bosses tend to overstay their welcome. So do I recommend this game? Well, I would, if only to see the lollipop club. But I already spoiled surprize for you there. Whoops. Still, download it and try to act surprized. I hope to see more from this creator with a bit more polish and just a smudge more effort.
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